Alex Caruso

Alex Caruso (born February 28, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Texas A&M Aggies, earning second-team all-conference honors in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) as a senior in 2016.

Alex Caruso
Caruso playing in college for Texas A&M
No. 4 – Los Angeles Lakers
PositionPoint guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1994-02-28) February 28, 1994
College Station, Texas
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight186 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolA&M Consolidated
(College Station, Texas)
CollegeTexas A&M (2012–2016)
NBA draft2016 / Undrafted
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2017Oklahoma City Blue
2017–presentLos Angeles Lakers
2017–2019→South Bay Lakers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

High school career

Caruso attended A&M Consolidated High School in his native College Station, Texas, 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.[1]

College career

After graduating from high school, Caruso joined the Texas A&M Aggies. 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.[2] As a senior he earned SEC All-Defensive Team and second-team All-SEC honors.[1][3]

Professional career

Oklahoma City Blue (2016–2017)

After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Caruso joined the Philadelphia 76ers for the 2016 NBA Summer League.[4] On September 23, 2016, he signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder,[3] but was later waived by the Thunder on October 17.[5] On November 3 he was acquired by the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA Development League.[6]

Los Angeles Lakers (2017–present)

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 and led the Lakers to a victory, he was signed to the Lakers' first two-way contract 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.[7] 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.[8] He played 12 minutes and recorded 2 points, 2 assists, and 1 rebound in a 108–92 loss. He had a career-high 15 points and 7 rebounds in a victory in the final game of the season against the Clippers.[8]

Caruso signed another two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers after a successful showing in the 2018 NBA Summer League. On March 6, 2019, he recorded a season-high 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists in a 115–99 loss to the Denver Nuggets. He scored a new career-high 32 points in a 122–117 victory over the Clippers on April 5.[9] He also became the only other Laker that season other than LeBron James to record a 30+ point, 10+ rebound, 5+ assist game.[10] On April 7, 2019, with the Lakers missing LeBron 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.[11]

On July 6, 2019, Caruso signed a two-year contract with the Lakers worth $5.5 million.[12][13]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 L.A. Lakers 37715.2.431.302.7001.82.0.6.33.6
2018–19 L.A. Lakers 25421.2.445.480.7972.73.11.0.49.2
Career 621117.6.439.398.7662.12.5.8.35.9

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Texas A&M 331724.7.373.265.6003.23.41.8.55.5
2013–14 Texas A&M 343329.8.460.333.6853.65.02.0.89.0
2014–15 Texas A&M 333331.5.463.366.6854.55.52.1.29.1
2015–16 Texas A&M 373728.8.502.368.7853.65.02.1.28.1
Career 13712028.7.455.340.6853.74.72.0.48.0

Personal life

He is the son of Mike and Jackie Caruso and has two sisters who are both Aggies; Megan, class of '14, and Emily, class of '18. His father played four years at Creighton and is an associate athletic director at Texas A&M.[1]

Caruso grew up around the A&M program, spending many seasons as a ball boy for the Aggies.[1] While studying at Texas A&M he majored in sports management.[1]

References
  1. "Texas A&M bio". The12thMan.com. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  2. "Former Texas A&M basketball player David Edwards dead at 48". USA Today. Associated Press. March 25, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  3. "Thunder Adds Caruso, Tarczewski and Wright to Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. September 23, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  4. Stuter, Bret (July 1, 2016). "Philadelphia 76ers Release Full Summer League Roster". TheSixerSense.com. Fansided. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  5. "Thunder sign Reggie Williams". NBA.com. October 17, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  6. "Oklahoma City Blue Announces Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. November 3, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  7. "Lakers Sign Alex Caruso". Los Angeles Lakers. July 13, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  8. "Alex Caruso makes NBA debut". kbtx.com. October 20, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  9. Duarte, Michael (April 5, 2019). "Alex Caruso Scores Career-High 32 Points as Lakers Upset Clippers in Final Matchup of Season". nbclosangeles.com. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  10. Irving, Kyle (April 4, 2019). "Alex Who is Alex Caruso? Fast facts on the Los Angeles Lakers guard". ca.nba.com. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  11. GOLDBERG, ROB (April 8, 2019). "LeBron James-Less Lakers Beat Donovan Mitchell, Jazz as Alex Caruso Scores 18". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  12. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2844501-lakers-rumors-alex-caruso-re-signs-on-2-year-55m-contract
  13. https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/basketball/news/lakers-alex-caruso-returning-to-lakers/
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