2016 NBA champ chimes in on Cavs’ new Rocket Arena

The Cleveland Cavaliers announced on Tuesday that the name of their home arena is being changed. It was called Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for the past several years, but it will now go by Rocket Arena.

“When we set out to refresh the Rocket brand, one of our core design principles was creating a look that enhances the cityscapes we’re part of. Now, Rocket Arena is more refined and cooler than ever,” said Jonathan Mildenhall, CMO of Rocket. “This rebrand sets the stage for reimagining every aspect of our partnership playbook. While this collaboration has deep roots, from a creative impact perspective, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Rocket are just getting started.”

Big man Kevin Love, a pivotal member of the Cavaliers team that won the franchise its first ever title back in 2016, reacted to the name change and claimed that people will always refer to the arena as “The Q” regardless of its official name.

Of course, Love is referring to a nickname for the arena’s previous name of Quicken Loans Arena. The arena had that name after owner Dan Gilbert bought the team in 2005 all the way up until 2019.

For a big chunk of Love’s tenure in Cleveland, and certainly his most productive seasons with the team, the arena went by that title.

Love kicked off his time as a Cavalier in the 2014-15 campaign, and Cleveland made the NBA Finals for four straight seasons with him and forward LeBron James leading the way. Games in the 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals were held at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Cavaliers’ home court also came up big for the team in its 2016 title run.

Cleveland ended up winning all but one of its 10 games at home in the 2016 NBA Playoffs, with its one loss coming to the Golden State Warriors in the championship series. The Cavaliers also earned a must-win victory in Game 6 over Golden State after they headed into the contest down 3-2.

But Love isn’t a member of the Cavaliers anymore and hasn’t been for some time now. He last played 41 games with the team in the 2022-23 campaign and is currently a member of the Miami Heat.

Interestingly, Love and the Heat have a road bout against the Cavaliers at Rocket Arena coming up on their schedule. Miami will face off against a Cleveland team that is in a tie for the best record in the NBA right now on March 5. The Cavaliers have been dominant at home all season, as they’ve lost just four games at Rocket Arena since the beginning of the campaign.