:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72327390/1257371515.0.jpg "NBA Finals MVP 2023: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope odds, stats, path to award ahead of series")
The 2023 NBA Finals matchup is officially set with the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat facing off in Game 1 on Thursday, June 1. The Nuggets were the No. 1 seed in the West and are making their first trip to the Finals, while the Heat become the second No. 8 seed in history to make the last series.
We're going to break down the prominent players in this series on both teams and look at how they'll impact the matchup. Here's a look at Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 2023 NBA playoffs overview
Postseason stats: 11.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.3 SPG, 48.1 FG%, 41.1 3P%
Caldwell-Pope has been the Nuggets' sixth-highest scorer this postseason while being one of Denver's go-to options in scoring beyond the arc. His three-point attempts per game (4.9) and his three-pointers made per game (2.0) rank third on the team, behind only Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. With four postseason appearances on his resume, he's currently averaging his second-highest minutes per game (33.3) of his career in the playoffs.
Odds entering NBA Finals (via DraftKings Sportsbook)
Finals MVP: +30000
Scoring leader: +10000
Rebounding leader: N/A
Assists leader: N/A
3PM leader: +1800
How Kentavious Caldwell-Pope can win Finals MVP
The odds are clearly stacked against him when it comes to winning the Finals MVP hardware, and it's not hard to see why. Nikola Jokic and Murray are the clear top options given their responsibility of shouldering the scoring load, while Porter Jr.'s high-volume shooting from deep make him a good wild card.
Caldwell-Pope would need to suddenly break out as the leading scorer for the Nuggets in this Finals run. While it seems impossible, we did just witness the Heat's Caleb Martin go on a tear and average 19.1 PPG in the Eastern Conference Finals, second only to Jimmy Butler.