CHICAGO -- Philadelphia 76ers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is soft spoken. A man of few words, but a man with a large impact on his team whenever he's out on the floor.
A big addition in free agency, Caldwell-Pope has found a way to be successful in a bench role for the Sixers. It's not necessarily new for him as he has come off the bench plenty of times in his career, but he is averaging the lowest field goal attempts of his career, but he has been impactful for this group off the bench.
After knocking down two triples in Sunday's win over the Chicago Bulls, and finishing with six points, six rebounds, and three assists while being a pest defensively, KCP took some time with Sixers Wire to discuss how he was able to make an impact while taking
only three shots on the day.
"Just be aggressive in the minutes that I have," Caldwell-Pope explained. "Play defense at a high level and just try to stay within the game flow."
Now shooting 48.4% from deep on the season, Caldwell-Pope has found a way to be impactful with whoever's on the floor with him in Philadelphia. Per Databallr, he's a plus-3.0 on the floor, but that number shoots up to plus-14.5 when he's playing with Joel Embiid. It's a plus-12.7 with VJ Edgecombe. A plus-7.8 with Jaylen Brown. A plus-6.2 with Tyrese Maxey. No matter who is on the floor with him, KCP will find a way to be impactful.
After being a starter on championship teams with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 and the Denver Nuggets in 2023, Caldwell-Pope is leading the second unit now in Philadelphia and he's OK with that.
"I mean, just going out and just playing my game," the 14-year veteran explained. "I know what I can do, what I bring to the table. So the minutes I get, you know, try to do that at 110%."
The No. 8 pick of the 2013 NBA draft, Caldwell-Pope was once a young player with the Detroit Pistons trying to find his way in the league. He was a key part of a playoff team in Detroit while learning some valuable lessons along the way. He then joined the Lakers, won himself a title, won another in Denver, then detouring in Orlando and Memphis, and now landing in Philadelphia which has proven, so far, to be a positive spot for him.
Sixers Wire asked what kind of advice he would give young KCP. He laughed, gave a great smile, and said what he tells the youngsters all the time.
"Like, I always tell my young guys now," Caldwell-Pope finished. "Just stay patient. Your time is gonna come. Just stay with it. Keep working hard. Just keep putting in the work."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: How Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has thrived in new role with Sixers
