LeBron and Jokic are two of the best passers the NBA have ever seen, especially for their size, and they make life a lot easier for their teammates with their high IQs and ability to create wide-open shots. Caldwell-Pope has greatly benefited from playing with both players and sees many similarities between them.

Caldwell-Pope recently revealed that the Nuggets felt the Lakers should have beaten them last season, noting that they were ahead at halftime in every game. The Lakers led by double digits in three of their four losses as well, but they just couldn’t hold the lead and while most would simply say the better team won, apparently even the victors aren’t sure that was the case.

What did Caldwell-Pope say about LeBron and Jokic?

Caldwell-Pope recently appeared on “The Draymond Green Show” and praised LeBron and Jokic for making the game much easier and improving his career by playing with them on the Lakers and Nuggets, respectively: “You see Bron on the ball mostly, bringing the ball up, even though Jokic can do the same thing, point-five. The two guys man, they demand attention as soon as they check the ball in and I just fed off that. I knew them guys would have so much attention on them and I was either gonna get a wide-open shot or we create a wide-open shot and now the defense gotta move because somebody’s open… What made it so much easier, and that’s why I say I don’t see a difference between the two, their IQ is out this world.”

“They can shoot, and they have an all-around game. I would say for me, what made my career great playing with them, like they were willing to pass the ball when you open. I don’t care what type of pass it was, if you open, they’re gonna try to get it to you. All I had to do was be ready to shoot. Kudos to both of them guys, they made my career better later in my years. Them my brothers.” Caldwell-Pope added.

Although there are some physical differences between the two, the similarities in how they see the game and can control everything with their vision and passing certainly stand out. For Caldwell-Pope, what sets him apart is his willingness and ability to pass the ball from any angle on the court, using either hand.

At that point, as he said, all Caldwell-Pope has to do is be ready to shoot when the ball comes in and he always is, so he was an integral part of the Lakers and Nuggets’ championships.

The Nuggets, who arrived in the series as the reigning champions, managed to knock out the Lakers in five games. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, however, believes LeBron James and company should have won the series.

“You know how like, towards the playoffs guys get their rest. But I felt like that’s where we spent most of our energy and time trying to get that first place and playing catch-up. And we get to the playoffs, we have no gas. We felt like the Lakers should have beaten us. We were down every game,” Caldwell-Pope said on the Draymond Green Show. “At least 10 [points], I think the highest may be what, 20-something. Just taking that energy and using it there so it was a lot that went into that season.”

It was a surprising elimination by the Lakers since they led at halftime in every game against the Nuggets and held double-digit leads in three of their four losses. However, Denver managed to outscore LeBron James and company when it mattered the most, and it paid off.

JJ Redick believes LeBron, Lakers can succeed

With Darvin Ham gone after the first-round elimination, the Lakers hired JJ Redick aiming to maximize LeBron James’ championship window before it’s too late. Even though we’re talking about a rookie head coach with a very similar roster from last season, the new bench boss believes LA has what it takes to contend.

“I don’t look at the current roster as being that far off from a championship-caliber team. In terms of managing expectations, I think in life, you just got to embrace things. You know, you just really have to embrace things. You don’t run from it. If you need to talk about it, you talk about it.”

“… And if the Los Angeles Lakers on day one get better every single day, I’m very confident that come April, we will be a championship-caliber team. You still have to have a lot of stuff go right, you can’t have a lot go wrong. That’s every single championship team. … You certainly need the stars. But the group matters more than ever. You need six, seven, eight guys who can play minutes deep into the playoffs. The Boston Celtics, the Dallas Mavericks, the Pacers, the Timberwolves. It wasn’t about the individual. It was about the group.”

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Sixers and Magic are interested in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who could hit unrestricted free agency as he has a player option with the Denver Nuggets:

“Among the players who will be most in demand after George lands, league sources say, is Denver’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Sources say Philadelphia and Orlando are weighing runs at Caldwell-Pope with their cap space if, as increasingly expected, he declines his $15.4 million player option with the Nuggets to enter free agency and field richer offers.”

An NBA champion to end the title drought?

At 31, Caldwell-Pope is an interesting target for teams looking to improve their rotation with a seasoned player with championship experience. Apart from winning the 2020 NBA championship with LeBron in LA, Caldwell-Pope helped Nikola Jokic win the 2023 title with the Denver Nuggets.

Needless to say, that track record of success is compelling for two franchises craving to reach the promised land. While the Magic have yet to win an NBA championship, it’s been a while since the Sixers’ last title.

Philadelphia hasn’t won an NBA championship since 1983, while its last NBA Finals appearance came in 2001. Caldwell-Pope already has two rings by now, so these franchises would definitely welcome that kind of player on their roster.

Once they beat the Miami Heat in the Finals, the Nuggets mocked the Lakers more than any other team. At some point they seemed to be a bit obsessed with the purple and gold, but some of their players had history with them.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope spent four seasons in LA from 2017 to 2021, when he was sent to Washington as part of the Russell Westbrook trade. Two years later, the guard admitted that moment hurt him.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope gets real on being traded by the Lakers in 2021

“When (the Lakers trade) happened, I was a little hurt, no doubt about that,” Caldwell-Pope told Sam Amick of The Athletic. “But I had to move on. I thought I was gonna be there (with the Lakers) for a while, especially after the championship. But it didn’t go that way. I felt like at the end of the day, business is business.

“I got a call from my good friend Brad (Beal, the day before the trade went down), and he just asked me how I would feel about playing with him. I’d (known) him since we were 15, and that’s one thing we always talked about was playing with each other. And then the next morning, it happened.”

Even though that moment may have been painful, it turned out to be for the best. Eventually, Caldwell-Pope found a place where he could win his second ring.