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Orlando Magic: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Seemingly Takes a Huge Dig on His 2 Former Teams

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics | By Jordan Samar | Last updated Oct 11, 2024 9:46 AM ET

The Orlando Magic pulled off a huge coup when they added Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to their ranks this summer, and the two-time NBA champion already likes what he has seen from his new team, so much so that he threw some shade on his former teams.

Orlando Magic: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Seemingly Takes a Huge Dig on His 2 Former Teams 4 Apr 20, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) passes the ball against Denver Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) during the third quarter in game one of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports

“This is the first team that I’ve been on where everybody likes to defend. 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. That (says a lot) in this league. A team that gets stops wins games,” Caldwell-Pope stated via Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.

Fans have deduced that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s comments could be a shot towards LeBron James and Nikola Jokic since both haven’t played a lot of high-level defense consistently in the past few years.

Orlando Magic: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Seemingly Takes a Huge Dig on His 2 Former Teams 5 May 16, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) falls on Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) in the third quarter during game six of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Now that he’s with a younger team in the Orlando Magic, Caldwell-Pope will be a key veteran presence for the squad because of his 3-and-D skills and championship experience.

Before coming to the Orlando Magic, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had a decent 2023-24 campaign with the Denver Nuggets, averaging 10.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.3 steals on 46/41/89 shooting splits in 76 regular season games.

Orlando Magic were one of the top defensive teams last season

The Orlando Magic made it to the postseason last year because they were one of the best defensive teams, posting a 110.8 defensive rating, good for third behind the Boston Celtics (110.6) and the Minnesota Timberwolves (108.4).

Orlando Magic: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Seemingly Takes a Huge Dig on His 2 Former Teams 6 May 3, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac (1) defends Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) during the second quarter of game six of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

During the first round against the Cleveland Cavaliers, that number improved to 100, the best mark in the playoffs.

If Orlando plans to make good on Paolo Banchero’s Top 3 claim earlier this summer this year, they will have to establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with on both ends of the court.