Kevin Love will defend his All-Star Saturday three-point championship next week in New Orleans.
Well, a year late, he will.
Love won the contest in 2012, but did not participate last season because of that hand he broke twice.
The NBA announced on tonight's TNT doubleheader pre-game show that he'll be back after a year away.
Provided, of course, that his stiff neck and the rest of him recovers by then.
He will compete against Cleveland's Kyrie Irving, Washington's Bradley Beal, Brooklyn's Joe Johnson, Orlando's Arron Afflalo, Golden State's Steph Curry, San Antonio's Marco Belinelli and Portland's Damian Lillard.
Love missed Wednesday's game at Oklahoma City when he deemed his neck too stiff to play after he fell hard in Tuesday's home victory over the Lakers and his head whipped back violently in the fall.
Love survived a first-round tiebreaker with Miami's Mario Chalmers in Orlando two years ago and advanced, eventually beating Kevin Durant in the finals.
