Alex Caruso's championship mentality is elevating the young Thunder
LeBron James has played with a lot of stars over his 22-season career, including Dwayne Wade, Kyrie Irving Anthony Davis and Luka Doncic.
But when it comes to whom he has enjoyed sharing the court with most, the face of the league recently mentioned a different name while discussing the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are three wins away from their franchise's first championship.
"They come off the bench with one of my favorite teammates of all time in Alex Caruso, who is the ultimate Swiss Army knife," James recently said on his podcast, "Mind the Game."
"We've literally seen him guard Giannis, we've seen him guard the Joker, we've seen him guard Ant, we've seen him guard Julius Randle, we've seen him guard Jamal Murray throughout this whole postseason. And you look at plus-minus after the game, AC will have five points, three rebounds, two assists and his plus-minus will be a goddamn plus-17."
Caruso is the type of player whose impact transcends box scores. His game isn't flashy. It's gritty. He's the ultimate blue-collar worker who plays hard-nosed defense, buzzing around superstars like an irritating fly they're desperate to swat.
He went from going undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2016 and having to claw his way out of the G League to helping the Los Angeles Lakers win their first title in 10 years in 2020, while often drawing MVP chants from adoring crowds. And after leaving for the Chicago Bulls in free agency in August 2021, he grew into a two-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection.
Last June, the Thunder acquired him from the Bulls because they wanted someone with championship experience to help guide the league's youngest team, which has an average age of 24.148 years.
The 31-year-old Caruso has been a difference-maker for the Thunder throughout the playoffs.
His magnum opus came in the second round of the playoffs in a winner-takes-all Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets, who won a championship in 2023 and employ three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
For much of the game, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault had Caruso guard Jokic, who has 100 pounds and six inches on the shooting guard/small forward. The result? Caruso finished with a stunning +40 while helping hold Jokic to nine field-goal attempts.
Caruso came through again in a major way in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. After the Thunder lost Game 1 in a dramatic fashion, with Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton making a buzzer-beater with 0.3 seconds left, Caruso was well-aware that his team couldn't afford to drop Game 2 on their home court, which would've put them in a cavernous 2-0 series hole with their next two games on the road.
So even though he usually operates in the shadows, doing things that wow sharply trained basketball minds but not casual stats viewers, he helped take over the game. He played swarming defense while also being the Thunder's second-leading scorer with 20 points, including making four 3-pointers.
After the game, the 23-year-old Chet Holmgren was asked about Caruso's energy despite his (very relative) advanced age.
Quipped Holmgren: "Don't disrespect our GOAT like that, man."
Even though that question was entirely lighthearted, the truth is Caruso has felt disrespected for much of his career. It has inspired him to constantly grow his game, like a tree contorting to reach sunlight.
Undrafted? Earning pennies on the dollar in the G League? Caruso built a chip on his shoulder, which he used as motivation to approach every possession with the frenzied intensity of his career being on the line.
It has worked.
Caruso turned a two-way contract with the Lakers into a standard, two-year, $5.5 million deal in July 2019. He parlayed that into inspiring the Bulls to lure him away with a $37 million contract over four years. Most recently, he agreed to a four-year, $81 million extension with the Thunder in December.
Now, Caruso is shining on the biggest of stages, with a second championship within his grasp.
Even though the Thunder have league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and stars Jalen Williams and Holmgren, Oklahoma City knows a big reason they're in this position is because they recently made the key decision to trade for Caruso, whose scrappy play, leadership skills and sharp mind has been a difference-maker in their quest for their first Larry O'Brien Trophy.
As for James, it speaks volumes that one of his favorite teammates is still an unassuming guy who initially didn't even earn a roster spot in the NBA.
A few years ago, when Caruso returned with the Bulls for his first game back in Los Angeles, where his career really began, he reflected on his journey that has since taken him to even greater heights – including him now helping the Thunder finish with the top-rated defense in the league, in both the regular season and playoffs.
For Caruso, then and now, he has the same motivation.
As he stood in the hallway of Crypto.com Arena following a video tribute that inspired the then-injured James to walk onto the court in street clothes to give him a hug in November 2021, Caruso reflected on what has inspired him since his journey began.
"Thirty-two teams thought I wasn't good enough to play in the NBA," Caruso told FOX Sports , apparently adding two extra teams to make the already glaring slight appear even worse in his mind.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @ melissarohlin .
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