The 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat will tip off on Thursday night. At this juncture, it's clear that the Nuggets are the favorite to come out on top. After all, the Nuggets have home-court advantage, the best player on either team in superstar center Nikola Jokic, and they swept their Western Conference Finals series against the Los Angeles Lakers.
And if a recent quote from one of their players is any indication, the Nuggets are locked in and have their eyes on the prize. On Wednesday, Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope spoke to the media and outlined the team's mentality ahead of the NBA Finals matchup, per a tweet from the NBA's official Twitter account:
“Try to stay focused on what's at task, and that's 4 more wins to be NBA champions”
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 30, is in his tenth year in the NBA and first as a member of the Denver Nuggets franchise. He averaged 10.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.5 blocks, 1.1 turnovers, and 1.9 personal fouls per game across 76 appearances this season (all starts).
The former Georgia star shot the ball with great accuracy from behind the three-point arc in the 2022-23 campaign — Caldwell-Pope's 42.3% three-point percentage was the highest of his pro career.
While he doesn't get the notoriety that Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, or Aaron Gordon do, Caldwell-Pope has been instrumental in Denver's Finals run. Here's to hoping that Caldwell-Pope plays well on both ends of the floor in Game 1 and helps the Nuggets earn a victory on Thursday night.