Derek Fisher, who won five NBA championships as a Laker, shared his thoughts on the role that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope plays in the success of the Los Angeles Lakers.
He likened KCP to his former teammate Metta World Peace (formerly Ron Artest), who helped the Purple & Gold win games when making three-pointers.
“Championship teams have guys like that,” Fisher said on Spectrum SportsNet. “Ron Artest comes to mind (Metta World Peace). He comes to mind when he was really locked in dialled in making perimeter shots it changed everything for our team.
KCP is a guy that, even though statistically the Lakers don’t necessarily need him to score 14 or 16 to win, on the nights that he does it’s really challenging to find the way to beat the Lakers.
“I think his teammates they respect him so much. They know that he does a lot of things that don’t show up on the statsheet. He’s committed to the group. And it energizes them when they see him going well because they know how much he sacrifices for them.”
This season, Caldwell-Pope is averaging 8.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. The Lakers are 4-2 this season when he scored 14 or more points.
