Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

With a career-high 12 free throws confirming his midrange touch to be, as one commentator would famously put it, “on all night, like a porch light,” Kentavious Caldwell-Pope decided to use his smooth-shooting superpowers to give the Miami Heat a curfew. Cutting off-ball and prepared to introduce the Orlando Magic faithful to a once-unthinkable sight — a late-game lead after falling behind by 25 — Caldwell-Pope speedily gains a step on Dru Smith’s defensive supervision. Unflappable, as most former NBA champions are, Caldwell-Pope elevates, burying a go-ahead pull-up that plants seeds for a memorable come-from-behind win just minutes later. Literally trailing by 22 to begin the fourth, the Magic, given just a 0.3 percent chance of winning at the quarter’s open, showcased mettle during the first of two different improbable comeback wins that week. Brilliant throughout December 21, 2024’s game, Caldwell-Pope tallied a 24-point, two-rebound, two-assist, two-block effort, on sound efficiency overall (5-of-10) and from the charity stripe (12-of-12).