Jordan Poole got into a verbal scuffle with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope during the Pelicans’ 122-128 loss against the Grizzlies on opening night. Caldwell-Pope ended up pushing Poole to the ground when he was trying to contest a long-range heave from the Pelicans guard in the second quarter.
Jordan Poole cooked KCP 😠pic.twitter.com/cnezvNdt7k
— Bones🦴 (@Boness305) October 23, 2025
Poole took offense to this play from Caldwell-Pope and was recorded while yelling at Caldwell-Pope on the sidelines when the game was stopped. Caldwell-Pope first accused Poole of flopping and told him to “get your a** up”.
“N****, you weren’t even in the play. Man, I ain’t worried about you n****, lame a** n***. You’re lame as f**k, corny a** n***a, that’s what that’s about,” yelled Poole in response. Take a look at what happened in this incident as a fan managed to capture a high-quality video of the incident.
It is a common practice in the NBA not to let your opponent get their shot up after a whistle is called. Inside the paint, it might lead to a three-point play on continuation.
But outside the paint, it is usually best to avoid letting your opponent get into any form of momentum by seeing their shot go in. But all of this is contingent upon the ball being with the same player who drew the whistle.
In the situation we saw during the game, Jordan Poole was away from the play where a travel was called on Herb Jones in the video. Yet Jordan Poole simply heaved the ball as the Pelicans were ahead 58-50, and Poole was building his momentum at the time. While it is understandable why Caldwell-Pope did what he did, his reaction was justifiably aggravating for Poole, who could have injured himself in the fall.
The officials were forced to intervene and then, on a replay review, judged that it was Poole who embellished the minimal contact, and it did not warrant a foul. Seems like Caldwell-Pope got the last laugh in that situation, as the Grizzlies were able to turn the game around from there and take the victory.
Jordan Poole finished the game with 17 points and two assists, while shooting 42.9% from the field. Meanwhile, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished the game with 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while shooting only 25% from the field.
Considering that fans had to pay as little as $4 to watch this game live, they certainly got value for their money, if not more, as they saw Zion Williamson and Ja Morant compete, as well as witnessing such high-intensity basketball drama.
