Caldwell-Pope's championship experience helping Nuggets in Finals run

DENVER (AP) —The Denver Nuggets had all the ingredients for an NBA Finals runthis season — Nikola Jokic’sall-aroundgreatness, Jamal Murray’ssweetball handling, Michael Porter Jr.’s board crashingandarc accuracy, AaronGordon’sabove-the-rimbrilliance.

The onlything missing was big-game experience.

EnterKentavious Caldwell-Pope, who won a title with the Los AngelesLakers inside the NBA bubble in 2020.

The Nuggetsacquired the sharp-shooting swingman along with veteran guard IshSmith from the Washington Wizards last July in exchange for MonteMorris and Will Barton.

KCP, thequiet-until-he-needs-to-be player with a lethal outside shot, hasbeen the calming presence on this squad that has sent Karl-AnthonyTowns, Anthony Edwards, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Anthony Davisand LeBron James on early vacations and has designs on addingeither Jimmy Butler or Jayson Tatum to that mix when the NBA Finalsfinally get here June 1.

“He’s justthe ultimate leader, ultimate professional, comes in every day andworks extremely hard, holds everyone accountable,” said fellow2022-23 addition Bruce Brown Jr. “But he is the only one on thisteam who has won a championship. He knows what it takes and what weneed to do. So, we gotta listen to that guy.”

Teammates andcoaches say KCP isn’t so much in your face as he’s in your ear,dispensing advice, tips, guidance, encouragement and caution alongthe way as the Nuggets navigate a championship road they’ve neverbeen down.

“I do itvocally, just talking, bringing that championship mentality that Ihave to my team now,” Caldwell-Pope said, “and just tell them inmoments like if they go on a run, it’s not the end of the day.Let’s just get back to doing what we do. Like I say, it’s all aboutbeing patient, being ready and defending.”

TheNuggets’four-gamesweep of the Lakerssecured the franchise’s first WesternConference title and sent the Nuggets to their first NBA Finalsappearance in their history and to their first championship seriessince they lost to Julius Erving and the New York Nets 4-2 in theABA’s last season in 1976.

Those twoteams, along with the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs, joinedthe NBA in 1976-77 when the ABA disbanded. All the others reachedthe NBA Finals long before the Nuggets, who are appearing in theirfirst league championship in their 47-year history.

They mightnot have made it without KCP, whose on-the-court contributions arewhat Nuggets superstar Jokic appreciates the most.

Caldwell-Popewas an integral part of the Lakers’ championship run in 2020,averaging 10.7 points and starting in all of LA’s 21 playoff games.He helped the Lakers beat the Nuggets in five games for the WesternConference title in the bubble.

What he’sbrought the Nuggets isn’t just that championship pedigree butperformance, Jokic said Saturday.

“Yes, he wona championship, but the best thing about KCP is he knows exactlywhat to do and where to be,” Jokic said. “And he’s doing that inthe first game, the 70th game, the playoff game, Finals game,whatever game, he always does what he’s supposed to do and I thinkthat’s the best way to describe him.”

Whether he’sdoling out tips or quietly going about his business, KCP has been abig part of the Nuggets’ longest playoff drive in theirhistory.

He’s averaged11.7 points a game, up from 10.8 in the regular season, and 3.2rebounds, up from 2.7, while reducing his turnovers from 1.1 to0.7.

He’s turnedin some of his best work these playoffs on defense.

“I feel likeI’m always on a tough matchup,” Caldwell-Pope said. “I pride myselfon my defense. I look forward to being able to just get stops.”

Which is whyhe said when the Nuggets opened the playoffs after a week’s rest —two days shorter than their layoff before the NBA Finals beginThursday night — that defense would be the primary driver tohoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

The Nuggetssent James and the Lakers packing when Murray tied up the Lakersstar on a drive to the basket and Gordon blocked the shot, securingDenver’s 113-111 win in Game 4 for the franchise’s first playoffseries sweep in its history.

After their25-point blowout of the Suns in Phoenix in Round 2, Jokic said theNuggets were so focused they looked like a championship team. Thenhe caught himself: “Well, I guess I don’t know how a championshipteam looks. But I think that was how it’s supposed to look.”

Caldwell-Popeis the only Nugget who knows what winning an NBA ring feelslike.

“Everybodywants one,” Caldwell-Pope said. “That’s the goal, to become achampion in this league. It’s one of the hardest things to do.”

He’s told histeammates that not only will it forever define them, it’ll foreverchange them.

“It changedme a lot, just as far as me being that leader that I am now,” hesaid. “And just being able to be focused in the moments as aprofessional and as a leader, you know, get my teammates focusedand ready to play.”

It’s afeeling he wants them all to experience in the coming days.