LeBron James & Rajon Rondo Imparted Vital Basketball Wisdom to 31YO NBA Champion, Amid Massive $66M Deal

Jul 24, 2024 | 4:30 PM EDT

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Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who recently signed a 3-year deal with the Orlando Magic, credits vital basketball wisdom imparted by LeBron James and Rajon Rondo for his success. During his tenure with the Lakers from 2017 to 2021, Caldwell-Pope achieved his first championship victory in 2020, playing a major role in the team’s success by averaging 10.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game in the playoffs.

He acknowledged the valuable insights and breakdowns provided by LeBron James and Rajon Rondo. The 31-year-old NBA champion said, “In film, they broke down everything. Like, Rondo the one that taught me how to watch film. You know, how to watch like I didn’t start watching a full game of film until like two years ago. You can just watch it, you can just watch it, you know what I am saying, but like he taught me what I am looking for when I am watching this films.”

“Just having them two together in film together man, it made everything so easy, you know, on the court. Because now you know where to be, you know when this motion is happening, I know I got shift this way or I got to do that, you know what I am saying. So, they break it all the way to a point where like if you f***ing up, you are not giving out effort. If they giving to this way, that’s knowledge man, just take that. That was one of the things that I took away from both of them. Like, just learn how to break down that film you know and actually know what I am looking at when I am breaking it down. And that has helped my career. Being able to be a leader on other teams.” Caldwell Pope added.

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Caldwell-Pope recently signed a $66 million, three-year deal with the Orlando Magic, making him the highest-paid player on the team. Orlando will have the opportunity to sign Jalen Suggs and Paolo Banchero to long-term extensions in the next two summers as well. This leads us to ask if KCP deserves to be the team’s highest-paid player.

Why did Orlando sign Caldwell-Pope?

Last season with the Denver Nuggets, Caldwell-Pope, 31, averaged 10.4 points per game and shot slightly above 40 percent from beyond the arc. Essentially, he would take Gary Harris‘ place as a starter. Caldwell-Pope’s greatest attribute is his defense, and that’s likely why the Magic signed him. He and Suggs could form one of the best defensive backcourts in the NBA.

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Even if he’s not a big offensive creator, the Magic can still benefit from his elite defense. The Magic’s defense could be one of the best in the NBA now that Caldwell-Pope has joined from the Nuggets. The 31-year-old also averaged 2.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.4 steals across 31.5 minutes per game.

Caldwell-Pope might not play the same style of basketball as he did in Denver, but he’ll fit in perfectly. His playoff experience and defensive skills will benefit Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, the playmaking forwards for the Magic. During his tenure with Denver, he achieved a 42% shooting accuracy from beyond the 3-point line, which will also help the Magic, considering their poor 3-point shooting performance last season.

Will the addition of Caldwell-Pope get Orlando the results they want? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

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