OKC Thunder, Defensive Ace Represent Perfect Marriage

if you looked up "16 Game Player" in the Dictionary, a picture of a bald-headed Alex Caruso would greet you with a smile.

Caruso's controlled chaos style of play, tenacious defense and timely play finishing translate to winning. It's why he already has one finger occupied with a championship ring, with sights set on another.

Though diving for every loose ball, bodying bigger players in the post and chasing around pesky point getters is taxing work. That labor-inducing effort is conducive to the postseason, not so much a random Tuesday in Charlotte against the lowly Buzz City Crew.

This has led the Texas A&M product to average less than 20 minutes per game for just the second time since his rookie campaign, playing in just 54 tilts during the 2024-25 campaign, the lowest mark since his second season in the league.

Oklahoma City elected to be cautious with Caruso, understanding their position at the top of the league with a great chance to capture its first championship in team history this season after acquiring the defensive ace from Chicago last June.

While pockets of the Bricktown faithful grew flummoxed by Caruso stacking absences in the regular season, he is acing the final exam.

This postseason, Caruso has played in all 18 games, to the tune of 23 minutes per tilt, including lopsided results that jade the number. He has been essential in the Thunder's 13 playoff wins to date and will remain so if they hope to win the three more required to earn a ring.

Following his Game 2 performance in the NBA Finals, where the 30-year-old posted 20 points, three rebounds and an assist while shooting 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, Caruso was asked about his laxed regular season rotation.

"Yeah, I mean, it's a double-edged sword. Some of that is I play a pretty erratic style regardless if it's Game 1 or if it's Game 2 of the Finals. I just only have one gear. I don't know how to play at 75 percent. Some of that was keeping me out of my own way, out of harm's way. I don't do a good job of that on my own," Caruso explained. "Yeah, some of that, it was difficult just because I am such a competitive guy. If I'm only playing 15 to 20 minutes, if it's one of those nights where it's 15, we're not playing great, like my instinct is to, all right, coach, leave me in there, let me fix it, let me be the one to help us get out of it."

"At the same time, we won 68 games in the regular season. We had a 12-, 13-man rotation through the year, depending on who was hurt, different teams we played. That just comes with the nature of having a really good, deep team," The defensive ace continued.

You could not dream up a better situation for Caruso, back where his NBA career started all those years ago in the then-dubbed D-League under current Thunder coach Mark Daigneault.

Oklahoma City's depth top-to-bottom ensures the ability to frequently put the hard-nosed guard on ice throughout the regular season while ramping him up in the playoffs. Something that only grows in importance as the defense ace ages.

By the same token, the Thunder need Caruso just as much as he needs them. While Oklahoma City aids him in the regular season, the Bricktown Ballers would not be sitting in the NBA Finals tied 1-1 right now without the seven-year veteran.

It is the perfect relationship. Peanut Butter and Jelly, a match made in heaven. They hope this journey together ends in a ring and are three wins away from making that a reality.