Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Kentavious Tannell Caldwell-Pope (born February 18, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named a McDonald's All-American as one of the top high school basketball players in the class of 2011. He played college basketball for two years with the Georgia Bulldogs in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and was voted the SEC Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2013. Caldwell-Pope was selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. He played four seasons with the Pistons before joining the Lakers as a free agent in 2017–18.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Caldwell-Pope in January 2014
No. 1 – Los Angeles Lakers
Position	Shooting guard
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1993-02-18) February 18, 1993 Thomaston, Georgia
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	204 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school	Greenville (Greenville, Georgia)
College	Georgia (2011–2013)
NBA draft	2013 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8th overall
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career	2013–present
Career history
2013–2017	Detroit Pistons
2017–present	Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
SEC Player of the Year (2013) First-team All-SEC (2013) SEC All-Freshman Team (2012) McDonald's All-American (2011)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

High school career

Caldwell-Pope was a highly heralded player in high school. As a senior, he averaged 31 points and 8.2 rebounds per game at Greenville High School in Greenville, Georgia. He led the Patriots to the State Class A Final Four in 2011 and to consecutive Sweet 16 berths in 2009–10.

He was named to several prominent high school All-America teams as a senior, including being selected to play in the 2011 McDonald's All-American Game[1] and the Jordan Brand Classic.[2]

As a senior, he was rated the nation's No. 3 shooting guard prospect, the No. 12 prospect overall, by recruiting analysts for Rivals.com.

College career

Caldwell-Pope chose Georgia to play for Mark Fox and Cody Anderson over scholarship offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia Tech, and Tennessee among others.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope G	Greenville, Georgia	Greenville	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jul 17, 2010
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 97
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Freshman season

As a freshman, Caldwell-Pope was named to the Coaches' Freshman All-SEC Team, which also included NBA lottery picks Bradley Beal, Anthony Davis, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. His highest output as a freshman was 25 points vs. Ole Miss, which was the most by a UGA freshman in almost 13 years.[3]

Caldwell-Pope playing for Georgia in 2012

Sophomore season

As a sophomore, Caldwell-Pope was named SEC Player of the Year after averaging 18.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.[4] In his final collegiate game, he scored a career-high 32 points and 13 rebounds in a loss against LSU at the SEC tournament in Nashville.[5] He declared for the NBA draft after the season.[6]

Professional career

Detroit Pistons (2013–2017)

On June 27, 2013, Caldwell-Pope was selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. He later joined the Pistons for the 2013 NBA Summer League and signed his rookie scale contract with the team on July 19.[7] On April 16, 2014, he scored a then career-high 30 points in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[8]

In July 2014, Caldwell-Pope rejoined the Pistons for the 2014 NBA Summer League, where he averaged 24.0 points and 7.4 rebounds in five games. Head coach Stan Van Gundy quickly assessed Caldwell-Pope as his best perimeter defender and he wound up leading the Pistons in minutes played with 2,587. Caldwell-Pope got better after the All-Star break, largely thanks to the acquisition of point guard Reggie Jackson; post All-Star Break, Caldwell-Pope averaged 14.3 points per game. He finished the season with 153 three-point shots made, 70 more than the closest Pistons player. He tied Kevin Love for 16th in the NBA.[9]

Caldwell-Pope with the Pistons in December 2016, shooting over Marcin Gortat of the Washington Wizards

On December 16, 2015, Caldwell-Pope scored a then career-high 31 points in a 119–116 win over the Boston Celtics.[10] He helped the Pistons finish the 2015–16 regular season with a 44–38 record, which was good for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons thus qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2009. In the first round of the playoffs, the Pistons faced the first-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, and in a Game 1 loss on April 17, Caldwell-Pope scored a team-high 21 points.[11] The Pistons went on to lose the series 4–0.

On November 9, 2016, Caldwell-Pope scored a then season-high 27 points in a 107–100 loss to the Phoenix Suns.[12] On November 25, 2016, he recorded 16 points and a career-high 10 assists in a 108–97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.[13] On January 8, 2017, he hit a three-pointer with 9.4 seconds left in double overtime to lead the Pistons to a 125–124 win over the Portland Trail Blazers; he finished with 26 points.[14] On February 1, 2017, he scored a career-high 38 points in a 118–98 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He also made a career-high eight three-pointers on 11 attempts.[15] On February 23, 2017, Caldwell-Pope scored 33 points, including three three-pointers late in the fourth quarter during a Detroit rally, as the Pistons defeated the Charlotte Hornets 114–108 in overtime. Caldwell-Pope's three-pointer with 18.2 seconds to play tied the game at 100.[16]

On June 23, 2017, Caldwell-Pope was suspended for two games without pay by the NBA for pleading guilty to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.[17]

On July 7, 2017, the Pistons renounced the rights to Caldwell-Pope, making him an unrestricted free agent.[18]

Los Angeles Lakers (2017–present)

On July 13, 2017, Caldwell-Pope signed a one-year, $18 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.[19][20] He made his debut for the Lakers on October 22, 2017, scoring 20 points as a starter in a 119–112 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.[21] On November 27, 2017, he scored a season-high 29 points against the Los Angeles Clippers.[22] On December 13, 2017, Caldwell-Pope pleaded guilty to a probation violation he committed during the summer. He was handed a 25-day jail sentence, but under a work-release program, was allowed to leave the facility for home games and practices. He was not allowed to leave California, limiting him to only home games within the state during that period.[23] On February 24, 2018, he scored a season-high 34 points and hit a career high-tying eight 3-pointers in a 113–108 win over the Sacramento Kings.[24] On March 22, 2018, he hit eight 3-pointers and had 28 points in a 128–125 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.[25]

On July 6, 2018, Caldwell-Pope re-signed with the Lakers,[26] on a reported one-year, $12 million contract.[27] On December 16, 2018, he scored a season-high 25 points in a 128–110 loss to the Washington Wizards.[28] On December 30, he set a new season high with 26 points in a 121–114 win over the Kings.[29] On March 19, he had a season-high 35 points in a 115–101 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.[30]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2013–14	Detroit	80	41	19.8	.396	.319	.770	2.0	.7	.9	.2	5.9
2014–15	Detroit	82	82	31.5	.401	.345	.696	3.1	1.3	1.1	.2	12.7
2015–16	Detroit	76	76	36.7	.420	.309	.811	3.7	1.8	1.4	.2	14.5
2016–17	Detroit	76	75	33.3	.399	.350	.832	3.3	2.5	1.2	.2	13.8
2017–18	L.A. Lakers	74	74	33.2	.426	.383	.789	5.2	2.2	1.4	.2	13.4
2018–19	L.A. Lakers	82	23	24.8	.430	.347	.867	2.9	1.3	.9	.2	11.4
2019–20	L.A. Lakers	69	26	25.5	.467	.385	.775	2.1	1.6	.8	.2	9.3
Career		539	397	29.2	.418	.349	.797	3.2	1.6	1.1	.2	11.6

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2016	Detroit	4	4	40.3	.440	.444	.714	4.3	2.8	1.8	.3	15.3
Career		4	4	40.3	.440	.444	.714	4.3	2.8	1.8	.3	15.3

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2011–12	Georgia	32	32	32.1	.396	.304	.654	5.2	1.2	1.8	.3	13.2
2012–13	Georgia	32	32	33.9	.433	.373	.799	7.1	1.8	2.0	.5	18.5
Career		64	64	33.0	.415	.339	.727	6.2	1.5	1.9	.4	15.9

Personal life

In June 2016, Caldwell-Pope married partner McKenzie.[31]

References

1. White, Chris (February 10, 2011). "High school basketball: Greenville's Caldwell-Pope named a McDonald's All-American". Ledger-Enquirer. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
2. 2011 Jordan Brand Classic: West Team, jordanbrandclassic.com. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
3. "Mississippi 66, Georgia 63". ESPN. January 21, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
4. Lockridge & Cole (March 12, 2013). "Georgia's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope named SEC's top player". The Tennessean. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
5. "LSU 68, Georgia 63". ESPN. March 14, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
6. "Georgia sophomore star entering NBA draft". USA Today. April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
7. "Detroit Pistons Sign Draft Selections Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Tony Mitchell". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. July 19, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
8. "Notebook: Thunder 112, Pistons 111". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. April 16, 2014. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
9. "2014-15 Player Recap: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. May 4, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
10. "Caldwell-Pope scores 31 points, Pistons beat Celtics 119-116". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. December 16, 2015. Archived from the original on June 22, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
11. "Big 3 back together, lead Cavs to 106-101 win over Pistons". NBA.com. April 17, 2016. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
12. "Bledsoe, Dudley lead Suns past Pistons 105-99 [sic]". ESPN.com. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
13. "Pistons hand Clippers first road loss with 108-97 win". ESPN.com. November 25, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
14. "Pistons outlast Trail Blazers 125-124 in double-overtime". ESPN.com. January 8, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
15. "Caldwell-Pope scores 38 in Pistons' 118-98 win over Pelicans". ESPN.com. February 1, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
16. "Pistons rally from 18 down, beat Hornets 114-108 in OT". ESPN.com. February 23, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
17. "Detroit Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope suspended for 2 games". NBA.com. June 23, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
18. Langlois, Keith (July 7, 2017). "Detroit Pistons Renounce Rights to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope". NBA.com. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
19. "Lakers Sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope". NBA.com. July 13, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
20. Beacham, Greg; Krawczynski, Jon (July 12, 2017). "Reports: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Los Angeles Lakers reach 1-year deal". NBA.com. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
21. "Wiggins' heave banks in, leads Timberwolves past Thunder". ESPN.com. October 22, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
22. "Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 2017-18 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
23. Ganguli, Tania (December 21, 2017). "Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is practicing and playing with the Lakers while serving a 25-day jail sentence". latimes.com. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
24. "Caldwell-Pope's season-high 34 points help Lakers top Kings". ESPN.com. February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
25. "Davis, Rondo, push Pelicans past Lakers, 128-125". ESPN.com. March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
26. "Lakers Re-Sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope". NBA.com. July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
27. Barnewall, Chris (July 2, 2018). "2018 NBA free agency: Lakers, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope agree to deal after LeBron's commitment". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
28. "Wall's 40, 14 lead Wiz past Lakers 128-110; LBJ scores 13". ESPN.com. December 16, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
29. "Lakers rally in 4th quarter, defeat Kings 121-112". ESPN.com. December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
30. "Bucks beat Lakers 115-101; Antetokounmpo, James sit out". ESPN.com. March 19, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
31. Caldwell-Pope, McKenzie (March 25, 2019). "How I Met My Husband". YouTube. Retrieved February 19, 2020.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com

• Georgia Bulldogs bio