Despite their disappointing playoff finish last season, the Oklahoma City Thunder are here to stay. In the offseason, the team upgraded their defense and big man play through trades and free agency. First, the Thunder signed Isaiah Hartenstein away from the New York Knicks, then they traded Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso. As Caruso prepares to join the team for training camp, he reflected on how ex-Los Angeles Lakers teammate LeBron James helped him become a coveted player in the league.
“Coming from someone of that stature, someone who is that smart and skilled and the face of the NBA, and arguably the greatest of all time, that means a lot. It gave me the confidence in myself to believe that what I was doing was right. It helped me believe that what I was good at could contribute and be a deciding factor in NBA games. All I ever wanted was to be out there at the end of the game and have a chance to win,” the new Thunder guard said in an interview with HoopsRumors.
The Thunder's title chances with Caruso
Moreover, Caruso has a lot of history with the Thunder. After going undrafted in 2016, he signed a training camp deal with the team, although they waived him before that season started. Afterward, he played for the Thunder's G League affiliate, under now-Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault.
However, his career only began to take off after joining the Lakers in 2017 on a two-way deal. His tenacity, defensive ability, and surprising athleticism instantly made him a fan favorite in LA. After playing in only 37 games as a rookie, he worked his way to a rotation role and valuable piece for a contender.
Besides LeBron James' advice, work ethic and defense turned Alex Caruso into a pivotal piece for the championship-winning Lakers team in 2020. That team relied on its defense to smother their opponents, although the next season's first round loss to the Phoenix Suns exposed his limitations as a player.
During that series, the Lakers needed their role players to shoot the ball, but they came up short. Caruso himself only averaged 5.8 points, 1.3 rebounds, 0.7 blocks, on shooting splits of 36.8% from the field and a dismal 29.4% from three.
