<!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>

Alex Caruso opens up on his ‘full-circle moment’ with 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/thunder-news-alex-caruso-gushes-aaron-wiggins-mic-drop-moment-parade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Alex Caruso gushes over Aaron Wiggins’ mic drop moment before parade');   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-guard-Aaron-Wiggins_e0e32e.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Alex Caruso gushes over Aaron Wiggins’ mic drop moment before parade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-27T08:25:30-07:00">June 27th, 8:25am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-27T08:25:30-07:00">June 27th, 8:25am</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 says Aaron Wiggins stole the show before Tuesday’s championship celebration parade. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/thunder-news-aaron-wiggins-drops-mic-haters-epic-championship-rally-speech">Wiggins’ speech kicked off the Thunder’s celebratory festivities</a> at the Paycom Center before the start of the parade. In a special send off for season ticket holders, team and front office’s friends and family, Aaron’s speech was one of Caruso’s favorite moments of the day.</p><p>Caruso’s face lit up when he asked which moments stood out the most from his first championship parade and he remembered Caruso’s <a href="https://twitter.com/Joe_Sway/status/1938353443095384302" rel="noopener">kick-off speech</a>.</p><p>“Aaron Wiggins’ speech to start it off. Man, Wiggs killed the speech,” Caruso told ClutchPoints. “That was probably the best moment from the parade besides the actual going around, seeing the fans.”</p><p>Did you see that coming from Wiggins?</p><p>“No, nobody did,” Caruso replied. “We tried to shut it down after he finished, and they said, “No, we have a program.” We still had to talk to people. But he dropped the mic.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Alex Caruso says Aaron Wiggins’ speech before the Thunder’s championship parade was one of his favorite moments; a speech nobody saw coming:</p><p>“Man, Wiggs killed the speech. That was probably the best moment from the parade besides the actual going around, seeing the fans” <a href="https://t.co/h3rTPPJNFi">pic.twitter.com/h3rTPPJNFi</a></p><p>— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) <a href="https://twitter.com/Joe_Sway/status/1938353443095384302?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Then, came time for the parade as Aaron Wiggins, Caruson and the rest of the Thunder players loaded onto the buses to celebrate with their fans down a two mile route in downtown Oklahoma City.</p><p>“Just an overwhelming turnout. There were 10 to 20 people deep, if not more, on every corner, every turn,” Caruso said about Tuesday’s Thunder parade. “From the starting line to Scissortail Park, where there was probably like a couple hundred thousand probably packed in there. Just overwhelming support, and it was loud. I didn’t know how loud it’s going to be because we’re outside, right?</p><p>“There’s no like acoustics to kind of trap all the noise. But it felt loud, and it was a lot of fun. A lot of great energy,” Caruso concluded.</p><h2><b>Alex Caruso’s blunt take, differentiating Lakers’ title vs Thunder’s</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso_6c5a4a.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder veteran <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-blunt-differentiating-lakers-title">Alex Caruso reflected on his two championships</a>. Pinpointing the differences between the two teams, Caruso addressed the vast differences between the two teams.</p><p>“The biggest difference between those two championships, for me, is probably just where I’m at in my career,” Caruso told ClutchPoints. “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>This time, it was Caruso’s voice guiding the inexperienced to their first championship of their careers.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Alex Caruso gushes over Aaron Wiggins’ mic drop moment before parade

<!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-champagne-shower-locker-room-celebration');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Alex Caruso makes champagne shower promise after lame locker room celebration');   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/Alex-Caruso-at-Champions-Opening-Ceremony.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images.</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Alex Caruso makes champagne shower promise after lame locker room celebration</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-27T06:26:55-07:00">June 27th, 6:26am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-27T06:27:26-07:00">June 27th, 6:27am</time><address><a>Andrew Korpan</a>Andrew Korpan is the lead entertainment editor and film critic for ClutchPoints. He's also an award-winning author and Ken Jeong's best friend.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Celebrity</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Not all celebrations are equal, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-must-see-game-7-throwdown">Oklahoma City Thunder star Alex Caruso</a> seemed underwhelmed by the champagne showers after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-pays-tribute-lakers-championship-parade">winning the NBA Finals</a>.</p><p>The team had trouble popping the champagne. Given that he was previously an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-blunt-differentiating-lakers-title">NBA Champion with the Los Angeles Lakers</a>, he had to teach his teammates how to do it.</p><p>Speaking to TMZ Sports, Caruso acknowledged that “it was not a great showing.” However, he <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2025/06/27/alex-caruso-laments-okc-champagne-showers/" rel="noopener">made a promise</a> for the next championship.</p><p>“We’ll be better the next time around,” he said. “Whenever that is.”</p><h2><b>Thunder star Alex Caruso’s part in their NBA Finals win</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso-1-1.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Caruso was a critical part of the Thunder’s bench in the NBA Finals. He had two 20-point games in the series (in Games 2 and 4) and had four total games with double-digit points.</p><p>Throughout the seven-game series, Caruso averaged 10.1 points per game. He played an average of 28.6 minutes and also averaged 3.6 rebounds per game.</p><p>The Thunder were taken to the limit by the Indiana Pacers. Throughout the playoffs, the Thunder swept the Memphis Grizzlies, beat the Denver Nuggets in seven, and then beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in five.</p><p>Caruso has had a solid career in the NBA. He went undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft, but he joined the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2016 Summer League. He was later waived before signing with the Oklahoma City Blue.</p><p>His career took off once he signed with the Lakers. He remained a part of their team for four seasons, leaving them in free agency after 2021. He then played nearly three seasons with the Chicago Bulls before being traded to the Thunder.</p><p>In December 2024, Caruso signed a four-year contract extension with the Thunder. So, he will presumably be with them for the long haul. Clearly, he aspires to win more titles with them, and the Thunder will try to go back-to-back in 2025.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Alex Caruso makes champagne shower promise after lame locker room celebration

<!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-blunt-differentiating-lakers-title');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alex Caruso gets blunt differentiating Lakers title vs. Thunder’s');   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-guard-Alex-Caruso-1-1.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Alex Caruso gets blunt differentiating Lakers title vs. Thunder’s</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-26T21:01:22-07:00">June 26th, 9:01pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-27T05:35:49-07:00">June 27th, 5:35am</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 — After Oklahoma City Thunder veteran <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-game-7-injury-revelation">Alex Caruso revealed his Game 7 injury</a> from the NBA Finals, the two-time veteran reflected on his championship journeys. Upon capturing his first title with the Los Angeles Lakers, Caruso didn’t get the opportunity to celebrate via parade due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This time, in his first season with the Thunder, Alex embraced Oklahoma City and its fans over a two-mile stretch.</p><p>However, a championship parade isn’t the only thing that differentiates his two titles. Caruso explained how his role and his Thunder teammates were vastly different from his 2019-20 campaign with the Lakers.</p><p>“The biggest difference between those two championships, for me, is probably just where I’m at in my career,” Caruso told ClutchPoints. “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,” Caruso concluded.</p><p>For Caruso, it’s the Thunder’s homegrown talent on the roster from players such as All-Star Jalen Williams, Lu Dort, Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace, and Jaylin Williams.</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 added. “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,” Caruso concluded.</p><h2><b>Alex Caruso drops Game 7 injury revelation after Thunder title</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Thunder-veteran-Alex-Caruso.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After Thunder guard <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-old-man-status-parade-sleeping-confession">Alex Caruso enjoyed Oklahoma City’s championship parade</a>, he got some sleep and rest, which helped his sprained right knuckle. Caruso had his right middle finger taped to his right ring finger at a promotional event, revealing <a href="https://twitter.com/Joe_Sway/status/1938267826407526510" rel="noopener">he’d sprained his right hand</a> before a reporter asked when he suffered the injury.</p><p>“Game 7,” Caruso said. “I got a steal on Ben Sheppard. I poked it.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Alex Caruso revealed he sprained his right knuckle in Game 7 against the Pacers when he “got a steal on Ben Sheppard”</p><p>Even though he’s been relaxing these past couple of days, Caruso says he tried swinging a golf club and admits he’ll will remain “on the IR” a little longer <a href="https://t.co/WWen6zisVC">pic.twitter.com/WWen6zisVC</a></p><p>— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) <a href="https://twitter.com/Joe_Sway/status/1938267826407526510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Caruso will have the rest of the summer to rest as a two-time champion.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso gets blunt differentiating Lakers title vs. Thunder’s

<!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-game-7-injury-revelation');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Alex Caruso drops Game 7 injury revelation');   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-guard-Alex-Caruso_f8421a.jpg"><figcaption>Murray Evans/The Oklahoman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Alex Caruso drops Game 7 injury revelation</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-26T14:13:45-07:00">June 26th, 2:13pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-26T14:40:09-07:00">June 26th, 2:40pm</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 — Veteran guard Alex Caruso helped the Oklahoma City Thunder secure their first championship in franchise history in Game 7’s 103-91 win over the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals, which came at a price. Two days removed from <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-pays-tribute-lakers-championship-parade">Caruso’s first championship parade as a 2x champion</a>, he suffered an injury in the best-of-7 finale. But he’s doing fine, enjoying the beginning of a satisfied offseason.</p><p>Caruso <a href="https://twitter.com/Joe_Sway/status/1938267826407526510" rel="noopener">revealed his injury</a> while talking about the past couple of days at a promotional event with Raising Cane’s.</p><p>“It’s been pretty relaxed. There’s not much that’s changed, just getting to rest finally. I tried to swing some golf clubs yesterday. My knuckle is still sprained,” Caruso told ClutchPoints. “So, I’m on the IR a little longer.”</p><p>Caruso had his right middle finger taped to his right ring finger.</p><p>“Game 7,” Caruso replied when asked when he suffered the injury. “I got a steal on Ben Sheppard. I poked it.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Alex Caruso revealed he sprained his right knuckle in Game 7 against the Pacers when he “got a steal on Ben Sheppard”</p><p>Even though he’s been relaxing these past couple of days, Caruso says he tried swinging a golf club and admits he’ll will remain “on the IR” a little longer <a href="https://t.co/WWen6zisVC">pic.twitter.com/WWen6zisVC</a></p><p>— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) <a href="https://twitter.com/Joe_Sway/status/1938267826407526510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>And strained his right hand while knocking the ball loose. Still, even if it costs him an injured hand at the start of the offseason, Caruso will gladly take the result of a gutsy, physical, back-and-forth, best-of-7 NBA Finals series every time. After winning his first title with the Los Angeles Lakers, which happened in the pandemic-stricken 2020 NBA Finals, there was no championship parade for the Lakers.</p><p>“Just an overwhelming turnout. There were 10 to 20 people deep, if not more, on every corner, every turn,” Caruso said about Tuesday’s Thunder parade. “From the starting line to Scissortail Park, where there was probably like a couple hundred thousand probably packed in there. Just overwhelming support, and it was loud. I didn’t know how loud it’s going to be because we’re outside, right? There’s no like acoustics to kind of trap all the noise. But it felt loud, and it was a lot of fun. A lot of great energy.”</p><h2><b>Alex Caruso commends Pacers for tight series vs Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso2.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder veteran <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-tips-cap-to-crazy-good-pacers-nba-finals">Alex Caruso tipped his cap to the Pacers</a> for a tightly-contested series. Caruso <a href="https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1937921580744749352" rel="noopener">discussed it</a> during a recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.</p><p>“The team does deserve a round of applause,” Caruso said. “The team had a crazy good run. I think they overachieved in everybody else’s eyes, but I think from the inside looking out, they just played their game, and they are a tough out. It was not easy; we had to play good basketball to beat them, so hats off to them. Tyrese (Haliburton), Pascal (Siakam), all those guys, coach (Rick) Carlisle.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"The Pacers had a crazy good run and they played their game..</p><p>Hats off to them and they deserve a round of applause..</p><p>They're a tough out and we had to play really good basketball to beat them" ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/ACFresh21?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ACFresh21</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PMSLive?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PMSLive</a> <a href="https://t.co/3XY53N1vS3">pic.twitter.com/3XY53N1vS3</a></p><p>— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1937921580744749352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>It was arguably the Thunder’s most competitive series amidst their path to becoming champions.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Alex Caruso drops Game 7 injury revelation

<!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-old-man-status-parade-sleeping-confession');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Alex Caruso proves old-man status with parade sleeping confession');   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/Caruso-celebrates.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Alex Caruso proves old-man status with parade sleeping confession</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-25T14:35:28-07:00">June 25th, 2:35pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-25T17:32:52-07:00">June 25th, 5:32pm</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>Recently, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-why-alex-caruso-ignore-pat-mcafee-nba-finals">Oklahoma City Thunder broke through</a> and won their first NBA championship by <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-tips-cap-to-crazy-good-pacers-nba-finals">knocking off the Indiana Pacers</a> in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. While Tyrese Haliburton’s injury may have hung over this particular game, it doesn’t take away from what the Thunder were all season long, which was the most dominant team in the NBA by a wide margin.</p><p>One of the big reasons that the Thunder were able to take the next step this year was there acqusitions from the 2024 offseason, including Alex Caruso, who general manager Sam Presti acquired from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Josh Giddey.</p><p>Caruso is one of the oldest players on the Thunder roster, a fact which <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-why-alex-caruso-ignore-pat-mcafee-nba-finals" rel="noopener">he joked about</a> during a recent appearance on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show.</p><p>“The parade was loud… it was short-lived for me and I was asleep by about three in the afternoon,” said Caruso. “My body shut down, and I got a lot of sleep.”</p><p>While he may not have been able to make it through much of the parade, Caruso’s body didn’t give out during the Thunder’s championship run through the playoffs.</p><p>While it may be easy to look past now, the Thunder weren’t nearly as dominant in this playoff run as they were during the regular season, facing elimination on two separate occasions and suffering immense struggles from behind the three-point line at times.</p><p>Caruso helped provide a stabilizing presence for the Thunder during those challenges, ultimately winning his second NBA championship in the process.</p><p>The Thunder figure to bring back most if not all of their core of players for next season, and could very well be a dynasty in the making if they play their cards right.</p><p>Up next for Oklahoma City is the NBA Draft on Wednesday night, where they will have two picks in the first round.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Alex Caruso proves old-man status with parade sleeping confession

<!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-why-alex-caruso-ignore-pat-mcafee-nba-finals');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Thunder’s Alex Caruso had to ‘ignore’ Pat McAfee during NBA Finals');   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/Oklahoma-City-Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso-1.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Why Thunder’s Alex Caruso had to ‘ignore’ Pat McAfee during NBA Finals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-25T13:40:22-07:00">June 25th, 1:40pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-25T13:40:22-07:00">June 25th, 1:40pm</time><address><a>Zachary Howell</a>Zachary Howell is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints focusing on creating premier MLB content. He is a big fan of the Yankees, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Syracuse Orange. In his free time, he likes to be outside or read.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Alex Caruso and the Oklahoma City Thunder lost just one game to the Eastern Conference in the regular season. However, Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers beat them three times in the NBA Finals. The Pacers’ crowd played a big role in two wins. They were rallied by former Indianapolis Colts punter <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-pat-mcafee-wwe-style-promo-game-4-thunder">Pat McAfee, who rallied them in the second half of their home games</a>.</p><p>Caruso showed love to the Pacers, but was caught off guard by McAfee’s speeches at the end of the third quarter. According to the former NFL players, the team approached him and asked him to speak to the crowd. Not one to let the opportunity pass him by, McAfee accepted.</p><p>In Games 3 and 6, his speeches worked. The Pacers handled business easily in each game. However, it ended up not being enough to take the Thunder down in the series. It did affect Caruso though, who told McAfee as much during his appearance on the former punter’s show on Wednesday. According to the Thunder guard, it was <a href="https://x.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1937917483400499682" rel="noopener">tough for him to tune out</a> McAfee’s speech.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I was trying to ignore your speeches in Indiana..</p><p>That was really hard I'm not gonna lie" 😂😂<a href="https://twitter.com/ACFresh21?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ACFresh21</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PMSLive?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PMSLive</a> <a href="https://t.co/q4Ao1Xd272">pic.twitter.com/q4Ao1Xd272</a></p><p>— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1937917483400499682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Also, me trying to ignore you giving rally speeches at the end of the third, beginning of the fourth in every game at Indiana was really hard, I’m not going to lie,” Caruso said.</p><p>McAfee revealed that his speeches were spontaneous. However, he mentioned that he wanted to call out Caruso in one of them, but wisely chose not to.</p><p>“I think you had 13 points in the third quarter, maybe 14 points in the third quarter,” McAfee told Caruso. “I was going to start one of them with ‘Caruso! Relax!’, and then I was going to go into it. But I didn’t want to start any s**t, I didn’t want to get in any trouble, I already had some heat.”</p><p>McAfee’s speeches became a big part of the Pacers’ home games during the Finals, where they almost completely held serve. It took a MVP-performance in the fourth quarter of Game 4 from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the Thunder to win.</p><p>Unfortunately for Indiana, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-tyrese-haliburton-leaves-nba-finals-game-7-thunder-calf-injury">Haliburton’s injury early in Game 7</a> all but sealed their fate.</p><p>McAfee gave Caruso his props for the Thunder’s performance in the NBA Finals, despite his heckling from the crowd.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Thunder’s Alex Caruso had to ‘ignore’ Pat McAfee during NBA Finals

<!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-tips-cap-to-crazy-good-pacers-nba-finals');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Alex Caruso tips cap to ‘crazy good’ Pacers after NBA Finals');   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/Oklahoma-City-Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Alex Caruso tips cap to ‘crazy good’ Pacers after NBA Finals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-25T13:16:37-07:00">June 25th, 1:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-25T13:16:37-07:00">June 25th, 1:16pm</time><address><a>Zachary Howell</a>Zachary Howell is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints focusing on creating premier MLB content. He is a big fan of the Yankees, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Syracuse Orange. In his free time, he likes to be outside or read.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers in seven games to win their first NBA championship. The series was a long, hard-fought battle between two of the league’s smaller market teams. The NBA’s video recapping the series shows <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/nba-finals-news-nba-drops-mini-movie-of-thunder-pacers-2025-championship-series">just how hard Tyrese Haliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fought for the title</a>.</p><p>Thunder guard Alex Caruso appeared on <i>The Pat McAfee Show </i>to talk about the series on Wednesday.</p><p>The veteran guard did not give McAfee or the rest of Indiana’s fanbase any props. The former Indianapolis Colts punter took the mic throughout the series, trying to rally the Pacers to wins. However, the two-time NBA champion had <a href="https://x.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1937921580744749352" rel="noopener">nothing but nice things to say</a> about Tyrese Haliburton and the rest of Indiana’s team.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"The Pacers had a crazy good run and they played their game..</p><p>Hats off to them and they deserve a round of applause..</p><p>They're a tough out and we had to play really good basketball to beat them" ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/ACFresh21?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ACFresh21</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PMSLive?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PMSLive</a> <a href="https://t.co/3XY53N1vS3">pic.twitter.com/3XY53N1vS3</a></p><p>— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1937921580744749352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“…the team does deserve a round of applause,” Caruso said. “The team had a crazy good run. I think they overachieved in everybody else’s eyes, but I think from the inside looking out, they just played their game, and they are a tough out. It was not easy, we had to play good basketball to beat them, so hats off to them. Tyrese(Haliburton), Pascal(Siakam), all those guys, coach (Rick) Carlisle.”</p><p>While Oklahoma City continues to celebrate a dramatic Game 7 victory, the basketball world walks away with mixed feelings. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-tyrese-haliburton-leaves-nba-finals-game-7-thunder-calf-injury">Haliburton tore his ACL in the first quarter of the game</a> after dealing with a calf strain earlier in the series. The injury sent the game from on that was shaping up to be an instant classic to a shell-shocking experience.</p><p>However, a champion had to be crowned and the Thunder seized the opportunity. Despite McAfee and others rooting against them, the Thunder were one of the most dominant teams in recent NBA history on the defensive end of the floor. Adding Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein this summer put them over the top.</p><p>Caruso and his teammates enjoyed the championship parade on Tuesday in Oklahoma City. While they took the day to revel in their win, their locker room leader was not the only one to give the Pacers credit.</p><p>NBA and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander expressed his sympathy for Haliburton’s injury. According to him, the Thunder team had the same reaction as the rest of the basketball world when the All-NBA guard when down.</p><p>With the offseason already under way, both Oklahoma City and Indiana get to start their climb again. However, the Pacers face a much tougher task without their leader. Regardless of what happens, Caruso and the rest of the NBA world has respect for what Indiana pulled off.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Alex Caruso tips cap to ‘crazy good’ Pacers after NBA Finals

<!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-pays-tribute-lakers-championship-parade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Alex Caruso pays tribute to Lakers at championship parade');   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-guard-Alex-Caruso-9-reacts-after-a-play-against-the-Pacers.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Alex Caruso pays tribute to Lakers at championship parade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-24T07:57:20-07:00">June 24th, 7:57am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-24T07:57:20-07:00">June 24th, 7:57am</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso may not be someone who’s on track to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame one day, but he’s accomplished a feat most other players in the history of the NBA haven’t, which is to become a two-time NBA champion.</p><p>Caruso won his first NBA ring with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 bubble. Five years later, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-enters-manu-ginobili-territory-rollercoaster-game-7-vs-pacers">Caruso helped the Thunder score their first-ever NBA title</a> by outlasting the Indiana Pacers through seven games in the 2025 NBA Finals.</p><p>Following Oklahoma City’s Game 7 victory over the Pacers, the former Texas A&amp;M Aggies star joked about finally winning a “real” NBA ring, which was also a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-makes-lakers-mickey-mouse-ring-quip-after-okc-title">reference to the so-called “Mickey Mouse” ring</a> that he and the Lakers won.</p><p>There are still legions of basketball fans who would die on a hill believing that the championship won by Los Angeles wasn’t a legitimate one. That being said, Caruso values his two rings just the same. In fact, he’s got his first NBA ring hanging around his neck during Tuesday’s championship parade in Oklahoma City.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Alex Caruso also has his championship ring that he won with the Lakers hanging around his neck 💍</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/okcthunder?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@okcthunder</a>) <a href="https://t.co/4lIVVjMJBH">https://t.co/4lIVVjMJBH</a> <a href="https://t.co/UUHbBqSMXH">pic.twitter.com/UUHbBqSMXH</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1937515619672367525?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are mostly considered to be the top three most important Thunder players during the Pacers series and in the 2025 NBA Playoffs in general, but there is a case to be made that Oklahoma City may not have won it all if not for the contributions of Caruso.</p><p>The Pacers pushed the Thunder to the limit, and Caruso’s presence must have helped spell the difference between losing and winning for Oklahoma City, which got averages of 10.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.6 assists in the NBA Finals. Moreover, Caruso led the Thunder against the Pacers with a <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2025-nba-finals-pacers-vs-thunder.html" rel="noopener">4.2 steals percentage</a> while also being second on the team with a 106 defensive rating, per Basketball-Reference.</p><p>The Thunder’s championship parade is reportedly expected to attract around half a million people, as Oklahoma City brandishes the team’s franchise’s first-ever NBA title since moving from Seattle to its current base.</p><p>Caruso and the Thunder now have an entire offseason to celebrate their NBA championship, which they will next try to defend in the 2025-26 NBA campaign.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Alex Caruso pays tribute to Lakers at championship parade

<!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-josh-giddey-shares-big-reaction-to-alex-caruso-okc-nba-championship');   ga('set', 'title', 'Josh Giddey shares big reaction to Alex Caruso, Thunder NBA championship');   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/Bulls-guard-Josh-Giddey-3-runs-down-the-court-1.jpg"><figcaption>© Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Josh Giddey shares big reaction to Alex Caruso, Thunder NBA championship</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-23T20:17:32-07:00">June 23rd, 8:17pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-24T14:13:41-07:00">June 24th, 2:13pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder have finally won an NBA championship, and it’s thanks in large part to what an elite defensive team general manager Sam Presti has built around MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.</p><p>This past offseason, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-makes-lakers-mickey-mouse-ring-quip-after-okc-title">Thunder put the finishing touches</a> on what was already a top-seeded team in the Western Conference, bringing in both Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein to elevate the team even further.</p><p>Acquiring Caruso came at a huge cost, however. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/nba-rumors-bulls-couldve-gotten-more-alex-caruso-josh-giddey-trade">Thunder had to trade Josh Giddey</a> away to the Chicago Bulls. While Giddey struggled during the 2023-24 season and found himself getting marginalized on offense, especially during the 2024 NBA playoffs, he was a former sixth overall pick who was meant to be a key part of the next great Thunder squad.</p><p>Alas, winning a championship requires plenty of sacrifices, and Giddey ended up being the figurative sacrificial lamb for the Thunder. Nevertheless, Giddey spent the first three seasons of his career with OKC and grew both as a person and a player alongside the team’s championship core.</p><p>Thus, it’s no surprise to <a href="https://twitter.com/RTNBA/status/1937311297110180253" rel="noopener">see him be elated</a> that his former teammates got the job done in the 2025 NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers.</p><p>“congrats to the guys 🤍🤍🤍,” Giddey wrote as the caption to his Instagram story, via NBA Retweet on X.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Josh Giddey’s IG story after the Thunder became NBA Champions</p><p>“congrats to the guys 🤍🤍🤍” 💪 <a href="https://t.co/pgxeT7ySLr">pic.twitter.com/pgxeT7ySLr</a></p><p>— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/RTNBA/status/1937311297110180253?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>In the end, Giddey simply did not fit the roster-building vision that Presti had for the Thunder. Suffice to say, bringing in Caruso worked big time.</p><p>Even though OKC already had stout defenders such as Lu Dort and Cason Wallace on the roster, adding in Caruso, someone with championship experience and veteran knowhow certainly played a huge part in transforming this OKC team and getting them over the hump.</p><p>Meanwhile, Giddey began flourishing with the Bulls towards the end of this past season, and he’ll get every opportunity to blossom into the star many still believe he can be in the Windy City.</p><h2><b>Thunder are one step ahead of the competition</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Josh-Giddey-defending-Alex-Caruso.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Hanging on to Giddey would have been a huge mistake for the Thunder, so kudos goes to them for not letting sentimentality get in the way of building a championship team. Without Giddey, OKC was able to give the ball more to Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams all while surrounding them with lower-usage, 3-and-D players that fit alongside them like hand and glove.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/chicago-bulls/bulls-rumors-josh-giddey-150-million-clarification">Giddey was also going to be up for a huge contract extension</a>, and Presti decided not to go that route, instead choosing to pay Caruso. Suffice to say, these are the decisions that keep the Thunder one step ahead of the competition, positioning them very well to compete for multiple titles, barring any unforeseen turn of events.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Josh Giddey shares big reaction to Alex Caruso, Thunder NBA championship

<!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-clowns-angry-lakers-fans-bubble-shade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Alex Caruso clowns angry Lakers fans after throwing bubble shade');   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/Alex-Caruso-of-the-Oklahoma-City-Thunder.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Alex Caruso clowns angry Lakers fans after throwing bubble shade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-23T11:31:13-07:00">June 23rd, 11:31am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-23T11:31:13-07:00">June 23rd, 11:31am</time><address><a>Benedetto Vitale</a>Benedetto Vitale is an avid sports writer who is an expert at covering the NFL, college football, NBA, and UFC. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2016 with a film degree but has since dedicated his career to sports writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-gives-champagne-popping-tutorial">Oklahoma City Thunder are champions</a>, and guard Alex Caruso earns his second ring of his career. Shortly after winning the title, Caruso acknowledged his first championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 when the team won it in the bubble. However, he shaded the organization, which stirred some L.A. fans into calling him out.</p><p>During the postgame press conference, the 31-year-old guard <a href="https://x.com/LegionHoops/status/1937007719409745996" rel="noopener">claimed that he now has</a> a “real” ring, according to Derek Parker, a publisher for the Thunder. The bubble championship is one that many fans claim is a fake title win, as it was a shortened season, and travel was removed for players to play in a secluded area during the COVID-19 shutdowns.</p><p>“Yeah, now I got a real one — now no one can say anything.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“Yeah, now I got a real one — now no one can say anything.”</p><p>— Alex Caruso 😭</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/DParkOK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DParkOK</a>)<a href="https://t.co/0i9ilWdGX3">pic.twitter.com/0i9ilWdGX3</a></p><p>— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/LegionHoops/status/1937007719409745996?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>That comment brought plenty of negative reactions from Lakers fans on social media. Many called out the Thunder star, calling him hypocritical for his comment after Alex Caruso accepted the “two-time” champion callout after Sunday’s contest.</p><p>“Yeah, but you love flexing 2 fingers up,” <a href="https://x.com/PurpGolded/status/1937011371646013593" rel="noopener">said one angry fan</a>.</p><p><a href="https://x.com/thechek182/status/1937209977309163763" rel="noopener">Another individual claimed</a>, “Bro just threw all of his bubble teammates under the bus like that.”</p><p>“I’m hate watching u for the rest of my life,” <a href="https://x.com/LaRespectful_23/status/1937009299479290123" rel="noopener">admitted another user</a>.</p><p><a href="https://x.com/Dashytwo/status/1937009915077300331" rel="noopener">This fan stated</a>, “Ight, I used to like him.”</p><p>“Throwing shade immediately after winning a ring is crazy,” <a href="https://x.com/JoelBleedsGreen/status/1937014006302245260" rel="noopener">said one individual</a>.</p><p>Later on Sunday evening, Alex Caruso jumped on social media and cleared the air. He admitted he had already been drinking before the post-game presser and informed Lakers fans that he was being sarcastic. Caruso ended the post by calling himself a two-time champion.</p><p>“I had 3 beers already, it’s SARCASM!! -two time.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-enters-manu-ginobili-territory-rollercoaster-game-7-vs-pacers">Alex Caruso played a key role for the Thunder</a> this season, serving as a strong defensive option and three-point shooter. His tenacity on the court gave Oklahoma City the energy the team needed to make a deep playoff run and win the Finals. He ended the postseason averaging 9.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game while owning a 45.0% field goal percentage and going 41.1% from beyond the three-point line.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Alex Caruso clowns angry Lakers fans after throwing bubble shade

<!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-gives-champagne-popping-tutorial');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder guard Alex Caruso forced to give champagne-popping tutorial');   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/Alex-Caruso-Thunder-celebrate-winning-the-NBA-title1.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder guard Alex Caruso forced to give champagne-popping tutorial</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-23T06:47:29-07:00">June 23rd, 6:47am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-23T06:48:15-07:00">June 23rd, 6:48am</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>One of the reasons why the Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Alex Caruso last June was to help them learn how to become a championship team. He held up his end of the bargain, displaying invaluable leadership and defensive tenacity in the regular season and tallying 10 points and three steals in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. But even after winning the title, OKC still had one thing left to ask of the veteran guard.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-sam-presti-obvious-joke-lack-drinking-celebration" rel="noopener">This youthful group</a>, which is now the second-youngest squad to ever win the Larry O’Brien Trophy, did not have experience celebrating a championship prior to Sunday night’s 103-91 victory. Only Caruso had reached the mountaintop before, winning a ring with the 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers. Therefore, he offered a unique brand of expertise that many of the players took advantage of during the ebullient locker-room festivities.</p><p>Caruso <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/nba.com/post/3lsaodonjlk2n" rel="noopener">showed the guys how to uncork a bottle</a> of bubbly and also instructed them on the proper way to have a champagne shower, via the NBA’s Bluesky account. He continues to embrace his mentorship role, helping the Thunder properly christen the most important achievement in the franchise’s history.</p><blockquote>2x NBA CHAMPION Alex Caruso had to give a champagne-popping tutorial 😂— <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:7sfnardo5xxznxc6esxc5ooe?ref_src=embed">NBA (@nba.com)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:7sfnardo5xxznxc6esxc5ooe/post/3lsaodonjlk2n?ref_src=embed">2025-06-23T03:47:48.286Z</a></blockquote><h2><b>What Alex Caruso means to the Thunder</b></h2><p>Despite being only 31 years of age, Caruso is the elder statesman of the team. His track record as an All-Defensive talent and NBA champion gave him instant credibility upon arriving in Oklahoma City. Many fans instantly viewed the undrafted player out of Texas A&amp;M as an X-factor, and he lived up to that expectation throughout the campaign.</p><p>Whether it be knocking down 3-pointers at a 41 percent clip in the playoffs, bravely and effectively <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-drops-relentless-truth-bomb-guarding-nikola-jokic">guarding superstar Nikola Jokic</a> or leading a champagne demonstration, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-enters-manu-ginobili-territory-rollercoaster-game-7-vs-pacers">Caruso made an undeniable difference</a> during this title run. And this may just be the beginning. Considering he signed a four-year, $81 million contract extension in December, there will be plenty of time for player and organization to share in more success together.</p><p>Alex Caruso will take time to thoroughly enjoy this moment, however. This is a new feeling for himself as well, given that he won his first championship in a mostly empty arena inside a COVID-induced bubble. The 2024 Hustle Award recipient and his teammates can now properly bask in all they accomplished.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder guard Alex Caruso forced to give champagne-popping tutorial

<!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-face-of-the-league-finals-win');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alex Caruso declares Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ‘face of the league’ after Thunder’s Finals win');   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-guards-Alex-Caruso-and-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Alex Caruso declares Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ‘face of the league’ after Thunder’s Finals win</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-23T05:32:33-07:00">June 23rd, 5:32am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-23T05:32:33-07:00">June 23rd, 5:32am</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>Owen Crisafulli is a Senior Editor and NFL Lead at ClutchPoints, who also covers the NBA and MLB. He received his Masters in Business Administration Bachelor's degree in Sports Management from Nichols College. Previously, ran his own website, and had bylines at FanSided, Basketball Network, Athlon Sports, and The Sporting News. In addition to his work at ClutchPoints, Owen is also a Breaking News Writer at Heavy and a Content Producer for More Views Media.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/thunder-news-sam-presti-reacts-to-okc-becoming-youngest-champion-in-48-years">Oklahoma City Thunder were victorious over the Indiana Pacers</a> in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals on Sunday night, with superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander unsurprisingly <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-2025-finals-mvp">taking home Finals MVP</a> for his squad. After the game, Gilgeous-Alexander earned a new label from his veteran backcourt running mate, Alex Caruso, that will certainly catch fans’ attention.</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander enjoyed a season for the ages, as he was the league’s leading scorer who also won the 2024-25 MVP Award. He followed that up by dominating in the postseason, leading the Thunder all the way to the first championship in their franchise history. With the face of the NBA discussion still being debated among fans, Caruso confidently <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1937019055174451618" rel="noopener">handed that label</a> to Gilgeous-Alexander after Oklahoma City topped Indiana.</p><p>“As far as face of the league and best player on best team, he’s got that capability,” Caruso said of Gilgeous-Alexander after Game 7, per Josue Pavon of ClutchPoints. “I think the thing that sets him apart is he’ll probably be hungry for more. He probably won’t be satisfied with just winning this one time. He’ll want to do it again, he’ll want to be better, he’ll want to see how he can tweak and maneuver his game to better fit and take advantage of the way people guard him.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“As far as face of the league and best player, and best team, he’s got that capability… I think the thing that sets him apart is he’ll be hungry for more. He won’t be satisfied with winning this one time. He’ll want to do it again.”</p><p>Alex Caruso on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 🙌… <a href="https://t.co/WG1V565Kk3">pic.twitter.com/WG1V565Kk3</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1937019055174451618?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><h2><b>Alex Caruso, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander celebrate Thunder’s Finals victory</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-embraces-Oklahoma-City-Thunder-teammate-Alex-Caruso.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>All the individual accolades are nice, but Gilgeous-Alexander has made it clear that his primary goal was to win a title with the Thunder this season. While he led the way, he needed the help of everyone else on OKC’s roster, with the addition of Caruso being one of the biggest moves that helped the team take the next step forward this season.</p><p>Now, they get to celebrate their major accomplishment together, without having to worry about what’s next. In Caruso’s eyes, though, Gilgeous-Alexander has firmly established himself as the next great superstar in the NBA, and while the star guard will surely soak up the celebration from his championship win, you can bet he will return next season looking to prove that this is the only the start for him.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
7.1	2.9	2.5	0.6	1.6

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
7.1	2.9	2.5	0.6	1.6

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