Jun 22, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) dunks against the Indiana Pacers during the first half of game seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

OKC Thunder Should Mirror Alex Caruso’s Usage Plan Once Again

Originally posted on Oklahoma City Thunder on SI
By Ross Lovelace | Last updated Aug 3, 2025 6:23 PM ET

Oklahoma City’s roster was the perfect mix of talented, battle-tested veterans, and young, rising stars ready to make a name for themselves — all of course led by the best player in the world in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. A year ago, though, it was a different story and a different narrative.

The Thunder’s young group of hungry, promising players dominated in the regular season and earned the top seed in a loaded Western Conference. It still felt like they didn’t get the respect they deserved, though, and through every win, there was still many doubters. The doubters were proved right, too, as the youngest team in the NBA needed another season of growth and the addition of two proven veterans — one who knew what it took to win an NBA Finals.

The addition of Alex Caruso was picture perfect, and while it was obvious all season long, it was never more obvious than it was during the postseason. Like the 2023-24 season, the Thunder was a dominant regular season team. Not much was different, other than a few more wins and steady improvement. The pay off came during the course of the Thunder’s playoff run. And that’s when Caruso’s heavy minutes came into play.

The way Oklahoma City used Caruso — slow and steady during the regular season, and a very heavy workload in the postseason — is exactly what they should do next year.

This Thunder team is so talented, coasting in the regular season shouldn’t be a problem — the success was similar even without the addition of Caruso.

And then, when the lights are bright and the stage is big in the postseason, Caruso’s will be completely fresh for heavy minutes and usage. For a team like the Thunder, this also gives youngsters a chance to play winning basketball and contribute in the regular season. It’s already known what Caruso is going to bring to the table, he doesn’t need to constantly tire himself out.

Oklahoma City has unproven, yet promising players looking to earn a spot in the rotation and prove they belong in the NBA — like Ajay Mitchell, Nikola Topic, and even Ousmane Dieng.

The way that the Thunder used Caruso in the season’s entirety, with a clear shift felt in the postseason was the perfect recipe to overwhelm teams when it mattered most. The plan should be the same next year and beyond.

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

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