OKCs Alex Caruso jokes about second NBA ring: | College News

Alex Caruso is an NBA champion!

Of course, Caruso already had a ring before he and the Oklahoma City Thunder closed out the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday evening. His first one got here with the Lakers after the marginally shortened 2020 season and a postseason performed solely in the NBA bubble in Orlando during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Now I got a real one,” Caruso instructed reporters following the Thunder’s 103-91 victory over the Pacers. “Now nobody can say anything.”

He was joking, of course, making reference to the trolls who strive to diminish the Lakers’ title from 5 years in the past because of the distinctive circumstances under which it was received.

That Lakers group had an average age of practically 29 and was led by LeBron James, who was 35 years outdated upon profitable his fourth NBA championship.

This Thunder group is led by league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is 26 and — like the remaining of his Oklahoma City teammates, besides for Caruso — hadn’t received an NBA title until now. Their average age is 25.68 years, making them the youngest NBA champion group since the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers.

“I think just because of the way the team is constructed now versus the team I had in 2020, it was much harder with this team just because of the experience [level],” Caruso, 31, stated. “… I think through the playoffs, this team grew up and learned on the fly. Most teams have to learn through losses and learn though defeat, and I think this team learned through success. And it’s a unique capability to be able to do that for 21- to 27-year-old kids.

“For me, I’ve seen greats do it, so I knew the way, I knew the mindset. But to see these guys do it, man, it’s really cool to see it in person, and I’m so happy for the guys just to be able to figure it out and be able to get this done.”

Caruso was a priceless participant off the bench en route to both of his NBA championships, averaging 6.5 factors per recreation in 2020 and 9.2 this season. He scored 20 factors in three completely different video games during the 2025 season, including twice during the Finals; his high rating during the 2020 marketing campaign was 16 factors.

He signed with the Chicago Bulls as a free agent during the 2021 offseason and was traded to Oklahoma City for guard Josh Giddey final summer time. Caruso’s earlier championship expertise was also priceless after Sunday’s recreation, when Caruso had to give his teammates a crash course on popping champagne to rejoice the victory.

“We didn’t do it all at the same time until like the third try,” Caruso stated of popping the corks. “I tried my best when we got in there, I was like, ‘All right, let’s get a head count, let’s make sure everyone’s here before we do the first one.’ And through the learning experience of taking the foil off, undoing the metal and having the cork ready, there was like three or four guys that popped their corks. And then it happened again. …

“We went through the process a couple times and eventually we got everybody on the same page. But, yeah, it was a good first try. We’ll get some rest, reset, try to go again next year and see if we can do it again, and we’ll be better.”