Latest news with #AlexCaruso
USA Today
an hour ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Mark Daigneault explains how Thunder have navigated the glitz and glamor of NBA Finals
Mark Daigneault explains how Thunder have navigated the glitz and glamor of NBA Finals As the Oklahoma City Thunder prepare for the Indiana Pacers, the circus that typically surrounds the NBA Finals is brand new for most of the roster. Even Alex Caruso — the lone champion on their roster — had a unique experience in The Bubble. Still three days away from Game 1, the Thunder's typical setup looks vastly different now compared to even Round 1 of the playoffs. Expect national and global media to flock to OKC this week. Practices have had simultaneous media availabilities — one on Zoom and one in-person. The attention will only increase tenfold. The NBA Finals Media Day will be hosted on Wednesday. Expect hundreds of folks to overwhelm the entire roster with questions. Usually holding practice at their facility, the Thunder will hold it at Paycom Center as the all-day event will be broadcast on NBA TV. Despite all this hoopla, the Thunder have remained focused on the goal. They're four wins away from a championship and enter as heavy favorites against the Pacers. Mark Daigneault has helped navigate his group from this first-time experience. 'There are some things that are different. We're gonna practice Wednesday at the arena and there's gonna be 100 people at the last 45 minutes of practice. Trying to pretend that's the exact same would be foolish on our part," Daigneault said. "That's going to feel a lot different and we're trying to define that. We're also going to try to define what's the same. And what's the same is when the ball goes up in the air." This is the best mindset to have. All the pageantry involved with the NBA Finals becomes irrelevant once Game 1 starts. The Thunder will need to Eurostep their way through all the glitter. Especially when they're universally seen as the favorite to win the series.
Chicago Tribune
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Alex Caruso is back in the NBA Finals with the Oklahoma City Thunder — this time with fans
Alex Caruso is the only Oklahoma City Thunder player with NBA Finals experience. That said, even he has no idea what this year's series will feel like. Caruso was on the Los Angeles Lakers team that beat the Miami Heat in the 2020 finals in the bubble in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The games were played all in one place, with almost no fans and with an atmosphere that in no way will compare to what awaits when this year's finals start Thursday night in Oklahoma City. 'The finals in the bubble still had the tangible feel of a finals,' Caruso said. 'You knew what was up for grabs. That adrenaline before the game, obviously, I don't think it would probably be the same adrenaline level that you feel with fans, just being on the other side of it now. But understanding what's at stake was still very apparent.' The Thunder will take on the Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers. Game 1 is in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder are 43-7 this season, including the playoffs. They're 80-19 overall — including both the postseason and a loss in the NBA Cup title game — and that's why Caruso doesn't feel the need to do a whole lot of how-to-handle-the-finals coaching. 'You don't have to do anything special. You just have to be who we are,' he said. 'That's worked for us throughout this whole year. So I'm just continuing to emphasize with the guys, just do what we've done all year. Compete at a high level, play together, play as a team. When we do that, we're pretty good.' At 31, Caruso is the oldest player on the Thunder roster — even though more than 80 active NBA players are older than him. The NBA said the Thunder are the second-youngest team to make the finals in the last 70 seasons, with an average age of 25.56. That's about a half-year older than the Portland Trail Blazers were in 1977. 'We've got one of the youngest teams in the league still,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. 'And these guys are growing at a really rapid rate. And we've had a lot of individual players really grow quickly and grow in impactful ways in a short period of time.' But they rely on Caruso in many ways as well. A team loaded with young talent — led by MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren — is willing to listen and learn, which is where Caruso comes in. 'There's never a second where he's not fully engaged in the competition,' said Daigneault, who coached Caruso with the G League's Oklahoma City Blue in 2016-17 and now coaches him with the Thunder. 'And I think that right there, the contagiousness of that and the consistency of that, is really the impact. 'It doesn't matter if it's a drill in shootaround or whether it's a side out-of-bounds play on a short shot clock. That guy, Alex Caruso, is completely engaged in that moment.' And Caruso will be completely engaged in the finals, with hopes of getting a second ring — and a first parade. The 2020 finals ended in October because of the COVID-interrupted season, and training camps resumed just a few weeks later. There was no traditional offseason after the Lakers won the title, and Caruso laments missing out on some of the fun. 'There's parts of winning a championship that I didn't get to experience through that first championship,' he said. 'I never got to go on a parade. The turnaround for the next season was like a month. I went to Cabo for a couple of days and then started working out again because the next season was about to start. 'There's a little bit of enjoying the success that I didn't get to necessarily participate in. But I've got another chance to get it done and try again with fans and with a parade and all that.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Young Thunder Star Has Message After NBA Finals Berth
Young Thunder Star Has Message After NBA Finals Berth originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Oklahoma City Thunder are going to the NBA Finals for just the second time in their young history. It will be the first time since 2012, when they took on the LeBron James-led Miami Heat. Advertisement Many Thunder fans thought that the trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden could challenge the big three of James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, especially after the Thunder took Game 1 of that NBA Finals. It proved to be false hope, though, as the Heat went on to win the next four games and secure the championship. Young Thunder star has message after NBA Finals berth This Thunder team feels vastly different than the one that made the Finals back in 2012. While they're led by a superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who took home the league's Most Valuable Player award, the team is more built on tenacious defense and depth. Advertisement Gilgeous-Alexander has displayed the ability to figure out just how defenses are adjusting to him and still burns them night in and night out. But it's the contributions they get from their bench that make them so dangerous. Players like Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso, providing sparks off the bench, have been a tremendous boost for this Thunder team. Ahead of the Finals, Wallace celebrated by posting some shots of him on his Instagram account with the caption "2x in his 2nd year just need 4 more." The "2x" refers to his nickname of Caso 2x and that him and the Thunder need just four more wins for an NBA Championship. Advertisement Oddsmakers heavily believe that the Thunder will defeat the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals, as the Thunder are -700 to win, an implied probability of 87.5%. If the Thunder continue to display the dominance they've shown throughout these playoffs, this series could be a short one. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Pacers & Thunder face off in NBA Finals! Who has the upper hand?
Dan Devine and Tom Haberstroh break down the historic matchup between the Indiana Pacers & Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Finals. With only a 1% chance of this pairing at the start of the season, the hosts dissect why both teams surged to the top, challenging long-held NBA assumptions about youth, roster continuity, and midseason trades. The conversation spotlights star performances from Tyrese Haliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, plus the impact of strategic additions like Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso. The episode explores why these Finals are one of the most improbable in recent memory, what sets each team apart, and what this means for the future of team-building in the NBA. Advertisement Don't miss the discussion on what's next for the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks, and the unique blend of clutch play, defense, and team chemistry fueling this unlikely Finals. (1:10) - Pacers & Thunder defy all odds to face off in the NBA Finals (20:40) - Why Thunder excel at avoiding turnovers (26:15) - Caruso & Hartenstein fuel OKC's defensive engine (31:50) - Pacers: clutchest team in the NBA? (34:50) - Pacers & Thunder have both dominated in 2025 (43:20) - What's next for the Timberwolves? (50:00) - What's next for the Knicks? INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 26: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers reacts during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 26, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by) (Photo by) 🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Thunder guard Alex Caruso is getting a 2nd NBA Finals chance, this time with fans
Alex Caruso is the only current Oklahoma City Thunder player who has previous experience playing in the NBA Finals. That said, even he has no idea what this year's series will feel like. Caruso was on the Los Angeles Lakers team that beat the Miami Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals in the bubble at Lake Buena Vista, Florida, meaning the games were played all in one place, with almost no fans, and an atmosphere that will in no way compare to what awaits when this year's finals start in Oklahoma City on Thursday night. 'The finals in the bubble still had the tangible feel of a finals," Caruso said. "You knew what was up for grabs. That adrenaline before the game, obviously, I don't think it would probably be the same adrenaline level that you feel with fans, just being on the other side of it now. But understanding what's at stake was still very apparent.' The Thunder will take on either Indiana or New York in this year's series. Game 1 is in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder are 43-7 this season. They're 80-18 this season overall — not counting a loss in the NBA Cup title game, which doesn't count — and that's why Caruso doesn't feel the need to do a whole lot of how-to-handle-the-finals coaching right now. 'You don't have to do anything special. You just have to be who we are," Caruso said. "That's worked for us throughout this whole year. So, I'm just continuing to emphasize with the guys, just do what we've done all year. Compete at a high level, play together, play as a team. When we do that, we're pretty good.' At 31, Caruso is the old man of the Thunder — the oldest player on the roster, despite there being more than 80 other active players in the NBA older than he is right now. The NBA said the Thunder are the second-youngest team to make the finals in the last 70 seasons, with an average age of 25.56. That's about a half-year per player older than Portland was when the Trail Blazers made the finals in 1977. 'We've got one of the youngest teams in the league still," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "And these guys are growing at a really rapid rate. And we've had a lot of individual players really grow quickly and grow in impactful ways in a short period of time.' But they rely on Caruso in many ways as well. A team loaded with young talent — MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren — is still willing to listen and learn, which is where Caruso comes in. 'There's never a second where he's not engaged in the competition, fully engaged in the competition," said Daigneault, who coached Caruso with the G League's Oklahoma City Blue and coaches him now with the Thunder. 'And I think that right there, the contagiousness of that and the consistency of that, is really the impact. It doesn't matter if it's a drill in shootaround or whether it's a side out of bounds play on a short shot clock. That guy, Alex Caruso, is completely engaged in that moment.' And Caruso will be completely engaged in the finals, with hopes of getting a second ring — and a first parade. Those 2020 finals ended in October because of the COVID-interrupted year, and training camps resumed just a few weeks later. There was no traditional offseason after that title by the Lakers, and Caruso still laments missing out on some of the fun. 'There's parts of winning a championship that I didn't get to experience through that first championship," Caruso said. "I never got to go on a parade. The turnaround for the next season was like a month. I went to Cabo for a couple of days and then started working out again because the next season was about to start. There's a little bit of enjoying the success that I didn't get to necessarily participate in. But I've got another chance to get it done and try again with fans and with a parade and all that.' ___
