Alex Caruso can now say he is a two-time NBA Champion as he won one with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 and then with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2025.
The titles came in very different fashions for Caruso as he was one of the youngest players on the Lakers that won it all, which they achieved inside the Orlando bubble due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Now on the Thunder, Caruso is the oldest player one one of the youngest championship teams ever.
A lot of people still don’t recognize the Lakers’ 2020 championship as real since it came in the bubble with no fans in attendance. And after the Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers in Game 7, Caruso fed into that by joking that he finally won a real title before going on to compare his two rings and the journeys he took to get there.
“Yeah, no, I got a real one now. Now no one can say anything [laughter],” Caruso joked. “Yeah, I think just because of the way the team is constructed now versus the team I had in 2020, like, it was much harder with this team just because of the experience, right? Everybody talked about you need experience to win a championship and you need this, that and the other. I said multiple times through the postseason with this team, good basketball is good basketball, winning basketball is winning basketball.
“The best team can win, no matter what happens if you go out there and execute and do the stuff you need to do to win the game. I think through the Playoffs, this team grew up and learned on the fly, which most teams have to learn through losses and learn through defeat. I think this team learned through success. 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. I’m so happy for the guys to be able to figure it out and to be able to get this done.”
Caruso is right that the Thunder had a tougher path to their title as they had to win two Game 7s, including in the NBA Finals. The Thunder lost seven games in the playoffs while the Lakers lost just five and did not require any Game 7s.
Caruso has defended the Lakers’ title as legit in the past, and he took to social media to make sure everyone knew he wasn’t being serious:
I had 3 beers already, it’s SARCASM!!
-two time https://t.co/coxn1bDpKp
— Alex Caruso (@ACFresh21) June 23, 2025
While it’s unfortunate that it didn’t come in purple and gold, Caruso can now say he is a two-time champion, carving out a nice career for himself after going undrafted and eventually breaking into the league as a two-way player in L.A.
Alex Caruso gives credit to LeBron James
As he returned to the NBA Finals for a second time, Alex Caruso gave credit to his former Lakers teammate LeBron James for teaching him how to be a professional.
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