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Alex Caruso had a historic performance to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of the West Semis of the 2025 NBA Playoffs on Sunday. This prompted some criticism of the Chicago Bulls for their handling of the guard in trade talks.
In 26 minutes of action, Caruso finished with a stat line of 11 points, three assists and three steals. He shot 5-of-7 from the field, including 1-of-3 from beyond the arc. He also finished with a plus-minus rating of +40, meaning the Thunder outscored the Nuggets by 40 points when he was on the court.
This resulted in him making NBA playoff history by becoming the second player to have a +40 rating or better off the bench since the 1997-98 season. His co-star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did not mince words on his teammate's historic feat.
“He's a player that rises to the occasion,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
“He's a player that rises to the occasion.”@shaiglalex on @ACFresh21 after he became the 2nd player in playoff history to record a +/- of +40 or higher while coming off of the bench since 1997-98! pic.twitter.com/1gFzGWyBbX
— NBA (@NBA) May 18, 2025
OKC acquired Caruso from Chicago in a straight-up trade for Josh Giddey last offseason. Though he's a talented young player, Giddey struggled against the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs last season and was going to come off the bench this season if he stuck around. Instead, the Thunder worked out a trade to send him to the Bulls for Caruso, but many wondered how Chicago wasn't able to acquire any extra draft capital for an NBA champion and one of the best defenders in the league.
This came up once again after Caruso's historic Game 7 performance. The Sporting News' Stephen Noh outlined just how much OKC had to offer in a trade if Chicago pushed for more alongside Giddey.
“Bulls couldn't extract even one pick swap back for this guy when the Thunder had all of this to offer 😂,” Noh remarked.
Bulls couldn't extract even one pick swap back for this guy when the Thunder had all of this to offer 😂 pic.twitter.com/4SIXSMPFG9
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) May 18, 2025
NBA analyst Steve Jones Jr. also commented on how it was “wild” that the Thunder were able to land Caruso in a trade and how it worked out for them.
“Kind of wild that the Thunder had that run last year, saw what they needed, added Alex Caruso and he ends up being a +40 in Game 7.”
Reddit user AashyLarry pointed out how Caruso's +40 in Game 7 was better than Giddey's +39 in last year's playoffs. And if you look at the Mavericks series, Giddey was a -23 over the six-game series loss and was mostly quiet on the stat sheet.
How Alex Caruso represented Bulls throughout stint
It's certainly brutal for the Bulls that they did not take advantage of Alex Caruso's trade value, especially with the abundance of draft picks the Thunder possessed (and still possess).
Nonetheless, they did get a solid player in Josh Giddey, who proved to be effective as he led them to a play-in finish and is looking for a big contract to help them take the next step in the future. While that shouldn't be the true ceiling for the Bulls, it is clear that they need to keep building through the NBA Draft and make solid trades for beneficial long-term assets.
Caruso represented the Bulls for three seasons, helping them reach the NBA Playoffs in 2022, their first appearance since 2017. He proved himself to be one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, constantly applying pressure on the best stars game in and game out.
Caruso suited up for the Bulls throughout 179 total appearances. Throughout that stint, he averaged 7.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. He shot 44.8% from the field, including 38.2% from beyond the arc, and 78.5% from the free-throw line.
Most Bulls fans should be happy to see Alex Caruso thriving in the NBA Playoffs, but it's also a harsh reminder of the fact that they should have gotten more in the trade. Josh Giddey must take more big leaps and help Chicago win playoff games to make it worth it.
