Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso will forever be a fan favorite at STAPLES Center. In a team that had the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and Kobe Bryant play for them, Caruso is a nice differentiator. He may not end up as an iconic NBA player, but he will be remembered for his grit and how he always put on a show.
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Caruso blossomed into his current role over the end of the last season. He played a lot of garbage time minutes for the Lakers after their playoff run had ended in 2018-19, and impressed the team enough to stick around. Now Caruso has undeniable chemistry with LeBron James and is one of the key pieces of their bench unit.
Caruso was interviewed on the Dan Patrick Show, where Patrick asked him about his “welcome to the NBA moment”. Caruso narrates a story of playing the full-strength Golden State Warriors and guarding Kevin Durant.
“We were playing the Warriors before they broke up. It was Klay, Steph, KD and we were playing a game. At the point, Lakers backcourt was me, Isiah Thomas, and ‘Zo. (Lonzo).
“… That leaves me (to guard) with KD. I look over at the bench and they’re just shaking their head and saying yup. I pick him up full court, he inbounds the ball and kinda looks around. He realizes I’m guarding him and he’s like ‘ey man give me the ball'”, Caruso reminisced.
Alex Caruso on his “welcome to the NBA moment” video courtesy of the @dpshow: pic.twitter.com/Wdhi7xTjXz
— The Lakers Review (@TheLakersReview) August 4, 2020
Los Angeles Lakers and Alex Caruso
Alex Caruso was just as ingrained into the Lakers system as Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball, but not many realized it. He joined the team the same year as both the other players, but under different circumstances. Caruso went undrafted in 2016 and spent the year with the Oklahoma City Blue after the Thunder waived him. He signed with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2017 Summer League. He was featured alongside rookies Lonzo and Kuzma, as the Lakers won the Summer League Championship. Ball has since left the Lakers.
Caruso would go on to play 37 games for the Lakers in 2017-18 and followed it up with 25 in 2018-19. His end of season form led him to receive a two-year 5.5 million dollar contract from the Lakers. Safe to say he is already out-performing the value of that contract, taking a larger role this season as a secondary defensive enforcer.
SOURCE: Bleacher Report, Dan Patrick Show
