Orlando Magic guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s wife, McKenzie, has raised plenty of eyebrows with her recent story on Instagram. McKenzie was in attendance for the Magic’s game against the Toronto Raptors at the Kia Center on Tuesday and apparently shared a picture of the tip-off with an interesting message.
“Let’s go, baby! Don’t mess up my parlay!”
It’s unclear if McKenzie, who married Caldwell-Pope in 2016, was just joking around there or if she was being serious. She has deleted that story by now, which indicates she might have realized it wasn’t something to be put out, even as a joke.
McKenzie could have already landed her husband, with whom she has five children, in hot water, though. The NBA does not want anyone questioning the integrity of their games and will come down hard on those involved in gambling, as was the case with Jontay Porter.
Porter was slapped with a lifetime ban for gambling violations in April 2024 and was charged with a federal felony, too. This really is not a joking matter. Caldwell-Pope might have to address this situation at some point, and he could be getting a call from the NBA soon as well. Here’s hoping there is no foul play involved.
As for this game against the Raptors, Caldwell-Pope wasn’t all smiles after it either. The Magic ended up losing 114-113 thanks to a Ja’Kobe Walter game-winner.
Ja'Kobe Walter wild 3 for the win ‼️
The rook wins it for the @Raptors 😲 pic.twitter.com/um27XE7MeS
— NBA (@NBA) March 5, 2025
This was a terrible defeat for the Magic, and it was their second in a row against the Raptors. They have lost four in a row in total to drop to 29-34 this season.
Caldwell-Pope had 12 points (5-11 FG), two rebounds, three assists, and two steals in this latest loss to the Raptors. It wasn’t a great showing, and he just hasn’t played well this season in general.
The Magic signed Caldwell-Pope to a three-year, $66 million deal this past offseason, and he has not lived up to expectations. The 32-year-old is averaging 8.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in 2024-25 while shooting 41.6% from the field and 30.8% from beyond the arc.
The Magic were expecting to get an elite 3-and-D wing, but Caldwell-Pope hasn’t been great defensively, and his outside shot has deserted him as well. The franchise might have some buyer’s remorse at this point, but they’re likely to give him another season to prove himself.
In the here and now, though, Caldwell-Pope and the Magic would be focusing on figuring out how to return to winning ways. They take on the Chicago Bulls at Kia Center next on Thursday at 7 PM ET. It’s a very winnable game, but then again, so were the ones against the Raptors, and the Magic shot themselves in the foot in them.
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