A hearty smile spread across Kenny Smith’s face when the former Rockets guard recalled his first interaction with Bob Love. During a pre-season double header game between the Bulls and the Knicks, a young Smith asked Love for an autograph. The man fondly known as “Butterbean” duly obliged handing Smith his first autograph by an NBA player.

Love passed away at 81 on Monday after a long battle with cancer. The announcement was made by the Chicago Bulls, for whom Love played in the early 1970s and was one of the first stars in the franchise’s young history. For younger Chicago Bulls followers, looking past Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose would be hard, but Bob Love was the Bulls legend who inspired a generation of NBA players after him, including the panel at Inside the NBA on TNT, who paid tribute to him on the show on Tuesday evening.

Ernie Johnson started by recapturing the news of his passing before sharing how Love’s story became remarkable after his NBA career ended.  “See Bob Love had a bad stuttering problem for much of his life until after retirement, when he was working at Nordstrom in Seattle, He was washing dishes and bussing tables. The owner, John Nordstrom, was so impressed with his work ethic that he paid for Love’s speech therapy. He would overcome his stutter to become a motivational speaker, later returning to Chicago as the Bulls’ Director of Community Affairs where he would make hundreds of speeches,” Johnson revealed.

A three-time All-Star, Love’s stuttering issues from his childhood meant he rarely did interviews during his 11 seasons in the NBA, despite being a cornerstone of the Bulls team. His teammate Norm Van Lier was the one who stepped in to speak for him. “The reporters had deadlines — they couldn’t hang around all night for me to spit something out,” Love said back in 2002.

After his NBA career, he took up a job in the cafeteria at Nordstrom, where the owner asked him to take speech therapy classes. He soon saw a turnaround, working with the Bulls, and even ran for the City Council in 2003. Meanwhile, on the show, Barkley talked about the impact Love had on him and many others.

“I always think it’s important for Me, Kenny and Shaq, and all the players going forward and who have played, to thank these guys for doing all the heavy lifting. We’re so lucky and blessed because of guys like this,” Barkley said initially. He also paid tribute to Bill Walton, Russell, Oscar Robertson, and Love.

Shaq then also chimed in and even though he never saw Love in action live, he was thankful for the influence he had and paid his condolences. “First, my condolences to his family. I’ve heard the name before, I’ve only seen him play… but, I agree with Chuck. You know it’s very important for us to thank the guys who paved the way for us,” the former Lakers player said.

Preparing a makeshift basketball court in his grandmother’s crowded two-bedroom shanty, using his grandfather’s rolled-up socks as a ball. But in a drastic turn of events, he became a starting quarterback at the historically Black Morehouse High School. Moving to Southern University in Baton Rouge he continued to play football until the basketball coach, A.W. Mumford, noticed him playing pickup.

Love was then picked in the fourth round of the 1965 draft by the Cincinnati Royals and had a stint with the Milwaukee Bucks before trading to the Bulls in the middle of the 1968-69 season. It was in Chicago he made his name and remains the franchise’s third all-time leading scorer, behind Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. During his run with the Bulls, he was a key part of the team that came close to reaching the 1975 NBA Finals.

Leading the Western Conference series 3-2 against the Golden State Warriors, the Bulls would end up losing at home and then the decisive game in Oakland.

During their tribute to Love on TNT, Kenny Smith revealed his connection with the icon. “He knew this when he was alive. My first autograph ever was Bob “Butterbean” Love. I was in Madison Square Garden, he went into the stands and I guess he knew someone and I ran behind and that was my first autograph ever by an NBA player.”

Meanwhile, the outpouring of emotion and tributes to Love has been going on since his passing.

Doc Rivers, Dwyane Wade pay respects to Bob Love

Growing up in Chicago, Dwyane Wade is well aware of the legacy that Bob Love carries. As the news of his death filtered in, Wade took to social media to post, “Rest peacefully, legend.” Doc Rivers who watched Love growing up and met him when he was in high school shared an emotional connection with him.

“He was a big guy in my life,” Rivers said before the Bucks game against the Bulls in Milwaukee on Wednesday night. “Really an impressive guy. People remember Bob from basketball and I really don’t. He was a great basketball player but I met him when I was young, in high school.”

Having met him in a park, Love took an instant liking to Rivers. “For whatever reason, Bob took a liking to me. He would give me his shoes. Just a powerful guy. A tough guy. I think he epitomized Chicago in a lot of ways with his toughness and how we grew up,” Rivers said.

Love will go down as an all-time great, but as Ernie Johnson pointed out, more than his basketball career, he will be remembered for overcoming obstacles in his life to become an inspiration for others to follow.