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May 15, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) controls the ball under pressure from Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) in the second quarter during Game 6 of the second round at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

OKC Thunder 2024-25 Season in Review: Alex Caruso

Originally posted on Oklahoma City Thunder on SI
By Ethan Baca | Last updated Aug 24, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The Oklahoma City Thunder traded third-year guard Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls for veteran guard Alex Caruso in a rare straight swap on June 21, 2024, bringing the latter back to Oklahoma City after he had spent the 2016-17 season with the G-League's Blue — under head coach Mark Daigneault.

Caruso joined a promising Thunder core coming off two straight All-Defensive teams and measuring in as an elite defender beyond the accolades. He brought positive defensive true shooting impact, defensive turnover impact and defensive rebound impact in all seven previous seasons.

In his debut Thunder campaign, Caruso played just 1,041 minutes in 54 regular-season games (three starts) but racked up 562 minutes in 23 playoff appearances. He played at least 15 minutes in 66 total games, at least 20 minutes in 45 games, at least 25 minutes in 17 games and at least 30 minutes in five games — with four of those taking place during the postseason.

The 6-foot-5, 186-pounder averaged 7.1 points on 44.6% shooting, 2.9 rebounds (0.7 offensive), 2.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.6 blocks throughout the regular season. Caruso shot 80-for-144 (55.6%) on 2-pointers, 60-for-170 (35.3%) on 3-pointers and 42-for-51 (82.4%) on free throws.

In the playoffs, Caruso averaged 9.2 points on 45.0% shooting, 2.7 rebounds (0.7 offensive), 2. 2 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.6 blocks. He shot 35-for-70 (50.0%) on twos, 37-for-90 (41.1%) on threes and 31-for-39 (79.5%) at the line.

Excluding low leverage, the Thunder's defensive rating improved by 3.7 points with Caruso on the floor across the regular season and playoffs.

Play of the Year: Game 7 Defense on Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic

Cason Wallace made a third-quarter statement finish over Jokic, serving as an early dagger, but Caruso gave the dominant big man all he could handle throughout the proceedings.

Oklahoma City trailed 16-8 when Caruso checked in for the first time, with Jokic having racked up seven points in the opening five and a half minutes. The three-time regular-sea son MVP and 2023 NBA Finals MVP scored just 13 points on eight field-goal attempts during his remaining 31 minutes, 14 seconds of action, as Caruso took on a nightmarish defensive matchup for any player.

The Serbian superstar scored 17 points on 4-for-12 shooting and 9-for-12 free throws, with four assists and four turnovers, when matched up directly against Caruso during the second round. Denver accumulated just 61 points on those 64.7 partial possessions, which translates to an anemic 94.3 offensive rating.

Caruso nabbed three steals in Game 7, pickpocketing Jokic in early offense and assisting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for an uncontested transition dunk. That sequence was the final straw for the Nuggets, as they took a timeout and subbed out all five starters with almost 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Thunder eventually won, 125-93, on May 18.

Game of the Year: June 13 @ Indiana Pacers

While not in a true do-or-die situation like its second-round finale, Oklahoma City found itself in a 2-1 NBA Finals hole before a raucous Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd in mid-June. Starters Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, who will be the Thunder's three pillars for at least a half-decade, combined for 76 points on 24-for-51 shooting, 25 rebound s (five offensive), four assists, four steals and four blocks.

Caruso (20) outscored the other six Thunder players (15) combined. He shot 6-for-7 inside the arc, 1-for-2 beyond the arc and 5-for-7 at the charity stripe, adding five steals, three rebounds (two offensive) and a block. He also tied Holmgren with a game-high +14 plus-minus.

While five of Caruso's 2-pointers came within four feet of the rim, his swished half-spin fadeaway toward the baseline that began Oklahoma City's seven-point fourth-quarter comeback most demonstrated it was his night to do damage. The Thunder tied the Finals with a 111-104 effort.

Statistic of the Year: Defensive Regularized Adjusted Plus-Minus

Regularized adjusted plus-minus, or RAPM, estimates a player's contribution i n points per 100 possessions without relying on box-score data.

RAPM utilizes ridge regression, a method used to analyze scenarios where independent variables are highly correlated — in this case, NBA players functioning on the same team. The regression keeps track of how the score changes when players are on and off the court, accounting for teammate and opponent quality. As nbarapm.com creator databallr explained on their website, RAPM was the foundation for subsequent all-in-one metrics, including DunksAndThrees' estimated plus-minus and DARKO's daily plus-minus.

Caruso maintains a +3.6 two-year defensive RAPM (No. 1 in NBA), a +4.2 three-year defensive RAPM (No. 2 in NBA, Draymond Green), a +4.6 four-year defensive RAPM (No. 1 in NBA) and a +5.1 five-year defensive RAPM (No. 1 in NBA). The larger sample sizes bring more reliability, underscoring Caruso's defensive turnovers and efficiency dominance.

The Thunder signed Caruso to a four-year, $81.1 million extension on Dec. 22, 2024, keeping him in Oklahoma City through the 2028-29 season. At 31 years old, he is the Thunder's oldest rotation player, which presents long-term regression questions. For now, Caruso remains the most impactful perimeter defender in the NBA.

This article first appeared on Oklahoma City Thunder on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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