Oklahoma City Thunder: Alex Caruso Makes List of Top 100 NBA Players Ahead of New Season

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.