At the beginning of this season, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was getting lit up on social media for his poor play with the Lakers. KCP was struggling to get shots off and his stats were some of the weakest of his career. For many, this would result in a serious decline as the social media slander can easily get to one's head. In a recent interview with Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times, Caldwell-Pope explained how he got out of his funk and that a lot of it had to do with the encouragement of LeBron James.
“I’ve got real brothers in the locker room,” KCP said. “They helped me get through it. Even though it was a lot on myself, they helped me get through it. I have a bunch of guys who have been through that, especially that No. 1 guy has been through that — LeBron (James) has been through criticism his whole career. So he talked to me a little bit. ‘There’s nothing to worry about. Just play.’”
Robert Laberge/Getty Images
LeBron also talked about what it was like to help KCP and that at all times, he has his teammates' backs.
“If one of our brothers is going through a difficult time, we pick him up,” James said. “And we let him know we’re right there in the foxhole with him, and that’s just what we were telling KCP early on when he was struggling with his shot or struggling with his play.
When you think about how this Lakers team supports each other, it becomes clear why they are one of the best teams in the entire league.