LeBron James raves about former teammate Alex Caruso’s defensive acumen in NBA Finals preview

The OKC Thunder are favored to take down the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals. Of course, the Pacers deserve all the credit in the world, and they’ve proven that they won’t back down from any challenge.

Then again, the Thunder might be the deepest and most talented team in the league, and that includes their second unit.

Mark Daigneault has one of the peskiest, most physical and intelligent defenders in the league in Alex Caruso. Per LeBron James, he could be one of the catalysts for this team’s success on the biggest stage.

Talking to Steve Nash on their "Mind the Game" podcast on Wednesday, the four-time NBA champion gushed about his former teammate and the unmatched impact he can make with his defense.

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“He's like the ultimate Swiss Army knife," James said (Timestamp: 41:22). "We’ve seen him guard Giannis, the Joker, ANT, Julius Randle, Jamal Murray, all in this postseason. You look at plus/minus after the game, and AC might have five points, three rebounds, two assists and his plus/minus will be a god damn +17.”

Caruso can knock down the occasional 3-pointer or get the crowd on their feet with his big dunks, but he's made a living out of diving for loose balls, poking the ball free and holding his ground even against some big men.

He can be Daigneault's X-Factor on defense, and it won't be uncommon to watch him guard Tyrese Haliburton and even Pascal Siakam during stretches.

Alex Caruso learned a lot from LeBron James and Rajon Rondo

Alex Caruso had to work his way up in the NBA, going from a 23-year-old rookie and proving his worth in the G-League to becoming a pivotal piece in a championship team.

In a 2021 interview for "The Old Man & the Three," he gave LeBron James and Rajon Rondo plenty of credit for how they taught him how to anticipate plays before they happen, so he can be in a position to get a stop.

"They're just so smart," Caruso said. "Seeing them operate for a couple of years and seeing how they would communicate, think, point and tell people where to go before stuff happened, it's like chess, right? They're two moves ahead."

Caruso may not steal most of the headlines, but he's the kind of championship-caliber role player who can tilt the scale in a team's favor in the NBA Finals.

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About the author

Ernesto Cova

Ernesto Cova is a journalist at Sportskeeda with a PhD in Sports Psychology. His education helped him develop a clearer understanding of the sports world as a whole, including basketball. Ernesto has over eight years of experience in the field, working for Fadeaway World, The Inquisitr, NBA Blast, The Cold Wire and Bolavip, among others.

His favorite team is the Chicago Bulls because of the Michael Jordan era. Jordan is Ernesto's all-time favorite, as he changed the game forever. Ernesto's second favorite was Kobe Bryant because he embodied that same competitive fire and Ernesto watched him play throughout his entire career. Nowadays, Ernesto really likes Stephen Curry, who he believes to be the most influential player of the past 15 years or so.

Ernesto's favorite basketball moment was when Venezuela -- his country -- took down Canada to take home the 2015 FIBA Americas Cup.

When not watching or writing about basketball, Ernesto likes to read and is interested in photography.

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