Inside The Nuggets

Ex-Lakers, Nuggets Player Makes Controversial Statement on Former Teams

This was an interesting statement from the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets champion.

Joey Linn

Denver Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) before a game against the Miami Heat at Ball Arena.
Denver Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) before a game against the Miami Heat at Ball Arena. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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Kentavious Caldwell-Pope won an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 and again with the Denver Nuggets in 2023. A key player on both of these teams, Caldwell-Pope started all 21 postseason games in 2020 and all 20 postseason games in 2023.

Caldwell-Pope has appeared in 835 career NBA games, owning career averages of 11.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on 42.7 percent shooting.

Spending the first four seasons of his career with the Detroit Pistons, Caldwell-Pope then spent four seasons with the Lakers. One season with the Washington Wizards separated Caldwell-Pope’s time in Los Angeles and Denver.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Orlando Magic guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (3) poses for a photo during Media Day at AdventHealth Training Center. / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Speaking recently with reporters in Orlando, Caldwell-Pope made an interesting statement on his new team.

“This is the first team that I’ve been on that everybody likes to defend,” Caldwell-Pope said. “That’s exciting for me. It makes me want to compete even more on that end. I’m just looking forward to being that team that’s going to be hard to score on… The team that gets stops wins the game.”

This was a controversial comment from Caldwell-Pope when considering he has two NBA championships. The 2020 Lakers were especially good defensively, ranking third in defensive rating.

Caldwell-Pope should be a great addition for Orlando on offense and defense. The two-way guard made 41.5 percent of his three-point attempts in Denver.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Title: Credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation Email: joeylinn52@gmail.com Education: Communication Studies degree from Biola University Location: Los Angeles, California Expertise: NBA analysis and reporting Experience: Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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