Alex Caruso disses Lakers' 2020 championship: 'Now I got a real one'
Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso is an NBA champion once again. On Sunday, his Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals and claimed the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Caruso was instrumental throughout the playoffs, just as he was when he won it all with the Lakers in 2020. His stats are usually modest, but he makes an impact that goes well beyond those numbers, not just on the defensive end but in multiple facets of the game.
On Sunday, he scored 10 points and added three rebounds, three steals and one block in 32 minutes off the bench. As much as anyone, he has embodied a Thunder defense that people are calling historically great.
Following Sunday's victory, Caruso seemed to throw shade at the ring he earned with the Purple and Gold inside of the Walt Disney World Resort bubble.
'Yeah, now I got a real one. Now nobody can say anything. Yeah, I think just because of the way the team is constructed now versus the team I had in 2020, like it was much harder with this team just because of the experience, right? And everybody talked about you need experience, win a championship, and you need this, that, and the other. And I said multiple times through the postseason with this team that the good basketball is good basketball, winning basketball is winning basketball. And the best team can win no matter what happens if you go out there and execute and do the stuff that you need to do to win the game. And I think through the playoffs, this team grew up and learned on the fly, which most teams have to learn through losses and learn through defeat. And I think this team learned through success.'
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander completed a sensational season by being named the NBA Finals MVP. He had previously won the regular-season MVP and the scoring title, making him just the fourth player ever to attain all three accomplishments in the same season.
Caruso was asked about Gilgeous-Alexander's potential to be the face of the NBA, just as LeBron James was or has been for many years. While he said Gilgeous-Alexander could be the face of the league, he stopped short of comparing the newly minted MVP to James.
"Comparing to LeBron is a crazy start just 'cause LeBron was anointed at 18 years old and surpassed everything that has ever been put in front of him," Caruso said. "As far as face of the league and best player on best team, SGA's got that capability."
Lakers fans have undoubtedly experienced withdrawal symptoms watching Caruso throughout the playoffs. He left L.A. in the summer of 2021 in free agency after the team unsuccessfully haggled with him over a couple of extra million dollars a year. It was one of several blunders by executive Rob Pelinka that offseason, which essentially dismantled the 2020 championship team and plunged the franchise into purgatory for most of the last four years.
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