Alex Michael Caruso (born February 28, 1994) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). Nicknamed "Bald Mamba" or "Carushow", he played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Texas A&M Aggies Texas A&M Aggies refers to the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also referred to as "A&M" or "Texas Aggi ...

, earning second-team all-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) honors as a senior in 2016. He won an

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

with the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

in 2020.

High school career

Caruso attended

A&M Consolidated High School A&M Consolidated High School, also known as "Consol", is a public high school located in the city of College Station, Texas, United States. It is classified as a 5A school by the UIL. The school is part of the College Station Independent School D ...

in his native

College Station, Texas College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin. ...

, where he played basketball under head coaches Rusty Segler and Rick German. As a senior, he averaged 18 points and nine rebounds and was named TABC All-Regional, All-State as well as TABC All-Star and district MVP after leading his team to the postseason.

College career

After graduating from high school, Caruso joined the

. In 137 games over his four-year career, he averaged 8.0 points, 4.7 assists and 2.02 steals per game, finishing as the school's all-time leader in assists with 649 and steals with 276, surpassing David Edwards in those categories. As a senior he led the Aggies to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament; he also earned SEC All-Defensive Team and second-team All-SEC honors.

Professional career

Oklahoma City Blue (2016–2017)

After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Caruso joined the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

for the

2016 NBA Summer League The 2016 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week ...

. On September 23, 2016, he signed with the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

, but was later waived on October 17. On November 3, he was acquired by the

Oklahoma City Blue The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue play their home games at Paycom Center. The franchise began as t ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

Los Angeles Lakers (2017–2021)

Caruso joined the Lakers for the 2017 NBA Summer League. After several productive games, including one in which Caruso started in place of the injured

Lonzo Ball Lonzo Anderson Ball (born October 27, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, he played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins, earni ...

and led the Lakers to a victory, he was signed to the Lakers' first

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

on July 13, 2017. He became the first player to go directly from the D-League (now G League) to the NBA via two-way contract. He also helped lead the Lakers win the 2017 NBA Summer League Championship in Las Vegas. Caruso made his NBA debut on October 19, 2017, against the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. He played 12 minutes and recorded two points, two assists, and one rebound in a 108–92 loss. He had a career-high 15 points and seven rebounds in a victory in the final game of the season against the Clippers. Caruso signed another two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers after a successful showing in the

2018 NBA Summer League The 2018 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Sacramento Kings's California Classic Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. The Sacra ...

. On March 6, 2019, he recorded a season-high 15 points, six rebounds, and three assists in a 99–115 loss to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

. He scored a new career-high 32 points in a 122–117 victory over the Clippers on April 5. He also became the only Laker that season other than

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

to record a 30+ point, 10+ rebound, 5+ assist game. On April 7, 2019, with the Lakers missing James for the remaining six games, Caruso scored 18 points with a career-high 11 assists in a 113–109 home win over the Utah Jazz. On July 6, 2019, Caruso signed a two-year contract with the Lakers worth $5.5 million. He won his first NBA championship with them on October 11, 2020, when the Lakers defeated the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

in six games. Caruso started the clinching game of the NBA Finals. He became an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after the 2020–21 season.

Chicago Bulls (2021–present)

On August 10, 2021, Caruso signed a four-year, $37 million contract with the

. On January 21, 2022, during a 90–94 loss to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

, Caruso was fouled by opposing guard

Grayson Allen Grayson James Allen (born October 8, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played four years of college basketball at Duke University. Allen was drafted with ...

. Allen was ejected from the game. The next day, the Bulls announced that Caruso had a fractured right wrist and would undergo surgery, keeping him out for at least 6-to-8 weeks.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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L.A. Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, 37 , , 7 , , 15.2 , , .431 , , .302 , , .700 , , 1.8 , , 2.0 , , .6 , , .3 , , 3.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 25 , , 4 , , 21.2 , , .445 , , .480 , , .797 , , 2.7 , , 3.1 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 64 , , 2 , , 18.4 , , .412 , , .333 , , .737 , , 1.9 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 58 , , 6 , , 21.0 , , .436 , , .401 , , .645 , , 2.9 , , 2.8 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 41 , , 18 , , 28.0 , , .398 , , .333 , , .795 , , 3.6 , , 4.0 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , 7.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 225 , , 37 , , 20.6 , , .422 , , .366 , , .736 , , 2.5 , , 2.7 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 6.2

Playoffs

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2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

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, style="background:#cfecec;", 21* , , 1 , , 24.3 , , .425 , , .279 , , .800 , , 2.3 , , 2.8 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

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, 6 , , 0 , , 20.2 , , .368 , , .294 , , 1.000 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .2 , , .7 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, style="text-align:left;",

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 4 , , 4 , , 28.3 , , .391 , , .389 , , – , , 2.8 , , 4.3 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 6.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 31 , , 5 , , 24.0 , , .408 , , .302 , , .813 , , 2.2 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .6 , , 6.4

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;",

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, , 33 , , 17 , , 24.7 , , .373 , , .265 , , .600 , , 3.2 , , 3.4 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

, , 34 , , 33 , , 29.8 , , .460 , , .333 , , .685 , , 3.6 , , 5.0 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, , 33 , , 33 , , 31.5 , , .463 , , .366 , , .685 , , 4.5 , , 5.5 , , 2.1 , , .2 , , 9.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, , 37 , , 37 , , 28.8 , , .502 , , .368 , , .785 , , 3.6 , , 5.0 , , 2.1 , , .2 , , 8.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , , 137 , , 120 , , 28.7 , , .455 , , .340 , , .685 , , 3.7 , , 4.7 , , 2.0 , , .4 , , 8.0

Personal life

Caruso has two sisters. His father played four years at Creighton and was an associate athletic director at Texas A&M. Caruso grew up around the A&M program, spending many seasons as a ball boy for the Aggies. While studying at Texas A&M he majored in sports management. On June 22, 2021, he was arrested at Easterwood Airport in

, for residual marijuana left on a grinder.

References

External links

*
Texas A&M Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caruso, Alex 1994 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Texas Chicago Bulls players Point guards Los Angeles Lakers players Oklahoma City Blue players People from College Station, Texas South Bay Lakers players Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball players Undrafted National Basketball Association players United States men's national basketball team players