Recently, the Oklahoma City Thunder broke through and won their first NBA championship by knocking off the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. While Tyrese Haliburton's injury may have hung over this particular game, it doesn't take away from what the Thunder were all season long, which was the most dominant team in the NBA by a wide margin.

One of the big reasons that the Thunder were able to take the next step this year was there acqusitions from the 2024 offseason, including Alex Caruso, who general manager Sam Presti acquired from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Josh Giddey.

Caruso is one of the oldest players on the Thunder roster, a fact which he joked about during a recent appearance on ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show.

“The parade was loud… it was short-lived for me and I was asleep by about three in the afternoon,” said Caruso. “My body shut down, and I got a lot of sleep.”

While he may not have been able to make it through much of the parade, Caruso's body didn't give out during the Thunder's championship run through the playoffs.

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While it may be easy to look past now, the Thunder weren't nearly as dominant in this playoff run as they were during the regular season, facing elimination on two separate occasions and suffering immense struggles from behind the three-point line at times.

Caruso helped provide a stabilizing presence for the Thunder during those challenges, ultimately winning his second NBA championship in the process.

The Thunder figure to bring back most if not all of their core of players for next season, and could very well be a dynasty in the making if they play their cards right.

Up next for Oklahoma City is the NBA Draft on Wednesday night, where they will have two picks in the first round.