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One of the favorite players to pick on by the Cleveland Cavaliers' fandom is Jarrett Allen, the team's starting center. The former All-Star and perpetual defensive standout (Three top-12 finishes in voting for the Defensive Player of the Year) has been a key member of the club since 2021, when he and Taurean Prince arrived from Brooklyn in the big James Harden deal of that season.
Since arriving, Allen's defense has been fundamental to the club's success. When Evan Mobley arrived, the Cavs' interior defense took a major leap, and the pairing no doubt helped Mobley win the DPOY award in 2025. Despite Allen's impact, not just defensively, he receives a lot of criticism, and, being fair, sometimes rightfully so. The criticism, however, often seems vastly overblown compared to what Allen can and has done. Something others are aware of and aren't blinded to.
Enter former Cavaliers legend, current Utah Jazz forward/center, and Allen's former teammate, Kevin Love.
Speaking on the Old Man and the Three Podcast, with this episode being hosted by Cam Jordan and Tommy Alter, Love gushed about Allen and his talents. Love went so far to call Allen his favorite player.
"I used to talk all the time about Jarrett Allen all the time being my favorite player." Love said on the podcast. "He was kind of selfish in all the right ways. He was just like, 'I'm going to grab every board that I can, I don't care if I elbow you in the face.' So sometimes I'd start tipping rebounds to him....(He) didn't care if he got dunked on. Every play he was going to go for...He's unapologetically his self."
That's high praise from Love, especially coming off his compliments of LeBron James.
More: Kevin Love explains why LeBron James is the 'smartest player' he ever played with
Love's praise of Allen isn't unfounded or easily ignored. Allen has proven that he's worth the hype and praise more times than not. Especially as of late, as the Cavs attempt to turn around their flailing 2025-2026 season. In their recent outing against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Jan 10, 2026, Allen was a major difference maker, and it didn't go unnoticed.
Writing on Twitter, Cavs beat-writer Chris Fedor gushed about Allen's impact on the team's positive play.
"In 28 minutes with #Cavs Jarrett Allen on the court yesterday, the team had a net rating of 38.6," Chris Fedor wrote on X. "In the 20 minutes with him off, the net rating cratered to -26.6, with an offense equivalent to the Brooklyn Nets. He continues to be so underratedly important to what this team does"
The Cavs clearly need to find a way to crawl out of the den of mediocrity they find themselves in, but the answer isn't to move on from Allen, who is in the prime of his career at just 27 years old. It's obvious that the team is better with him on the court, by a large margin, and moving on from him will only hurt the team to some degree.
It's pretty obvious why the future Hall of Famer in Love has such a high opinion of Allen.
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