Mar 25, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) directs teammates during action against the Sacramento Kings in the second quarter at the Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
The NBA Playoffs bring a new level of intensity and a completely different watching experience for fans. The speed of the game changes, the rotations are trimmed and the values are altered.
There is a reason some players get dubbed “Playoff Players” or “16-game players” to help navigate the path to an NBA Championship.
“It counts for more. A loss in the regular season because you messed up late game you can brush it over and live with it because you are like ‘alright we will learn from it and get better’ but it cost you a game in the playoffs it matters a whole lot more,” former NBA Champion Alex Caruso detailed to Thunder on SI. “Just having that sense of urgency and having that sense of preparation and [being] locked in is kinda what the playoffs is about.”
Oklahoma City lacked experience last season before they became the youngest team in NBA history to clinch the No. 1 seed in the West and sweep a playoff series. Ultimately, the Thunder fell short in the second round against the Dallas Mavericks in a tightly contested six-game series.
Shortly after the streamers fell from the rafters in the American Airlines Center, Sam Presti made a blockbuster trade.
The Thunder shipped Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls for defensive ace Alex Caruso. A 16-game player. The veteran has played in 31 playoff games entering the 2025 NBA Playoffs and already owns an NBA Championship ring, won with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. This was a move that was praised at the time, and the value of the return will be heightened in the playoffs.
While Caruso plays with a gritty, hard-nosed style that features elite-level defense and one of the best motors in the league, his game is louder in the postseason.
“[The intangibles] affect winning. I think it is easy in the course of an 82-game season to gloss over it and not see the intangible parts of what goes into being a championship player, a winning player, a good teammate,” Caruso explained to Thunder on SI. “In the Playoffs, wins and losses stick out a lot more, and a lot of things that go into winning games in the Playoffs are more than just going out there and trying to play fast and score a bunch of points. There is little details of the game that stick out.”
During the regular season, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault challenged the media to spend a game watching just the Texas A&M product. The way he scours the floor during each stoppage, surveying the scoreboard for the time and situation, and always knows what to expect, even if his head is on a swivel a mile a minute like a squirrel hunting for a nut.
On the bench, he is always barking –– and not in the jovial way – giving out orders of how the Thunder should attack a team defenisvely, boosting Oklahoma City’s communication as if Caruso was wearing a quarter zip on the coaching staff rather than sweat soaked warm ups from his time on the court.
“That came from watching older guys that I played with. LeBron [James], [Rajon] Rondo did that a lot. Just figuring out how to win the little parts of the game. I wasn’t always the guy that was an All-Defensive candidate or playing 30 minutes a game. I was trying to create as much impact as I could to stick around in the league, and it turns out that stuff actually helps winning games,” Caruso told Thunder on SI. “It helps the team get into a position where they can take advantage of each play. That is what it is all about.”
These are principles that Caruso holds dear. No matter if a game is considered to be in garbage time or coming down to a final shot. His demeanor and helpful hints never fade.
“Part of that is just the values my parents instilled in me. Just putting your best forward, no matter what the circumstances are. Not relying on outside influences to curate your emotions and your effort,” Caruso said. “You gotta be able to put your best forward to lay your head down on the pillow at night and be satisfied with what went on.”
Despite the addition of this eight-year NBA veteran and nine-year veteran Isaiah Hartenstein, the Thunder are still a young –– and impressionable –– bunch. Caruso’s habits and work ethic have influenced Oklahoma City as the Thunder enter their second-ever playoff run in this era.
“It is contagious just in the sense of energy, hearing communication forces other guys to communicate back, and at the end of the day, I think that affects winning in the biggest way,” Caruso explained.
“Countless guys on the team just from a lot of questions and guys who want to get better. Dillon Jones, he probably asks the most questions, trying to learn and figure it out. Cason [Wallace], doesn’t talk as much but I know he watches and he learns and I am learning from these guys as well.” Caruso said. “Just trying to push guys to have capabilities in the stuff that I think I have with the intangibles like being vocal.”
Oklahoma City was close last year. In their first dance under the playoff lights, the Thunder swept the Pelicans and had a point differential of zero against the Mavericks despite losing in Game 6. Though the investment in Caruso speaks volumes of what –– and who –– OKC values.
“These guys, they were the No. 1 seed last year, they have been hungry, they have been competitive, they have done all the stuff to be a great team before. Just adding me to the mix just trying to bring the stuff that I am elite at, I think that is something the organization saw they can grow in. I think we have done a good job of growing and trying to get better.”
There is no question the Thunder have gotten better. That has been a mix of internal development with outside additions.
What has made for a smooth transition for Caruso joining his third team and hoping to win a second ring? Synergy with the organization.
“Yeah, I felt confident from Day 1, just Sam [Presti] saying all the things people have said about me before. Just how much he appreciates what I do for the team, winning the little things and how that can rub off on teammates. I know that is a gift of mine, and that is something I really try to push to influence the rest of the team because I know how much value it carries,” Caruso explained to Thunder on SI. “For sure, them seeking me out and bringing me here goes a long way.”
Given that response, it is no surprise that Caruso put pen to paper on his four-year $81 million contract extension as soon as he was eligible to do so in December.
“The organization stands for everything I want to be a part of. They do a great job of holding everybody to the same standard. Striving for excellence, being a great teammate, showing up to work and being a professional and being really competitive and wanting to win. All those things align with what I look for in a team, and I think it was a happy marriage from the time we started talking.” Caruso said.
After a historic regular season, the postseason chapter is unwritten for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Bricktown ballers should have more confidence than ever in their ability to make a run with players like Caruso in their locker room.
