The LA Lakers will face the Denver Nuggets in their first game for this regular season, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is extremely excited about the opening night. A lot of Pope’s excitement was fueled by the Nuggets sweeping the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. KCP regards this win in all fun and banter against his former teammate, LeBron James. As Pope calls it himself, the Nuggets gave the Lakeshow a ‘butt whoopin’ to reach their very first Finals series.
Advertisement
Through all of this fun and banter, Caldwell-Pope means no disrespect to the king, LBJ. In fact, James and KCP have had a really good dynamic since their Lakers days.
The duo had won a championship together in 2020 and were excited to face each other in the Western Conference Finals. All of this banter makes the games even more fun, given the Lakers meet the Nuggets again during their ring night on 24 October.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is proud of giving the Lakers a ‘butt whoopin’ in the 2023 Western Conference Finals
The 2023 WCF was indeed a one-horse show between the Lakeshow and the Nuggets. Despite having LeBron James as an opponent, Denver easily overwhelmed Los Angeles 4-0 in the series. LeBron James averaged 27.8 points, ten assists, and 9.5 rebounds in the series but failed to lift the Lakers from a playoff upset.
Former Laker and 2020 NBA champion Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was extremely elated to have defeated his former team, especially Lebron James. KCP and James were in contact ahead of the Conference Finals, extending best wishes and excitement to face each other.
But KCP was on a mission to humiliate Los Angeles with LeBron James on the team. Speaking about this experience to SiriusXM NBA Radio, KCP said,
“We had to give them a butt whoopin’. It was personal but it wasn’t personal, you know? So, we did something like that they haven’t done in a long time. It’s for us like, Lakers get swept, and us making history, making it to the Finals for the first time….We [KCP and LeBron James] have been talking back and forth now. Some of my other teammates, they can’t wait for the first game!”
“We had to give them that butt whipping”.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope talks about the fun rivalry with his former Laker teammates.
Hear more from Nuggets camp: https://t.co/XWDtRPHnwv@nuggets | @NBA | @SiriusXMSports | @CaldwellPope pic.twitter.com/FNaU1rxCxG
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) October 22, 2023
Seems like the spirits at Denver are quite high to face the giants of the Western Conference. After all, sweeping the Lakeshow to book their first Finals berth indeed was a commendable achievement for the Nuggets.
KCP finds similarities in LeBron James and Nikola Jokic’s game
Nikola Jokic is to the Nuggets what LeBron James is to the Lakers: a superstar. Of course, most NBA superstars have many similarities, indicating their winning mentality. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope figured out some of the similarities between LBJ and the Joker, having played and won championships with both players.
Both James and Jokic have unique basketball IQs that help them figure out and read plays even before they happen. KCP has always been awestruck with the Joker’s one-legged shot, which he often witnesses during games and practice. Playing and winning two championships with these two game legends was a surreal honor for the Nuggets star.
