LeBron James Showers Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with MVP-Like Praise for his Contributions

It suddenly feels like a long time since we saw live NBA action. The bubble life is now over, and the Los Angeles Lakers are 2020 NBA champions.

LeBron James once again claimed the Finals MVP award, but he’s showering his teammates with equal praise for their contributions. The latest Laker to be on the receiving end of the legend’s plaudits is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope!

Caldwell-Pope proved to be an important bench player for the Lake show this season. He was unguardable when making sudden bursts into the paint. These moves gave the purple and gold valuable points in the bubble, let alone his impressive three-point shooting!

Owing to his massive contributions, LeBron James felt it was only right if he gave a shout-out to his 27-year-old teammate. “KC-“MVP”ope!!! My brother was PHENOMENAL!!” he wrote on Twitter by sharing a highlight reel of Caldwell-Pope’s finals display. 

Caldwell-Pope averaged 12.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in the Finals, while also picking up a steal per game. His 2-way ability was a huge plus for the purple and gold, who figured out the right game plan to contain Miami Heat’s offense. 

LeBron James demanded to guard Jimmy Butler in Game 6 of the Finals

Things took a shocking turn when Jimmy Butler carried a wounded Miami Heat on his back in the Finals. After losing the first 2 games, Butler unleashed all his might to register 2 stunning victories in a bid to tip the scales of balance back to normal.

Butler’s heroics stretched the series till Game 6 and LeBron James did not want to gamble anymore. Before the game, he did what great players would do; that is, taking charge of the best opposition player. 

Lakers’ Assistant Coach Mike Penberthy recently revealed how LeBron declared that he would be guarding Butler when the team was drawing up the game plans. 

“LeBron says, ‘Coach, I want to guard Jimmy [Butler]. I want to match his minutes. I feel like I need to match up with him the whole game. I don’t want anybody else to guard him. I want to guard Jimmy Butler’,” Penberthy mentioned. 

And just as he vowed, LeBron James took control of Butler’s guarding duties in Game 6 and restricted him to just 12.0 points on the night. With this mighty performance, King James sealed ring #4 and further expanded his ever-growing legacy in the NBA.