OKC’s Alex Caruso jokes about second NBA ring: ‘Now I got a real one’
Alex Caruso is the NBA champion!
Of course, Caruso already had a ring before he and the Oklahoma City Thunder hide the Pacers of Indiana in match 7 of the NBA final on Sunday evening. His first came with the Lakers after the 2020 slightly shortened season and a playoff series played entirely in the NBA bubble in Orlando during the Pandemic Covid-19.
“Now I have a real one,” Caruso told journalists after the Thunder’s 103-91 victory over the Pacers. “Now no one can say anything.”
He joked, of course, referring to trolls who try to reduce the title of Lakers five years ago due to the unique circumstances in which he was won.
This team of Lakers was an average age of almost 29 years and was led by Lebron James, who was 35 years old by winning his fourth NBA championship.
This Thunder team is led by the Shai Gilgeous -Alexander MVP, which is 26 years old and – like the rest of its Oklahoma City teammates, with the exception of Caruso – had not won an NBA title so far. Their average age is 25.68 years, making it the youngest NBA champion team from the Portland Trail Blazers of 1977.
“I think just because of how the team is now built against the team I had in 2020, it was much more difficult with this team just because of the experience [level]”Said Caruso, 31 years old.” … I think that the playoffs, this team grew up and learned on the fly. Most teams must learn from losses and learn to undo, and I think this team has learned from success. And it is a unique ability to be able to do so for children aged 21 to 27.
“For me, I saw big ones, so I knew the way, I knew the state of mind. But to see these guys do it, guy, it’s really cool to see him in person, and I am so happy that guys can just be able to understand it and be able to do it.”
Caruso was a precious player on the bench on the way to his two NBA championships, with an average of 6.5 points per match in 2020 and 9.2 this season. He scored 20 points in three different games during the 2025 season, including twice during the final; His score raised during the 2020 campaign was 16 points.
He signed with the Chicago Bulls as a free agent during the 2021 offseason and was exchanged in Oklahoma City for goalkeeper Josh Giddey last summer. The Caruso championship experience was also precious after Sunday’s match when Caruso had to give his teammates an accidental champagne course to celebrate the victory.
“We did not do everything at the same time before the third try,” said Caruso about making the traffic jams burst. “I did my best when we went up, I said to myself:” Okay, let’s make a head account, “let us ensure that everyone is here before doing the first.” And thanks to the learning experience of taking fire, the cancellation of metal and the preparation of cork, there were like three or four guys who haunt their traffic jams.
“We have followed the process a few times and finally we had everyone on the same wavelength. But, yes, it was a good first try. We will rest, reset, try to leave next year and see if we can start again, and we will be better.”
