Once they make it to the NBA, every basketball player has the same goal. They all want to win a championship. Nothing commands quite the same respect in the basketball world as a player having been a contributor on a championship team.
The Orlando Magic have little playoff experience on the current young roster but recently added veteran Caldwell-Pope. The 31-year-old not only has quite a long career under his belt already but also brings valuable championship experience to the court. Let’s dive a little deeper into the championship experience his new team values so much.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope career overview
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope came into the league as a lottery pick out of Georgia. The Detroit Pistons drafted him eighth overall in 2013. Since then, Caldwell-Pope has established himself as one of the top two-way guards in the league and made a living as an impactful role player with the Pistons, Lakers, Wizards, and Nuggets. He is known especially for his defense.
How many rings does Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have?
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has two rings as of date. He is one of only two players in the league to have won two titles since 2020. The other one is Jrue Holiday.
2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers
2023 with the Denver Nuggets
2020: KCP helps LeBron James win a title with the Lakers
Caldwell-Pope won his first NBA title with the Lakers in the 2019-20 season, defeating the Miami Heat in six games. He was a crucial role player for the team and started all 21 playoff games that year. Over those 21 games, he averaged 10.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1 steal per game and shot 37.8 percent from three.
2023: The Denver Nuggets dominate the NBA
In 2022, Caldwell-Pope made his way to the Denver Nuggets and promptly helped them win a championship. If you have a generational talent like Mikola Jokic, you have to surround him with the right role players. Caldwell-Pope proved to be just that. Starting all 20 playoff games he appeared in that year, he averaged 10.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.3 steals.
His performance in Game 5 of the 2023 NBA Finals stood out especially. He scored 11 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, collected 2 steals, and blocked 3 shots to help secure the series-clinching win.
How many times has Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made it to the NBA Finals?
So far, Caldwell-Pope has made it to the NBA Finals twice. Both times, he won a championship. This type of track record bodes very well for a team like the Magic that is on track to make a relatively deep playoff run sooner rather than later. Overall, Caldwell-Pope has been in the playoffs five times, playing a total of 62 playoff games. Last season, he and the Nuggets were one of the favorites to make it out of the West but eventually lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves.