Kevin Love began his 17th NBA season away from the Miami Heat, but Love was still exactly where he needed to be.

Love was away from the Heat for the first few weeks of the regular season to attend to a personal family matter. He missed the first five games of the season because of personal reasons before rejoining the Heat and then sitting out the following three games while working his way back into game shape.

“It was really tough,” Love, 36, said of being away from the Heat to begin the season. “Obviously, you want to be there, especially at this point in my career, too. I want to be there to support the guys, add value, add leadership. But the organization, they were so amazing in supporting me, letting me have my time and allowing me to come back refreshed in my mind.”

When Love returned to the team, he was welcomed back by the Heat with empathy.

“It was amazing,” Love said ahead of Tuesday night’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. “I certainly didn’t want to make it about myself. I had a little bit of, I don’t want to say reluctance going back to work, but I certainly didn’t want people asking all sorts of questions and making it about me. I just wanted to come back and kind of get integrated back, and it was that. As soon as everybody saw each other and asked is everything OK — of course, I said yes — that we were able to just proceed and try to get me back to playing again.”

Love made his season debut in the Heat’s ninth game of the season for Sunday’s one-point road win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

With Jimmy Butler missing his first game of the season because of a sprained right ankle on Sunday, the Heat made changes to its starting lineup. That led to Love playing as a starter in his first game of the season, contributing six points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals in 13 minutes against the Timberwolves.

“Certainly eight or nine days away, I was able to take care of a lot,” said Love, who made his first start on Sunday since Dec. 18, 2023, after being used as the Heat’s backup center last season. “The support was unbelievable from my teammates, coaching staff, organization. But now having to work your way back in is also something that is tough in itself. You watch and see where you can help and impart a little wisdom away from the court, as well. So now that I’m back, I’m just trying to add that freshness, that lightness to the locker room and hopefully help out there, as well.”

Whether Love is starting or playing off the bench, the Heat knows it’s a better team when he’s available to play.

“He knows how to fit in, he knows how to complement or do more as necessary,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Love. “We need it. I think it will help our rebounding, the offensive IQ that he brings and the spacing certainly will help, as well, and his competitive spirit.”

But Love doesn’t hesitate to admit the personal situation that he has dealt with early this season is “still tough.” As one of the catalysts toward destigmatizing mental health issues in the NBA, Love does not shy away from discussing his vulnerabilities and helping others navigate their own.

“When you see somebody get sick and going through it, as well, one of those moments that you go through in grieving is acceptance,” said Love, who initially signed with the Heat in the middle of the 2022-23 season. “So having to kind of accept where we’re at, where I’m at in my mental health journey. But the only way you can know another person’s struggles and empathize is knowing your own. I truly feel that. So I think it has prepared me to better help, for the lack of a better term, my own family.

“Thankfully we didn’t lose anybody, but it’s always tough seeing someone struggle. Because it’s not only that person, it’s the rest of the family, too, that you truly care about. But again, it takes an army.”

INJURY REPORT

Butler will miss his second game in a row when the Heat takes on the Pistons in Detroit on Tuesday. Butler sprained his right ankle early in Friday’s road loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Butler has remained on the road with the Heat instead of returning to Miami, leaving open the possibility for a return before the end of the team’s current trip. After Tuesday’s matchup against the Pistons, the Heat closes its six-game trip with back-to-back games against the Indiana Pacers on Friday and Sunday.

“Right now, he’s just focused on treatment and doing whatever he has to do to get back out there,” Spoelstra said Sunday when asked about Butler’s status. “We don’t have a timeline right now, but he’s with us.”

The only other Heat players on the injury report for Tuesday’s game are Josh Christopher and Keshad Johnson, who are in the G League as part of their two-way contracts.