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Oklahoma City Thunder veteran Alex Caruso reflected on the disrespect he receives, defending Denver Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic, and his full-circle moment with his head coach, Mark Daigneault. The two have come a long way from the G League to the NBA Finals. When the Chicago Bulls traded Caruso to the Thunder for Josh Giddey, it reunited Alex with Daigneault, his head coach from the G League's Oklahoma City Blue.
Caruso addressed reconnecting with Daigneault with the Thunder, per Barstool's Pardon My Take podcast.
“We both know how cool it is, like he came and saw me, I live in Austin in the offseason, he came and saw me workout and we went to lunch afterwards one day and we were just breaking down the team and like you know I'm a basketball junkie and he's obviously a basketball nerd, guru, junkie, whatever you want to call it. And so we were just talking about the team and like how everybody plays and stuff like that,” Caruso said.
“And then we like obviously bring it up like, ‘You ever think that you'd be driving to Austin and watch me work out to get ready for an NBA season nine years, ten years ago?’ he's like, ‘No, I'm not going to lie I didn't think I was.’ I like ‘Yeah, me either,’” Caruso concluded.
Nearly a decade removed from their first season together, it's like nothing's changed between Caruso and Daigneault.
“We've indirectly throughout the year, I think there's just like that understanding that like yeah, we were in the trenches,” Caruso added. “You know how long ago that was? It wasn't even the G- G-League. It was the D-League still.”
Now, Caruso and Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault are entering the NBA Finals.
Alex Caruso identifies why the Thunder traded for him
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Thunder veteran Alex Caruso has stepped up his game throughout the postseason. He's averaging 8.8 points on 45.8% shooting, including 41.5% from deep, making opponents pay for leaving him open while draining 1.8 threes per game. Defensively, he's a pest. Guarding positions one through five, including Denver Nuggets' MVP runner-up All-Star center Nikola Jokic.
For Caruso, his range on both ends of the floor made him an ideal fit for this year's defensive-minded, offensively explosive Thunder team.
“It's been pretty fluid just because I’m allowed to be myself, which has gotten me to this point and is the reason that I think they made the trade for me last summer,” Caruso said.
“I’m allowed to be myself… which has gotten me to this point and is the reason that I think they made the trade for me last summer… the stuff that I was good at and the things that helped elevate the players around me & the team.”
Alex Caruso 🗣️
(via @Joe_Sway) pic.twitter.com/JOyErKGhJM
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 19, 2025
After winning a title with the Lakers in 2020, Caruso is making his second appearance in the NBA Finals.
