<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-did-alex-caruso-get-fouled-last-play-vs-spurs-heres-mark-daigneault-said');   ga('set', 'title', 'Did Thunder’s Alex Caruso get fouled on last play vs. Spurs? Here’s what Mark Daigneault said');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Caruso-runs.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Did Thunder’s Alex Caruso get fouled on last play vs. Spurs? Here’s what Mark Daigneault said</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-14T08:52:04-08:00">December 14th, 8:52am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-14T08:52:04-08:00">December 14th, 8:52am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University alum from Atlanta who graduated with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Saturday night, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-drops-f-bombs-not-getting-call-end-of-loss-to-spurs">Oklahoma City Thunder saw</a> their 16-game winning streak come to an end with a narrow <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-chris-paul-special-moment-nba-cup-win-thunder">loss to the San Antonio Spurs</a> in the semifinal round of the NBA Cup in Las Vegas. The Thunder didn’t get much going from the outside in this game and saw relatively quiet games from Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander en route to the loss.</p><p>One controversial moment occurred toward the end of the game when Thunder guard Alex Caruso went after a rebound on an intentionally missed free throw from Williams and tried to launch it at the basket to tie the game. Caruso appeared to get some contact from Spurs wing Devin Vassell in the process, but nothing was called.</p><p>After the game, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/47301200/thunder-shrug-loss-spurs-excited-challenge" rel="noopener">spoke on the incident</a>, per Tim McMahon of ESPN.</p><p>“I don’t know, maybe,” Daigneault said on whether or not a foul should have been called. “But when we play like that, I just am not going to come up in here and rail about the officiating. No one wants to hear that, to be honest with you.”</p><p>Overall, the Thunder have garnered a reputation over the last couple of seasons for getting away with way more contact than other teams in the league on defense, so some fans found it rich that they were complaining about the officiating after the loss.</p><p>Still, the Thunder will get two more shots at the Spurs over the coming weeks in an attempt to avenge Saturday’s loss. The first of those matchups will come on December 23, before a rematch two days later on Christmas Day in Oklahoma City.</p><p>The game on December 23 is set to take place in San Antonio at 8:30 pm ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Did Thunder’s Alex Caruso get fouled on last play vs. Spurs? Here’s what Mark Daigneault said

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-drops-f-bombs-not-getting-call-end-of-loss-to-spurs');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Alex Caruso drops F-bombs after not getting call at end of loss to Spurs');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Caruso-complains.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Alex Caruso drops F-bombs after not getting call at end of loss to Spurs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-14T08:31:00-08:00">December 14th, 8:31am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-14T08:31:00-08:00">December 14th, 8:31am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University alum from Atlanta who graduated with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Saturday evening, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-how-mark-daigneault-credited-spurs-beyond-victor-wembanyama">Oklahoma City Thunder fell back</a> down to Earth with a narrow <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-victor-wembanyama-chris-paul-special-moment-nba-cup-win-thunder">loss to the San Antonio Spurs</a> in the semifinal round of the NBA Cup tournament from Las Vegas. The Thunder played well in this one, but ultimately, they were unable to provide answers for Victor Wembanyama and some of the Spurs’ young talent at the guard position.</p><p>The Thunder complained at the end of the game when guard Alex Caruso flew in for an offensive rebound off a missed free throw and felt he was pushed by Spurs forward Devin Vassell.</p><p>After the game, Caruso could be <a href="https://x.com/MrBuckBuckNBA/status/2000165169968882003" rel="noopener">heard shouting profanities</a> as he walked to the locker room.</p><p>(NFSW)</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"F***ing dumb." </p><p>– Alex Caruso was not happy following the loss to the Spurs.<a href="https://t.co/qc52n2om0I">pic.twitter.com/qc52n2om0I</a></p><p>— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrBuckBuckNBA/status/2000165169968882003?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Caruso and the Thunder as a whole have garnered a reputation for being a team that is able to get away with blatant fouls on one end of the court, while typically getting a nice whistle on the other, so many fans found it a bit ironic that he was complaining after the game.</p><p>“Alex Caruso crying over the most obvious elbow foul ever, you can tell that OKC team is not used to being officiated fairly,” wrote one fan on X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>“Not tryna hear about some ‘Caruso got fouled’ when if Wemby got the whistles he should’ve all night we would’ve won by double digits,” wrote another.</p><p>Overall, the Thunder didn’t shoot well from the field in this game, but it should be noted that the Spurs also missed a plethora of shots from the perimeter in this game, particularly in the first half, and the best player on the floor sure looked like Wembanyama, who made a big impact despite his limited minutes.</p><p>In any case, the Spurs and Thunder will match up on two more occasions over the coming weeks, including on Christmas Day in Oklahoma City.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Alex Caruso drops F-bombs after not getting call at end of loss to Spurs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-has-attention-catching-warning');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alex Caruso has an attention-catching warning for Thunder');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso_1b7fd7.jpg"><figcaption>Stephen Lew-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Alex Caruso has an attention-catching warning for Thunder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-26T12:26:29-08:00">November 26th, 12:26pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-26T12:26:29-08:00">November 26th, 12:26pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>While the defending champion Oklahoma City <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/is-shai-gilgeous-alexander-playing-thunder-timberwolves-nba-cup-injury-report">Thunder could be without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander</a> in its rematch of the Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Alex Caruso is warning his team about a brutal stretch of games. The Thunder will host the Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns before hitting the road to face the Portland Blazers and the Golden State Warriors.</p><p>Caruso, heading into Wednesday night’s matchup, says consistency is critical for the Thunder amid a week of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysxbEgxV_Q8" rel="noopener">challenging opponents</a> at home and on the road.</p><p>“Just trying to continue the consistency that we’ve started this year. Obviously, we’ve gotten off to a great start, but there [are] still areas of improvement for us,” Caruso said. “And I think some of the teams we’re playing coming up will really push us and see if we’re really committed to those things that we talk about — which I think we are. But putting it into action and putting it into games is where it counts. I’m looking forward to having some of those games coming up.”</p><p>Amid a nine-game winning streak, Alex Caruso and the Thunder haven’t won a game by fewer than 13 points as it continues to build on its league-leading +16.9 average scoring margin. Last year, Oklahoma City’s +11.6 average scoring margin was the largest in NBA history.</p><p>However, Wednesday’s matchup against All-Star Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves will be the Thunder’s first since a series-clinching Game 5 victory in the Western Conference Finals.</p><h2><b>Mark Daigneault reveals how Thunder has ‘maximized’ its effort</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso-Ajay-Mitchell.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-reveals-how-maximizes-effort-amid-dominant-start">Mark Daigneault sees his team maximizing its effort</a> amid its historic 17-1 start and would love to see more of it. While the league’s reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is producing for a back-to-back crown as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, Daigneault sees his team’s supporting cast doing the most to keep the wins coming throughout a nearly perfect 18-game start.</p><p>“We’re in Utah the other night, and J-Will dives in the stands. We’re up by 30,” Daigneault said. “Isaiah Joe, I mentioned after the game the other night, he got two transition back tips — he’s like chasing the ball down, and tipping the ball from behind. Those are great indicators to me because that’s a team that’s playing to a standard, and not to the score.</p><p>“And we have to be that team if we want to maximize ourselves and be the best version of this team that we can be. And the guys have done a great job of that,” Daigneault concluded.</p><p>The Thunder will look to add another to its win column in its NBA Cup game against the Timberwolves.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso has an attention-catching warning for Thunder

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-makes-eye-opening-declaration-bench');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alex Caruso makes eye-opening declaration on Thunder’s bench');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso_3ff169.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Alex Caruso makes eye-opening declaration on Thunder’s bench</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-13T18:28:37-08:00">November 13th, 6:28pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-13T18:28:37-08:00">November 13th, 6:28pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder veteran Alex Caruso declared the defending champions the team with the best second unit in the NBA, as depth has helped the team maintain its historic 12-1 start to the 2025-26 campaign. Thunder head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-urges-keep-right-mindset-12-1-start">Mark Daigneault says his team’s mindset and approach</a> have yielded Oklahoma City’s dominant start to the regular season. And it’s led to increased roles for second and third-year guys amidst injuries.</p><p>In light of the Thunder’s electric start without All-Star Jalen Williams, Caruso declared Oklahoma City’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7tebvDgnwc" rel="noopener">second unit</a> to be the NBA’s best, he said, after Wednesday’s 121-92 win against the Los Angeles Lakers.</p><p>“I think whoever we put out — regardless of who’s in the lineup and who’s out — our second 5 is better than everybody else’s second 5 in the league,” Caruso said. “Humbly saying that. Obviously, it’s no disrespect to anybody, but that’s the confidence I have in myself and my teammates.</p><p>We play with that confidence when we’re out there, and a lot of that is the energy we play with, the connectivity on defense, and then our ability to kind of play random on offense with Shai. But also, when Shai steps off the floor, and even saying that, we’re missing some guys to start the year.”</p><h2><b>Alex Caruso says Thunder has the best second unit in the NBA</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Thunders-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-Alex-Caruso.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder All-Star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-climbs-franchise-ranks-embarrasses-lakers">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded his tenth 30+ point performance</a> of the season in a 29-point blowout win against the Lakers. What’s most impressive is that Gilgeous-Alexander has had to fit a handful of those performances into three quarters, given the eight victories by 14+ points.</p><p>After beating his former team, the Lakers, Caruso spoke about the Thunder’s bench depth.</p><p>“One of those strengths of our team I think I fit into really well is just the depth, and the quality of depth,” Caruso said. “I’ve come off the bench for the majority of my career. So, I kind of know you have a responsibility where it’s either the starters start slow and you come in, and provide energy, and kind of pick it up for everybody, or the starters start great, and you have now the responsibility of continuing that flow and energy. For me, it’s always just a joy to play basketball.</p><p>“We’ve won a championship, and we got basically the same team back. A lot of these guys I’ve played with them for a full year now. I know what to expect. I know how to get myself going. I know how to get myself going. It’s just a really fun team to be a part of.”</p><p>The Thunder will head back on the road for a quick two-game road trip, starting against the Hornets on Saturday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso makes eye-opening declaration on Thunder’s bench

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-how-alex-caruso-helped-unlock-cason-wallace-pick-pocket-potential');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Thunder’s Alex Caruso helped to unlock Cason Wallace’s pick-pocket potential');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Thunder-guards-Alex-Caruso-Cason-Wallace.jpg"><figcaption>Petre Thomas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>How Thunder’s Alex Caruso helped to unlock Cason Wallace’s pick-pocket potential</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-11T15:26:38-08:00">November 11th, 3:26pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-11T15:26:38-08:00">November 11th, 3:26pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>There was a moment during an episode of The Young Man and The Three podcast when Oklahoma City Thunder guards Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace were asked how much film study goes into their preparation. Wallace’s response left Alex speechless when the third-year guard revealed that he often relies on his own instincts rather than studying an opposing player’s film. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-how-alex-caruso-lu-dort-cason-wallace-into-true-defensive-monster">Caruso has taken Wallace under his defender’s wing</a> this season.</p><p>Wallace is off to a stellar start to this season, averaging 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and a league-best 2.5 steals per game. Caruso, speaking on Wallace’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q3X5pdlPjQ" rel="noopener">habit of watching game film</a>, believes his teammate is reaping the benefits while still growing in his third season with the Thunder.</p><p>“The reps of going through the league, you start to pick up different tendencies. You start to see stuff for the second, third, fifth time, in-person, on film — it just helps your comfortability with it,” Caruso said. “You’re not thinking as much on the court. You kind of anticipate and know what to expect — offensively/defensively, the actions and sets you’re going to get. What stuff are you going to have to guard?</p><p>“For him, I think people forget because he’s played so many minutes from such a young age; this is his third year. He can still get a lot better, too — which is encouraging, and that’s one of the ways you can kind of steal increments of ability to gain when you’re not on the court, when you’re not playing games.”</p><p>Caruso believes this season should expedite Wallace’s growth as he continues to learn opponents’ frequent tendencies.</p><p>“Hopefully, he continues that. That’s something that I’ve harped on and talked to him about. Once you pick up guys’ tendencies, you can really start to manipulate the game with your mind. Then, from there, your physical abilities step in the way, where he’s so physically gifted that he’s been able to just step in and guard people at a high level. It’s kind of scary when you think about it that he can get better in that aspect.”</p><h2><b>How Alex Caruso turned Cason Wallace into a defensive monster</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso.jpg"><figcaption>Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>While Thunder All-Star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/clutchpoints-nba-mvp-mondays-shai-gilgeous-alexander-reclaims-top-spot-from-victor-wembanyama">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is off to an MVP start</a>, the defending champions have a 10-1 record for the best in the NBA. The Thunder also leads the league in <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/defense" rel="noopener">defensive efficiency</a>, which points to guys like Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, and Lu Dort as key parts of the Thunder’s defensive identity.</p><p>Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault discussed how Caruso’s impact from last year has carried over into this season, and how Wallace has sharpened his sword in the early weeks of the regular season.</p><p>“As time goes on, these guys gain more experience when they play against guys like Jordan Poole — they learn the league, they learn the pictures, their instincts start to grow over time, which I think comes from experience,” Daigneault said. “He’s obviously got a gift on top of that. You’d have to ask him about what he’s doing intentionally.</p><p>“But I do think he’s gotten a little more intentional about his study, and about learning the nuances of the game. I think Dort and Caruso have probably helped him with that to a degree. Those guys are pretty tight,” Daigneault concluded.</p><p>The Thunder will host a back-to-back, starting on Tuesday against the Warriors and ending on Wednesday against the Lakers.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Thunder’s Alex Caruso helped to unlock Cason Wallace’s pick-pocket potential

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-how-alex-caruso-lu-dort-cason-wallace-into-true-defensive-monster');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Thunder’s Alex Caruso, Lu Dort have turned Cason Wallace into a true defensive monster');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Thunder-guard-Cason-Wallace.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>How Thunder’s Alex Caruso, Lu Dort have turned Cason Wallace into a true defensive monster</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-03T09:18:11-08:00">November 3rd, 9:18am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-03T09:18:11-08:00">November 3rd, 9:18am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace’s five steals in Sunday’s 137-106 win against the New Orleans Pelicans evoked a question coach Mark Daigneault couldn’t answer before citing Lu Dort and Alex Caruso. For a third-year guard who averaged 1.8 steals per game last season, it’s elite company to be around amid the defending <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-oklahoma-city-exclusive-club-history-7-0-start">champion Thunder’s 7-0 start to the regular season</a>.</p><p>As far as finding out what Wallace did during the offseason that’s led to him averaging 9.0 points and 3.0 steals six games into the 2025-26 campaign, Daigneault said, ask Cason. However, from the Thunder’s head coach’s point of view, experience gained by being around Dort and Caruso over the past year has <a href="https://x.com/Joe_Sway/status/1985124095873163655" rel="noopener">yielded an impressive start</a>.</p><p>“As time goes on, these guys gain more experience when they play against guys like Jordan Poole — they learn the league, they learn the pictures, their instincts start to grow over time, which I think comes from experience,” Daigneault said. “He’s obviously got a gift on top of that. You’d have to ask him in terms of what he’s doing intentionally.</p><p>“But I do think he’s gotten a little more intentional about his study, and about learning the nuances of the game. I think Dort and Caruso have probably helped him with that to a degree. Those guys are pretty tight,” Daigneault concluded.</p><p>Cason Wallace finished with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including 3-of-4 from deep and one assist in the Thunder’s blowout win. He started in place of Lu Dort, who was a late scratch due to illness. Oklahoma City’s 7-0 start ties last year’s record for best start in franchise history.</p><h2><b>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s ‘better’ take amid Thunder’s 7-0 start</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Thunder-All-Star-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander_d778a3.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Despite playing without All-Star Jalen Williams and losing Chet Holmgren four games into the regular season, Thunder All-Star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-keeps-100-better-take-amid-7-0-start">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sees growth in his team</a>. For Gilgeous-Alexander, it’s a testament to lessons learned from a championship run and to young players finding their strides at the start of their third or fourth season.</p><p>“We’ve had a year to get better, learn each other on and off the court, and it feels like we’ve had a head start in that this season,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And honestly, we’re dealing with some injuries to start the year. But because we’ve gotten better —1 through 15 —the guys in the locker room, we’re able to plug-and-play, figure it out on the fly, and still get good results. We’re definitely a better team than we were a year ago.”</p><p>The Thunder will go for its best start in franchise history when it faces the Clippers on Tuesday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Thunder’s Alex Caruso, Lu Dort have turned Cason Wallace into a true defensive monster

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-alex-caruso-injury-updates-before-kings-clash');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso get mixed bag of injury updates before Kings clash');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Chet-Holmgren-7-looks-to-move-the-ball-past-Dallas-Mavericks-forward-Naji-Marshall-13.jpg"><figcaption>© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso get mixed bag of injury updates before Kings clash</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-28T13:48:02-07:00">October 28th, 1:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-28T13:48:02-07:00">October 28th, 1:48pm</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder will be short one key starter but regain another as they return home for a three-game stretch beginning <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-keeps-100-cooper-flagg-2-point-performance">Tuesday night against the Sacramento Kings</a>.</p><p>The team announced that center Chet Holmgren <a href="https://x.com/BrettSiegelNBA/status/1983241036097798504" rel="noopener">has been ruled out</a> with low back soreness, while guard Alex Caruso has cleared concussion protocol and is available to play. The reigning NBA champions (4-0) are set to tip off against the Kings (1-2) at Paycom Center.</p><p>Holmgren last appeared in Monday night’s 101-94 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, where he posted another strong performance in his third NBA season. The 23-year-old finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, and two assists while shooting 6-for-10 from the field and 4-for-6 from the free throw line across 32 minutes. He also recorded a team-high plus/minus of +15, continuing his consistent two-way production to start the season.</p><h2><b>Chet Holmgren sidelined, Alex Caruso returns as Thunder face Kings amid early-season injuries</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Alex-Caruso-9-and-forward-Chet-Holmgren-7-react-after-defeating-the-Indiana-Pacers.jpg"><figcaption>© Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Through four games, Holmgren is averaging 23 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 56.9% from the field and 41.7% from beyond the arc in 34.3 minutes per contest. His efficiency and rim protection have been central to Oklahoma City’s undefeated start, but the team will now have to manage his workload carefully as they navigate a busy early schedule.</p><p>Caruso, meanwhile, returns after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-sustains-concussion-nba-protocol">missing three straight games while in concussion protocol</a>. The 31-year-old veteran last played in Oklahoma City’s season opener — a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-sga-russell-westbrook-okc-record">125-124 double-overtime win over the Houston Rockets</a>. In that contest, he tallied eight points, three assists, two rebounds, two steals, and one block while shooting 3-for-9 from the field and 2-for-6 from three across 30 minutes.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-is-chet-holmgren-playing-vs-hawks-latest-injury-update">Thunder will still be without several key rotation players</a>. Isaiah Joe remains out with a left knee contusion, while Thomas Sorber (right ACL recovery), Nikola Topic (post-surgical recovery), Kenrich Williams (left knee surgery), and Jalen Williams (right wrist surgery) continue their rehabilitations. Head coach Mark Daigneault has relied on Oklahoma City’s depth and defensive consistency to maintain momentum through the early portion of the season.</p><p>The Thunder will host the Kings at 8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday night at Paycom Center.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso get mixed bag of injury updates before Kings clash

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-sustains-concussion-nba-protocol');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Alex Caruso sustains concussion, under NBA protocol');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso_1537f1.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Alex Caruso sustains concussion, under NBA protocol</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-23T08:54:03-07:00">October 23rd, 8:54am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-23T08:54:03-07:00">October 23rd, 8:54am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After Oklahoma City Thunder veteran guard <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-watch-as-okc-raises-first-ever-nba-championship-banner">Alex Caruso helped raise the 2025 championship banner</a>, he sustained a concussion in Tuesday’s 125-124 double-overtime win against the Houston Rockets. Caruso has been placed in the NBA’s <a href="https://x.com/Joe_Sway/status/1981100808776405100" rel="noopener">concussion protocol</a>.</p><p>After receiving his second championship ring, Caruso, who helped the Los Angeles Lakers win their last title in 2020, finished with eight points, three assists, and two steals off the bench in the Thunder’s home opener. However, his status for Oklahoma City’s second game of the regular season — against the Indiana Pacers in a Finals rematch — is in doubt.</p><p>Alex Caruso will join an extended list of injuries to Thunder players, including All-Star Jalen Williams, who’s still recovering from offseason surgery on his right wrist, and Isaiah Joe, who’s dealing with a knee injury. Rookie Nikola Topic, who suffered a testicular injury during preseason, is also ruled out for Thursday’s matchup against the Pacers, along with Kenrich Williams, who will miss extended time after undergoing left knee surgery in September.</p><h2><b>Mark Daigneault leans on Thunder’s Ajay Mitchell amid injuries</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Thunder-guard-Ajay-Mitchell_809f44.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>With All-Star Jalen Williams and Isaiah Joe ruled out in the season opener against the Rockets, Thunder head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-why-mark-daigneault-was-not-surprised-unlikely-breakout-performance">Mark Daigneault turned to Ajay Mitchell for relief</a>, and wasn’t surprised to see the second-year guard led his bench. Scoring 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-6 from deep, Mitchell delivered.</p><p>“I’m not surprised. He was kind of playing like this before he got hurt last year. So, we knew what we had with him,” Daigneault said. “He’s done a great job over the summer with his body and has come into training camp when he hasn’t been hurt, and done really well. This was his first game action since a couple of preseason games ago. So, he came in with confidence and aggression, and we’re going to need that from him. But no one was surprised by how he played.”</p><p>With Alex Caruso ruled out against the Pacers, Daigneault will most likely turn to Mitchell for an increased role off the bench.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Alex Caruso sustains concussion, under NBA protocol

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-heaps-applause-rookie-final-roster-push');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alex Caruso heaps applause on Thunder rookie during final roster push');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Thunder-veteran-Alex-Caruso.jpg"><figcaption>NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Alex Caruso heaps applause on Thunder rookie during final roster push</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-08T17:17:44-07:00">October 8th, 5:17pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-08T17:17:44-07:00">October 8th, 5:17pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder veteran Alex Caruso knows what it’s like to enter training camp on an Exhibit-10 deal, he reminded everyone, as the undrafted two-time champion discussed what he sees in prospect Chris Youngblood. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-3-takeaways-preseason-opener-hornets">Youngblood strengthened his case for a two-way deal</a> in the Thunder’s preseason opener against the Charlotte Hornets. He finished with 20 points on 7-of-11 attempts in 21 minutes in a 135-114 victory.</p><p>Ahead of the Thunder’s rematch against the Hornets on Thursday, Caruso <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYo5SAHJ2-k" rel="noopener">gave reporters his first impressions</a> of Youngblood after practice on Wednesday.</p><p>“CY has done a great job of being true to himself. Obviously, a tremendous shooter — he’s locked and loaded every time the ball comes his way. That carries value and carries a threat in a positive way for the team in the game of basketball nowadays,” Caruso said. “So, for him to have that awareness is really good. I think he’s doing a tremendous job as well of being a great teammate.</p><p>“Every day he comes in with a smile on his face, and he’s working hard, trying to push himself in more drills and more drills. He’s a joy to be around. He’s a good teammate. So, it makes it fun to show up and go to work each day,” Caruso concluded.</p><h2><b>Alex Caruso on Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s legacy</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Thunder-veteran-Alex-Caruso-All-Star-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder veteran <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-shai-gilgeous-alexander-hall-of-fame-territory">Alex Caruso gave Shai Gilgeous-Alexander high praise</a>, labeling him a future Hall of Famer who puts forth the most effort as the team’s competitive leader.</p><p>“Greatness doesn’t rest — that’s what I’ve seen from the guys in the league that are Hall of Famers, that are ascending Hall of Famers, greatness has a skillset, greatness has a work ethic, greatness has a mindset. And Shai comes in every day like he’s trying to make the team,” Caruso said. “He is the most competitive guy on our team, day in, day out.”</p><p>It’s a process, Caruso says Gilgeous-Alexander discovered during his time with the Thunder.</p><p>“He’s figured it out up here, and obviously, you mix that work ethic and that competitiveness with the skillset and athleticism he has, and it’s no surprise that he’s ascending to winning awards and having success in the league,” Caruso added. “I’ve seen it with countless other guys that I’ve been around that are all gonna have jackets on at the end of their careers.”</p><p>As the reigning MVP, Gilgeous-Alexander enters 2025-26 with the second-best early odds behind Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic to win it again.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso heaps applause on Thunder rookie during final roster push

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-shai-gilgeous-alexander-hall-of-fame-territory');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Alex Caruso puts Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Hall of Fame territory');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Thunder-All-Star-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-Alex-Caruso.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Alex Caruso puts Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Hall of Fame territory</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-08T15:45:10-07:00">October 8th, 3:45pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-08T15:45:10-07:00">October 8th, 3:45pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder veteran Alex Caruso gave reporters an inside look at what makes All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander such a special player. Ahead of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/3-shai-gilgeous-alexander-bold-predictions-for-2025-26-thunder-season">Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder’s 2025-26 season</a>, Caruso revealed why he thinks Shai is on the path toward a Hall of Fame career.</p><p>For Caruso, Gilgeous-Alexander <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYo5SAHJ2-k" rel="noopener">exudes greatness in his approach</a> as a leader for the Thunder.</p><p>“Greatness doesn’t rest — that’s what I’ve seen from the guys in the league that are Hall of Famers, that are ascending Hall of Famers, greatness has a skillset, greatness has a work ethic, greatness has a mindset. And Shai comes in every day like he’s trying to make the team,” Caruso said. “He is the most competitive guy on our team, day in, day out.”</p><p>Caruso already sees the makings of a future Hall of Fame guard in SGA.</p><p>“There’ll be days in the middle of the season when we’ll have practice, and everyone’s kind of lagging through practice. He gets one play, and he’s like yelling, asking people to guard him harder,” Caruso said. “He’s figured it out up here, and obviously, you mix that work ethic and that competitiveness with the skillset and athleticism he has, and it’s no surprise that he’s ascending to winning awards and having success in the league. I’ve seen it with countless other guys that I’ve been around that are all gonna have jackets on at the end of their careers.”</p><p>And when it comes to winning titles, Alex Caruso shares Gilgeous-Alexander’s itch to win more, heading into 2025-26.</p><p>“It’s really fun to be his teammate and to be around that because it’s infectious,” Caruso added. “That’s the kind of teammate I want to play with. That’s the kind of leader I want to play with. And he’s right. One’s not enough. I wanted my second one last year. I want my third. It’s addictive. Once you get the first one, you want the next one more.”</p><h2><b>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won’t be happy with one Thunder title</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Thunder-All-Star-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander_8f5892.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder All-Star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-why-shai-gilgeous-alexander-wont-satisfied-one-more-championship">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wants to win multiple championships</a>. It’s the only way the league MVP can inch closer to having the kind of Hall of Fame career as the greats that came before him. Gilgeous-Alexander made that much clear ahead of defending his first NBA title.</p><p>“A step in the right direction for sure,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “All of the guys that I study, idolize, and look up to, and strive to get to that level, have done it multiple, multiple, and multiple of times. There is still a lot more work to be done. Any of them will tell you it only gets harder every time. So, a lot more work to do for sure.”</p><p>The Thunder will continue its preseason schedule with a second matchup against the Hornets on Wednesday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Alex Caruso puts Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Hall of Fame territory

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-warning-surviving-2-game-7s-en-route-title');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alex Caruso’s warning to Thunder after surviving 2 Game 7s en route to title');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso.jpg"><figcaption>DOUG HOKE/THEOKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Alex Caruso’s warning to Thunder after surviving 2 Game 7s en route to title</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-30T10:36:28-07:00">September 30th, 10:36am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-30T10:36:28-07:00">September 30th, 10:36am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder veteran Alex Caruso knows the difficulty that comes with defending an NBA title. The two-time champion is the only member of the 2025 championship team whose lived it. Thunder All-Star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-jalen-williams-eyes-bigger-goals-title-contract-extension">Jalen Williams pointed toward bigger goals beyond 2025</a>, ready to move on from last year’s historic campaign that resulted in the franchise’s first title — he wants more, and so does Alex.</p><p>Caruso and the 2020-21 Los Angeles Lakers were a first-round exit after winning the NBA Finals in 2020. However, this Thunder team is different. Caruso told reporters at Media Day, reminding them of <a href="https://twitter.com/Joe_Sway/status/1972719781284319557" rel="noopener">the narrow path</a> it took past the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs and a second Game 7 in the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers.</p><p>“Other than the first [round] and conference finals, the other two series went seven games. So, there’s obviously room for improvement,” Caruso told ClutchPoints. “If you come into the season thinking that it’s going to be smooth sailing, and it’s just going to be the same thing, we’d be really naive to what reality is like. Every season has a different story.</p><p>“Every team writes a different story each season just based on how many games there are, the ebbs and flows of the season, injuries occur — things you can’t predict, things you can’t control. I think for us, it’s really just about seeing and finding ways to get better.”</p><p>For Caruso, playing through two Game 7s en route to clinch a championship is proof that the Thunder must continue to grow in 2025-26.</p><p>“We do have room to improve. Like I said, because teams took us to seven games. It’s not like we won 16 games in a row and we’re crowned champions,” Caruso added. “So, there’s definitely room for improvement. It’s just about finding those areas and then working on it throughout the season.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Alex Caruso when I asked what the Thunder can do to become the first back-to-back champions in eight years:</p><p>“Finding ways to get better. Other than the first (round) and conference finals, the other two series went seven games. So, there’s obviously room for improvement” <a href="https://t.co/lI3pxSksIq">pic.twitter.com/lI3pxSksIq</a></p><p>— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) <a href="https://twitter.com/Joe_Sway/status/1972719781284319557?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Jalen Williams is eyeing greatness for 2025-26 Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Thunder-All-Star-Jalen-Williams_00a298.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder veteran Alex Caruso isn’t the only member of the 2025 championship squad with eyes for a second title, as All-Star Jalen Williams relayed a similar sentiment. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-sam-presti-prioritizes-growth-amid-dynasty-talk">Thunder have the potential to become a dynasty</a>, which has been an underlying theme, for the league’s youngest team, heading into the 2025-26 campaign as defending champs.</p><p>“This is gonna sound really dramatic, but you really are chasing greatness,” Williams said. “You’re chasing to achieve stuff that hasn’t been done in our organization. And that’s everybody’s motivation. I think that’s why we’re such a special group.”</p><p>The Thunder begin training camp on Tuesday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso’s warning to Thunder after surviving 2 Game 7s en route to title

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/nba-stories/nba-rumors-joe-lacob-refused-include-jonathan-kuminga-alex-caruso-trade-talks');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Joe Lacob refused to include Jonathan Kuminga in Alex Caruso trade talks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Warriors-Jonathan-Kuminga-Alex-Caruso.jpg"><figcaption>Kelley L Cox-Imagn</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Joe Lacob refused to include Jonathan Kuminga in Alex Caruso trade talks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-15T08:54:49-07:00">September 15th, 8:54am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-15T08:54:49-07:00">September 15th, 8:54am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob is reportedly an avid supporter of Jonathan Kuminga, which led to the team declining a reported offer from the Chicago Bulls for Alex Caruso. While <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-rumors-why-jonathan-kuminga-hasnt-accepted-organizational-burning-qualifying-offer">Kuminga has yet to accept a qualifying offer</a> for 2025-26, the Warriors’ negotiating a long-term deal has turned into a stalemate two weeks before an October 1 deadline for Jonathan to opt-in.</p><p>The Warriors could have included Kuminga in a deal for Caruso, who was eventually traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Josh Giddey last summer, <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46210422/inside-warriors-stalemate-jonathan-kuminga" rel="noopener">but chose not to</a>, according to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater and ESPN’s Sham Charania.</p><p>“Lacob has remained a staunch Kuminga supporter and vocal believer in his long-term future,” Slater and Charania reported. “He voiced an unwillingness to include Kuminga in a proposed trade from Chicago for Alex Caruso a couple of seasons back, sources said, and was still glowing about Kuminga’s performance in May after he rose from out of Steve Kerr’s first-round rotation to the team’s leading scorer in the second-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.”</p><p>Still, Kuminga remains one of the Warriors’ assets who could be included in a deal somewhere down the line, which is most likely why Warriors owner Joe Lacob was unwilling to trade him.</p><p>However, what will be Kuminga’s role next season, and will he evolve into a starter for Warriors head coach Steve Kerr?</p><p>“Lacob, while involved, opinionated, and willing to spend, has never demanded specific rotation decisions, sources said. Kerr, a four-time champion coach, will be given the same power he has always had over his operation in his 12th season with the Warriors,” Slater and Charania reported. “Kuminga’s side understands that and knows — considering the history and roster dynamics in place — a reunion comes with a likely bench role and the possibility of being minimized for stretches of the season.”</p><h2><b>Jonathan Kuminga turns down Warriors’ $75.2 million offer</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Warriors-Jonathan-Kuminga_a48430.jpg"><figcaption>Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-rumors-jonathan-kuminga-offered-million-souped-up-counter-declined">Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga reportedly turned down $75.2 million</a> on a three-year extension, as The Athletic’s Anthony Slater and ESPN’s Shams Charania noted.</p><p>“One of the latest counters, sources said, came in the past week: One year on a negotiable number, presented as a souped-up version of the qualifying offer, getting Kuminga a financial bump [up from $8 million] and unrestricted free agency next summer while wiping away the inherent no-trade clause and allowing the Warriors to use him as an expiring contract at the deadline,” Slater and Charania wrote.</p><p>“It would serve as a bridge deal that gives both sides the ability to examine another year together, but also a much more trade-friendly salary number as opposed to the qualifying offer, which has an Oct. 1 deadline.”</p><p>If Kuminga opts in to his qualifying offer, worth $8 million next season, he can veto any trade that comes across the Warriors’ front office table.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Joe Lacob refused to include Jonathan Kuminga in Alex Caruso trade talks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-carusos-teammates-show-out-wedding');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder guard Alex Caruso’s teammates show out at his wedding');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Caruso-celebrates.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder guard Alex Caruso’s teammates show out at his wedding</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-10T15:04:09-07:00">August 10th, 3:04pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-11T08:01:10-07:00">August 11th, 8:01am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>One key reason why the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-kevin-durant-returns-championship-ceremony-opening-night">Oklahoma City Thunder were able to hoist</a> their first Larry O’Brien trophy this year was the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/bills-love-the-bald-mamba-alex-caruso">play of wing Alex Caruso</a>, whose veteran leadership and three-and-D skills made him a nightmare for opponents throughout the regular season and playoffs.</p><p>Caruso was acquired last year during the summer from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Josh Giddey, and the move ended up paying dividends for Sam Presti and company.</p><p>Recently, Caruso got married, and <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1954631352588095938" rel="noopener">several of his</a> Thunder teammates were there to support him, including Cason Wallace, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Isaiah Joe, and others (per Holmgren’s social media).</p><p>The display was just another example of how tight knit this Thunder group has become in their current run.</p><h2><b>A huge ascension for the Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Alex-Caruso.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Just a few years ago, the Thunder set the NBA record for the largest loss of all time with a blowout defeat at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies.</p><p>This year, Oklahoma City swept Memphis in the first round en route to winning the franchise’s first NBA championship since moving south from Seattle and are now the blueprint teams around the league are desperately trying to copy for success in the modern era.</p><p>The Thunder are led of course by reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but their depth is what truly tortured opponents throughout the postseason as Oklahoma City would routinely trot out lineups 10 or 11 deep in the postseason with at least a few of those role players sure to heat up on any given night and everyone willing and able to defend at a high level.</p><p>The Thunder sure seem poised to continue this era of success for years to come, although it should be noted that the same thing was said about the last several NBA champions, none of whom made it out of the second round the ensuing year.</p><p>Still, Oklahoma City is bringing back virtually its entire core for the upcoming 2025-26 season, which will be a scary prospect for their opponents.</p><p>The Thunder’s schedule for the upcoming season is slated to be announced later this week.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder guard Alex Caruso’s teammates show out at his wedding

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/buffalo-bills/bills-love-the-bald-mamba-alex-caruso');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bills love the ‘Bald Mamba’ Alex Caruso');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Thunder-veteran-Alex-Caruso.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Bills love the ‘Bald Mamba’ Alex Caruso</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-30T11:07:19-07:00">July 30th, 11:07am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-30T11:07:19-07:00">July 30th, 11:07am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Buffalo Bills</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Amid the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/buffalo-bills-players-roster-bubble-shine-2025-preseason">Buffalo Bills’ training camp before their preseason schedule</a>, one name kept coming out of the players’ mouths: Oklahoma City Thunder’s Alex Caruso. Fresh off of winning the 2025 NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, Caruso left a lasting impression. The Bills’ social media team asked a handful of players a question that led to many of them to mention “The Bald Mamba.”</p><p>Bills players mentioned Caruso when a someone asked who is <a href="https://twitter.com/BuffaloBills/status/1950252919913091294" rel="noopener">the most famous bald person</a> in the world, per the Bills’ X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>“Alex Caruso,” Bills’ offensive lineman Rush Reimer said. Bills running back James Cook had the same answer and a handful of others, including Bills players and a group of NFL officials.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">There’s only one right answer. 😈<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoBills?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoBills</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ACFresh21?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ACFresh21</a> <a href="https://t.co/WWzvJUGAje">pic.twitter.com/WWzvJUGAje</a></p><p>— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) <a href="https://twitter.com/BuffaloBills/status/1950252919913091294?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>While the two-time champion has no ties to upstate New York, the Bills are clearly fans of Caruso’s latest championship run. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-opens-up-full-circle-moment">Caruso’s full-circle moment with the Thunder</a> started in 2016. After going undrafted, he spent a full season with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate, Caruso signed a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. After playing for the South Bay Lakers, Los Angeles’ G League squad, he ascended to the Lakers in 2019.</p><p>Caruso was a catalyst for the 2020 champion Lakers and served as the Thunder’s veteran leader in 2024-25. His tenacious approach to defense made him a fan favorite. Caruso was also a three-point shooting threat on the opposite end of the floor. He averaged 10.1 points on 43.4% shooting, including 40% from deep, 3.6 rebounds, 2.4 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game throughout the Thunder’s grueling seven-game NBA Finals against the Pacers.</p><h2><b>Josh Allen reveals Super Bowl goal for 2025 Bills</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Bills-Josh-Allen.jpg"><figcaption>Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After losing 32-29 against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship, Bills quarterback Josh Allen has one goal this season. Reaching the Super Bowl is what the Bills’ only goal for the entire 2025 campaign.</p><p>“That’s the only thing on my mind in camp, is just like, what can we do to bring a Lombardi trophy home?” Allen said, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Michael Robinson.</p><p>“The main thing is whether it’s rain, it’s snow, it’s heat, put the ball down [and] let’s go play football,” Allen added. “That’s the mentality we’re developing here. You can put us on the parking lot, put us on turf, grass, it don’t matter. We’re going to come out there and we’re going to give you our best shot. We’ve got a bunch of guys who are selfless and who love playing for each other. And we still have that mentality that everybody eats.”</p><p>Allen and the Bills will enter the 2025 NFL season with expectations at an all-time high.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bills love the ‘Bald Mamba’ Alex Caruso

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-opens-up-full-circle-moment');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alex Caruso opens up on his ‘full-circle moment’ with Thunder');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Thunder-news-Alex-Caruso-opens-up-on-full-circle-moment-with-OKC.jpg"></figure><h1>Alex Caruso opens up on his ‘full-circle moment’ with Thunder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-30T00:07:36-07:00">June 30th, 12:07am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-30T00:45:20-07:00">June 30th, 12:45am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>OKLAHOMA CITY — Upon arriving in Oklahoma City for his first season with the Thunder, Alex Caruso noticed new buildings surrounding familiar roads on the outskirts of downtown. These roads led Alex to his first NBA contract nine years ago while playing for head coach Mark Daigneault in the G League. After earning his second NBA championship, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-blunt-differentiating-lakers-title">Caruso says winning with the Thunder feels different</a> from winning with the Los Angeles Lakers.</p><p>His lone season with the Oklahoma City Blue — the Thunder’s G League affiliate — still resonates with the 31-year-old veteran. After a summer league appearance with the Philadelphia 76ers, Caruso, an undrafted rookie, was waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder and joined the Blue in 2016. It was his first campaign with the coach who would eventually guide him to his second NBA title, Daigneault, who was in his third season in the G League.</p><p>“I don’t lose those memories of when I was on the Blue. We’d get home at 1 AM from a connecting flight,” Caruso tells ClutchPoints. “I gotta drive 30 minutes to Edmond to the practice facility and drive home, and show up to work the next day. All those things aren’t forgotten, and I think the full-circle moment is, honestly, insane, and I probably won’t be able to appreciate it for some time. But I’m definitely aware of how rare that is, and how cool that is.”</p><p>Having Mark Daigneault, who made waves of his own in the NBA after leading the Thunder to 57 wins, a divisional title, and earning Coach of the Year in 2024, by his side makes the Thunder’s 2025 championship victory all the more fitting for Caruso. Led by his former G League coach, Daigneault, Caruso played a significant role in <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1937001988044279898/" rel="noopener">their first title</a> in franchise history.</p><p>“It’s super cool just to be able to share this with him,” Caruso said after Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">From the G League to THE TOP OF THE NBA WORLD 🏆</p><p>Caruso &amp; Mark Daigneault have seen it all together 🤝 <a href="https://t.co/TLzZOW8gYD">pic.twitter.com/TLzZOW8gYD</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1937001988044279898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Caruso admits he wasn’t the most coachable player, coming in as a frustrated undrafted guard eager to prove himself. Reflecting on his journey, which began with Mark Daigneault, continued with a championship run with the Lakers and a stint with the Bulls, and culminated in a reunion with Mark eight years later to become champions in Oklahoma City, is truly unique.</p><p>“It was pretty surreal through the year. Just driving by places in the city that I remember driving by, getting here for the first time. Different places in Edmond,” Caruso said. “The exit to go to the practice facility, driving through downtown, and seeing new buildings that weren’t there the first time I was here.”</p><p>Caruso won his first championship with the Lakers in 2020. After joining the Lakers’ summer league team in 2017, Alex signed a two-way contract and later agreed to a two-year, $5.5 million deal in 2019. He also earned All-Defensive First Team honors in 2023 after signing a four-year, $37 million contract with the Chicago Bulls in 2021.</p><p>Then, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/mark-daigneault-honest-review-josh-giddey-alex-caruso-trade-months-later">Bulls traded Caruso to the Thunder for Josh Giddey</a>, strengthening the Thunder’s backcourt defense alongside guards Lu Dort and Cason Wallace, while adding another three-point shooting threat to the offense.</p><p>“Adjusting to the team, for me, was relatively easy. Once I got here, I just started building those relationships with the guys, and I think I’m pretty un-serious off the court as well,” Caruso said. “I probably don’t show it as much as they do, but that part I fit in pretty well. On the court, I think, made it easier because we realized everybody was focused on the same thing. I and it was really competitive. It was pretty seamless once I got here after a month or two.”</p><h2><b>Alex Caruso differentiates roles between Thunder, Lakers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso-Lakers-LeBron-James.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder guard <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-blunt-differentiating-lakers-title">Alex Caruso took on a veteran’s role</a> with the Thunder, which was one of the many differences between his most recent championship and his ring with the 2020 Lakers. One decade into his career, and all of a sudden, Caruso’s the oldest guy on the second-youngest team to win an NBA title.</p><p>None of his teammates had ever seen beyond the second round of the playoffs. Caruso admitted that his experience stood out, especially for a young Thunder team that battled through a Game 7 against MVP finalist Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals. And an unforgettable NBA Finals against the Pacers, which also went the distance, ending in a 103-91 Game 7 victory for Mark Daigneault and the champion Thunder.</p><p>“The biggest difference between those two championships, for me, is probably just where I’m at in my career,” Caruso said. “I think the first one, I was surrounded by Hall of Fame players with pedigree, and I was learning, you know? I was trying to figure it out. I think this time — around five, six years later — I knew the answers to the test. So, I was trying to give those out. Help the other guys. Be there for the first time.</p><p>“And I think there are some similarities, where I picked it up, and ran with it in 2020. And I think guys who hadn’t been there, this time around, did the same, for Oklahoma,” Caruso concluded.</p><h2><b>Alex Caruso, Mark Daigneault deeply rooted in the G League’s Blue</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso_124b19.jpg"><figcaption>Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Although Alex Caruso hasn’t spent his entire NBA career in Oklahoma City like Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, he feels he has deep roots embedded in the city’s fabric, where his improbable journey began, just like many of his veteran teammates. Thunder players such as Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Jaylin Williams, as well as Caruso’s NBA path, started in Oklahoma City’s G League.</p><p>Daigneault can attest to the process of developing scrappy underdogs, as he rose from assistant to head coach of the Thunder in 2020. Similarly, his young prospects, including Caruso, Dort, Wiggins, and Williams, also blossomed into NBA talents. Caruso says it’s the from-the-bottom, overachieving underdog approach of Oklahoma City’s culture that stands out in contrast to his championship run with the Lakers in the Big City of Angels.</p><p>“I think what makes the city, the fanbase, the team so special is just from the roots, you know? That Lakers team was more or less picked from who we wanted to take; signed a bunch of veterans that are, like I said, gonna be in the Hall of Fame or, at least, had won championships before,” Caruso told ClutchPoints. “This one was second-round draft picks, a handful of undrafted, traded guys, a couple of free agents, and it was pieced together a little more meticulously.</p><p>“And I think a lot of the guys on this team are just starting the beginning of great careers, whereas the other guys were on the end run,” Caruso concluded.</p><p>It’s just the beginning of a promising championship window for Caruso and the young defending champion Thunder.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
5.8	2.1	2.7	0.3	1.7

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
5.8	2.1	2.7	0.3	1.7

Alex Caruso news

Alex
Caruso news