These are exciting times to be an Oklahoma City Thunder fan. The team may have failed to reach the NBA Finals last season, but everyone knows that they’re most likely the team to beat once the regular season begins.
The biggest reason for their success is the star trio Sam Presti put together for Mike Daigneault to use. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a terrific star player who constantly demands attention from defenders. Chet Holmgren could have won Rookie of the Year if he wasn’t competing with Victor Wembanyama. Jalen Williams is blossoming into a terrific scorer who is delightful to watch play.
However, the Thunder cannot hope to win with their three stars alone. This fact is the likeliest reason behind Presti’s move to acquire Alex Caruso from the Chicago Bulls. The trade turned what was already an incredible roster of players into serious contenders for the larry O’Brien trophy.
As if to recognize the potential damage Caruso ca bring as part of a dangerous Thunder squad, ESPN gave him an intriguing ranking ahead of the coming season.
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Alex Caruso jumps multiple players to #59 in ESPN’s Top 100 Players list
The well-known sports media network recently released its latest Top 100 NBA players list as the 2024-25 campaign is about to begin. There have been several interesting rankings, but Caruso’s jump from being outside the Top 100 straight to #59 shows how much the sports media expect his performance to spike while playing behind SGA and friends.
Jamal Collier reasons why Caruso got such a high rank:
Caruso has established himself as an elite perimeter defender, and he makes his debut on the top 100 list after appearing in a career-high 71 games in 2023-24. Caruso helped carry Chicago’s defense for the past three seasons while rounding out his game offensively — he shot 40.8% from 3 on 4.7 attempts per game last season — and his addition to Oklahoma City will only strengthen last season’s No. 4 defense.
The combination of defense and playmaking Alex Caruso can provide the Thunder is a boost they will badly need as the season is long. He finished his last season with the Bulls with averages of 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks.
Should everything work out for the Thunder, Caruso will be an integral piece to the Thunder’s overwhelming success in the regular season and playoffs.
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