Detroit Pistons

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Upon joining the Pistons in 2013, Caldwell-Pope quickly established himself as the team's best perimeter defender under head coach Stan Van Gundy. In 2016-17, he led the Pistons in minutes played with 2,587, though he made only 129 three-pointers that season. His development was marked by specific turning points, such as his career-high 38-point performance against the New Orleans Pelicans on February 1, 2017, and a buzzer-beating three-pointer with 0.3 seconds left to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers on March 23, 2016. The Pistons qualified for the playoffs in 2016 after finishing with a 44–38 record, their first appearance since 2009, where Caldwell-Pope scored a team-high 21 points in Game 1 of their series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In Their Own Story

The transition to Washington occurred on August 6, 2021, when the Pistons renounced his rights four years prior, making him an unrestricted free agent who eventually signed with the Lakers before this move. In his lone season with the Wizards, Caldwell-Pope contributed steady production across 77 games. His time in Detroit had been characterized by significant individual milestones, including a career-high 30 points on April 16, 2014, against the Oklahoma City Thunder and a game-winning shot against Charlotte Hornets on February 23, 2017. Off the court, his tenure ended with legal challenges; he pleaded guilty to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated in June 2017, resulting in a two-game suspension without pay, followed by a probation violation later that year which led to a 25-day jail sentence served under a work-release program.

Reader's Guide

Fans tracking Caldwell-Pope's path from Detroit to Washington should note his specific statistical contributions and timeline. He was drafted eighth overall in 2013 and spent four seasons with the Pistons, where he averaged 14.3 points per game after the All-Star break in one particular season. His departure from Detroit on July 7, 2017, made him a free agent who signed a one-year, $18 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. He returned to the Wizards only after his stint in Los Angeles and a subsequent trade from Denver. While playing for Washington, he maintained an average of 13.2 points per game. His career trajectory highlights a player valued for perimeter defense and three-point shooting, evidenced by his 92 made threes with the Lakers in the championship season, though his Wizards tenure was brief, lasting only one year before his next move to Denver.

Did You Know?

• Caldwell-Pope scored a career-high 38 points for the Pistons on February 1, 2017, making seven three-pointers in that game.
• He led the Detroit Pistons in minutes played with 2,587 during the 2016-17 season, but made only 129 three-pointers that year.
• Caldwell-Pope was suspended for two games without pay in June 2017 for pleading guilty to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
• He scored a team-high 21 points in Game 1 of the 2016 playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers as a member of the Pistons.
• Caldwell-Pope made his Wizards debut on August 6, 2021, and played exactly 77 games for the franchise before being traded to the Denver Nuggets in July 2022.