Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso may not be someone who's on track to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame one day, but he's accomplished a feat most other players in the history of the NBA haven't, which is to become a two-time NBA champion.
Caruso won his first NBA ring with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 bubble. Five years later, Caruso helped the Thunder score their first-ever NBA title by outlasting the Indiana Pacers through seven games in the 2025 NBA Finals.
Following Oklahoma City's Game 7 victory over the Pacers, the former Texas A&M Aggies star joked about finally winning a “real” NBA ring, which was also a reference to the so-called “Mickey Mouse” ring that he and the Lakers won.
There are still legions of basketball fans who would die on a hill believing that the championship won by Los Angeles wasn't a legitimate one. That being said, Caruso values his two rings just the same. In fact, he's got his first NBA ring hanging around his neck during Tuesday's championship parade in Oklahoma City.
Alex Caruso also has his championship ring that he won with the Lakers hanging around his neck 💍
(via @okcthunder) https://t.co/4lIVVjMJBH pic.twitter.com/UUHbBqSMXH
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 24, 2025
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are mostly considered to be the top three most important Thunder players during the Pacers series and in the 2025 NBA Playoffs in general, but there is a case to be made that Oklahoma City may not have won it all if not for the contributions of Caruso.
The Pacers pushed the Thunder to the limit, and Caruso's presence must have helped spell the difference between losing and winning for Oklahoma City, which got averages of 10.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.6 assists in the NBA Finals. Moreover, Caruso led the Thunder against the Pacers with a 4.2 steals percentage while also being second on the team with a 106 defensive rating, per Basketball-Reference.
The Thunder's championship parade is reportedly expected to attract around half a million people, as Oklahoma City brandishes the team's franchise's first-ever NBA title since moving from Seattle to its current base.
Caruso and the Thunder now have an entire offseason to celebrate their NBA championship, which they will next try to defend in the 2025-26 NBA campaign.