For Magic's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Year 12 Offers New Lessons to Learn

Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley on Day 1 with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: "He just fits in perfectly. His ability to defend. Communicating with the guys. His leadership by just the way he moves, the way he conducts himself, and carries himself."

Mason Williams | Oct 1, 2024

Orlando Magic guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope poses for a picture during the team's annual Media Day. / Orlando Magic/Twitter

In this story:

Orlando Magic

ORLANDO –– Twelve of these have come and gone now for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

While his new Orlando Magic teammates are entering their second, third and fourth years in the league, this was the 12th first day of practice for KCP. He arrived this summer on a three-year, $66-million contract, the Magic's investment in his winning background, on-court abilities and off-court leadership.

On Tuesday, the Magic held its first training camp practice of the 2024-25 season inside the AdventHealth Training Center. All the usuals were there — and healthy, Jamahl Mosley said post-practice — but there were new faces, Caldwell-Pope among them.

First official practice for KCP in a #Magic jersey: pic.twitter.com/VKrUwGEZdL
— Mason Williams (@mvsonwilliams) October 1, 2024

He's the type of veteran the Magic's young rotation can lean on and learn from. But this being his first day at his new gig, Caldwell-Pope feels he's got plenty to pick up on himself.

"For me, it was more just trying to learn what they do defensively, offensively, put myself in situations," Caldwell-Pope said after. "Also, helping some of the young guys, talking defensively, and them helping me offensively to get to my spots and let me know where I need to be. Today was a big communication day for us and our focus."

He spent the waning moments of practice with teammates Caleb Houstan, Gary Harris and Jett Howard draining three-pointers. His outside shooting accuracy — three seasons of 40 percent and better from beyond the arc — is being counted on to improve the Magic's offense.

This is the fifth time in his career that Caldwell-Pope is a new face in a new place, so his acclimatization will be an ongoing sidebar over the coming weeks.

"It's always good to have something new in your life," Caldwell-Pope said. "Just being here, I'm as excited as I can be. I'm ready to get back at it. (First practice) went great. I had a great day, (I) feel great."

His new head coach liked what he saw on Tuesday.

"I mean, he just fits in perfectly," Mosley said. "His ability to defend. Communicating with the guys. His leadership by just the way he moves, the way he conducts himself, and carries himself – it doesn't always have to be vocally. But he does a tremendous job of just showing things by the way that he plays and his actions."

Jamahl Mosley on KCP: “I mean, he just fits in perfectly.” #Magic https://t.co/yhFiPZjbqR pic.twitter.com/Gy6DJzXjDd
— Mason Williams (@mvsonwilliams) October 1, 2024

"He was just being himself, being super vocal, doing all the little things," forward Paolo Banchero said. "Just picking his brain this practice, I could tell that me and his communication is going to be vital to our team and our success, as well as him communicating with everyone else.

"The stuff he's seeing out there is usually one or two steps ahead. So (I'm) just trying to use him as a vessel to learn and realize what's going on."

Orlando boasted the NBA's third-best defensive rating as a team last season, and Caldwell-Pope was an 88th-percentile defender by Dunks and Three's defensive EPM measure. Offensively, he's been in the 81st percentile or higher among shooting guards scoring points per 100 shot attempts the previous two seasons. Sure, attribute part of that to Nikola Jokic's playmaking wizardry. That doesn't detract from the knockdown shooting nature of the Magic's new two-guard.

KCP checks a lot of boxes for a Magic team that's staunch on its defensive identity and desires more scoring this year. Many players during the Magic's Media Day on Monday voiced their confidence that Orlando can, and will, improve offensively this year. Caldwell-Pope will factor into that heavily.

Jalen Suggs, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Wendell Carter Jr. at Orlando Magic practice.

Orlando Magic guards Jalen Suggs, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and center Wendell Carter Jr. talk together during the Magic's first practice of training camp. / Orlando Magic/Twitter

He's spent over a decade in the league being a cog in the machines of winning teams. Aside from what he brings on either side of the floor or off the court, where he's been and what he's accomplished carries more weight than ever – especially inside a locker room that feels its just scratching the surface of how far it can go.

Now he's in a setting where he can again embrace his status as a vocal leader and impart wisdom on a core of young guys, whom Caldwell-Pope says are eager to learn. All these years later, he still is, too.

"I'm always talking about defense," Caldwell-Pope said. "(That's) stuff I know and what they want to learn. They're also teaching me things, what they see and what I don't see.

"So we're just learning from each other, and I'm enjoying the process so far."

Want more Orlando Magic coverage on Sports Illustrated?

Follow 'Orlando Magic on SI' on Facebook and like our page. Follow Magic beat reporter Mason Williams on Twitter/X @mvsonwilliams. Also, bookmark our homepage so you never miss a story.

Published Oct 1, 2024