When the Denver Nuggets played the Golden State Warriors on Christmas, one of the stars of the show was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
The two-time NBA champion earned praise from Nuggets head coach Michael Malone. After the game, Malone said that if Caldwell-Pope is not considered one of the better perimeter defenders in the NBA, he wasn’t sure who else could earn that title.
Caldwell-Pope ended the game with 16 points (6-of-13 FG, 3-of-9 3P) with four rebounds and five assists. But it was his two steals and his defense that made him so valuable during the victory.
Michael Malone on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: "If that guy is not considered one of the better perimeter defenders in the NBA, I don't know who is."
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) December 25, 2023
Caldwell-Pope ranks in the 88th percentile among all NBA players in the advanced catch-all metric Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus, according to dunksandthrees.com.
But what is even more significant is that he is spending so many possessions guarding the best player on the other team. His matchup difficulty now ranks in the 99th percentile so far this season, per BBall-Index.
You can watch the way that Caldwell-Pope was able to defend Stephen Curry when the Nuggets defeated the Warriors on Christmas:
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's defense on Steph Curry has been just unbelievable once again pic.twitter.com/LgMIx5JqIH
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) December 25, 2023
This is exactly what you want to see from players like Caldwell-Pope if you are rooting for the Nuggets.
These are incredibly valuable players to have on your roster and essential to make any run at winning a championship in the NBA.
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