The San Antonio Spurs opened Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals with a 7-0 burst. Two and a half minutes later, the Oklahoma City Thunder went to Alex Caruso, and the 32-year-old changed the feel of the game almost immediately.
Caruso scored seven points on three of four shooting in three minutes and added one steal, all while taking on Victor Wembanyama at the other end. It was the kind of short, sharp impact that has made him a useful piece for a contender: pressure the ball, survive tough defensive assignments and make the next possession matter.
For Oklahoma City, the play was less a surprise than a reminder of why Caruso fits. The Thunder started the playoffs 8-0 and already have a championship run on the résumé, with Caruso playing a key role in the 2025 title. He remains the sort of 3-and-D option any contender covets, the player who can swing a stretch of a playoff game without needing the offense built around him.
That value looks even clearer against the path that brought him here. The Lakers gave Caruso his first NBA shot in 2017 and he spent four years with them, helping them win the 2020 title before Los Angeles chose to keep Talen Horton-Tucker over him in 2021. That decision aged badly once Caruso left, made two All-Defensive teams with the Bulls and later moved on to Oklahoma City.
The contrast is hard to miss now. The Lakers were swept by the Thunder in the playoffs, and the former Laker who once had to fight for minutes in Los Angeles is now one of the players Oklahoma City trusts most when the game tightens. In a series where every possession will be squeezed, Caruso has already shown how quickly he can tilt one.
