Love to receive NBA's Most Improved Player award Thursday

Timberwolves forward Kevin Love will receive the NBA's Most Improved Player award Thursday at Target Center.

The team tonight called a 2 p.m. Thursday press conference to make a "Major NBA Award Announcement."

That can only mean one thing.

Love's award will follow the NBA's announcement on Monday that Dwight Howard is the league's Defensive Player of the Year and Tuesday's news that Lamar Odom is its top Sixth Man.

Love left town after last week's season finale, but he'll be back by 2 p.m. tomorrow to receive his award for a season in which he often gave Wolves fans their only reason to cheer.

He led the NBA in rebounding with a 15.2 average.

Expected to be notable in his absence is in-limbo Wolves coach Kurt Rambis, who's back home in L.A. and sitting courtside at Wednesday night's Lakers-Hornets game.