ALEX CARUSO FIRST arrived in Oklahoma City with a head full of hair and flickering hopes of an NBA career.

It was September 2016, and the Thunder had invited Caruso to a tryout for an Exhibit 10 contract — an opportunity for a $50,000 bonus and a roster spot with the G League affiliate Oklahoma City Blue.

He was one of six players at the workout, but unbeknownst to Caruso, he was the only one that Oklahoma City’s management and coaches really wanted to watch.

Then-Blue coach Mark Daigneault, who was on the Florida coaching staff before Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti poached him, already had an appreciation for Caruso’s relentless competitiveness dating to his college days at Texas A&M. Caruso played so hard during the second half of a blowout loss to Florida that Daigneault wondered whether he knew the score.

As Daigneault recalled, the other guys at the tryout were “respectfully, not professional-level basketball players.” But Caruso still managed to make a lasting impression.

“He quickly figured out they had no clue what was going on,” Daigneault, now in his fifth season as the Thunder’s head coach, told ESPN recently. “By midway through the workout, he’s coaching the workout. He’s doing what he does.”

Caruso claimed one of the Blue’s final roster spots that afternoon, earning a $13,000 salary to accompany his signing bonus. And for one season, he emerged as a fiery leader for the Blue, starting at point guard for a team that went 34-16 and advanced to the second round of the G League playoffs.

Caruso credits that season to building his fundamental base, which was critical in carving out his niche in the NBA as a defensive stalwart who earned a championship ring with the Los Angeles Lakers a few years later. He returned to Oklahoma City this season as the “old head” on one of the league’s youngest, most talented teams. Eight years after coaching up workout fillers, bussed in from Tulsa, Caruso instantly emerged as a veteran leader whose voice has helped guide the Thunder as they stride toward their championship potential. And after a last-second comeback from the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the stakes couldn’t be higher in Game 2 (Sunday, 8 p.m. ET, ABC) as Caruso and the Thunder look to even the series at home.

But Caruso admits his season in the G League was a frustrating one. He kept his head down as Blue teammates got NBA call-ups over him. He was also passed over for a two-way contract despite the backing of Daigneault and then-Blue GM Brandon Barnett, now the Thunder’s director of pro personnel.

“[Presti] admitted to me,” Caruso told ESPN in his typical dry wit, “that he got that one wrong.”

CARUSO LEFT OKLAHOMA City for Los Angeles when his contract expired at the end of the 2017 season, eventually parlaying a summer league deal into a two-way contract within a few years and filling a critical role as a defensive-minded reserve on the Lakers’ 2019-20 championship team. After the Lakers declined to bid against the Bulls‘ four-year, $37 million offer — another instance of undervaluing Caruso — he went to Chicago in the summer of 2021 and earned a pair of All-Defensive selections over the next few seasons.

Presti eventually righted his wrong by trading for Caruso last summer.

Caruso’s career had come full circle back to Oklahoma City, where he returned as the potential finishing piece of the Thunder’s championship puzzle — the quintessential defensive-minded veteran role player and offensive connector who has experience enhancing superstar teammates.

His impact goes far beyond the box score.

“It’s been awesome having him back around,” Daigneault said. “I love coaching him. I loved coaching him back then. But what’s exciting is now it’s more about the future than it is about the past. As much history as we have, we have a lot of runway together moving forward here.”

The addition of Caruso, as well as center Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency, helped elevate the Thunder from contender to title favorite this season. With Oklahoma City’s young core, which features MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, All-Star wing Jalen Williams and former No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren, Caruso profiled as a perfect fit as one of the league’s most disruptive defenders and an offensive connector who has experience enhancing superstar teammates.

“Immediately, I thought it was going to be a great marriage just from the standpoint of the stuff that I do and the stuff that at least it seemed like the team needed,” Caruso said. “And I have a bit of ego and pride with just the idea of anywhere I go, I think I’m going to win.”

And then there were intangibles that Caruso, who turned 31 in February, could provide for a team that is the second youngest to reach the NBA Finals in the shot clock era.

“He’s a colossal competitor, and we want to have as many of those guys as we can in the building,” Presti said in his news conference after the trade. “Specifically, I think it helps elevate the whole group if you can have those types of brains, and we really wanted the heart and the head in the building.”

CARUSO’S ROLE ON the court varies from game to game, even quarter to quarter. In the playoffs, that has meant stints as the primary defender on a spectrum of opposing stars, from Memphis Grizzlies speedy point guard Ja Morant to 6-foot-11, 284-pound Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic.

“It’s a lot of fun because he’s a mad scientist genius that likes to tweak and maneuver and find little, minute details and disciplines that you can exploit,” Caruso said of Daigneault.

His statistical production, particularly on the offensive end, rarely stands out. He has career averages of 6.9 points and 2.8 assists and has averaged double figures in scoring only once (10.1 points for the Bulls in 2023-24). But he demands attention on the court due to his relentless energy and defensive disruption.

His Game 7 work against Jokic, a three-time MVP, is the most prominent example from this playoff run. It was a tactic that the Thunder sprinkled in throughout the series, aggressively fronting Jokic with help swarming behind him. But Daigneault knew it was “not sustainable physically” for Caruso to have nearly a 100-pound weight disadvantage against his primary defensive matchup throughout a seven-game series. For one game?

“Let’s go to this early and see how it goes,” Daigneault said. “And then it was like wildfire.”

According to GeniusIQ tracking, Caruso defended Jokic for 40 half-court matchups that afternoon, the most by a guard in any of the 839 regular-season and playoff games in Jokic’s career. Caruso gave up only 0.78 points per play, as Jokic finished with as many turnovers (five) as field goals while attempting only nine shots from the floor.

As much hell as Caruso raises defensively, Daigneault tells people to watch him during dead balls to get a true appreciation. He’s constantly doing something with a purpose, as his eyes dart from the scoreboard to coaches and teammates, and occasionally the officials. He communicates without dominating the conversation, barking out what Daigneault refers to as “filler lines” to maintain focus on priorities while prodding his teammates to talk.

“He’s constantly filling the space with that kind of stuff, which in a way allows space for other people to still exist,” Daigneault said. “Sometimes you get a veteran player and they feel like they have to be the veteran. They’re holding court and it can really suffocate the oxygen of everybody else. He has an unbelievable feel. I don’t even know if he does it consciously, but he’s got a great feel for being able to get his points in, be very constant with his communication, but in a way that isn’t claustrophobic.

“There’s never drifting. He’s always competitively present.”

CASON WALLACE, THE Thunder’s 21-year-old second-year guard, took great glee in pointing out that Caruso is “the first bald teammate I’ve ever had.”

“That’s high on my list of accomplishments,” Caruso quipped.

Caruso is the oldest player on a Thunder roster whose average age is 24.5, and he’s reminded of that frequently as a consistent source of comedic fodder for his teammates.

“It’s always that, which is insane because I have many years to go in the NBA,” said Caruso, who signed a four-year, $81 million contract extension in December, the soonest the Thunder were allowed to offer it to him.

Caruso considers sarcasm a form of affection, so he gladly accepts the ribbing. It was also a priority for Caruso to establish trust in the Thunder’s locker room, not just a know-it-all veteran

Out of respect for his new teammates’ pedigrees and previous accomplishments, Caruso attempted to ease his way into becoming a prominent voice within the team. He felt that he needed to earn “sweat equity” before becoming a loud presence. Not that his teammates or coaches noticed any hesitancy.

“His version of cautious is still pretty verbal,” Daigneault said.

But Caruso never had to impose on his Thunder teammates. They wanted to soak up the wisdom of the only player on the roster who owns an NBA championship ring.

He’s taken a particular interest in the defensive development of Wallace, an elite athlete whose prowess guarding on ball reminds Caruso of Avery Bradley, his former Lakers teammate.

Caruso had tried to teach Wallace the details of becoming a dominant force on that end of the floor — knowing every technical trick and tendencies of every opposing player.

“Not arrogantly, but he’s just like, ‘I’m just going to go guard the guy,'” Caruso said with a chuckle. “For him, it’s just that binary where it’s like, ‘It doesn’t matter if he likes to go left or right. I’m going to guard him, and if he puts the ball in front of me, I’m going to take it.’ And I was like, ‘Alright, yeah, that works. Let’s sprinkle in a little bit of the mental side of the game, too.'”

Daigneault jokes that Caruso’s lessons will sink in around the time that “Cason gets some hair on his chest.” Whether he implements it immediately or not, Wallace welcomes the input now.

“Whatever he sees, he says,” Wallace told ESPN. “He’s going to speak his mind. You can also tell him stuff as well. We’re all good at listening to each other. That started on day one.”

Soon after joining the Thunder, Caruso ended up taking the lead in the informal meetings the players have every few weeks at the team’s practice facility.

“We didn’t really have this hump he needed to get over,” Williams told ESPN. “We were ready to listen to him. We understand why Sam brought him in.

“He’s somebody that we trust. We call him ‘old head’ and stuff, but his experience from being in the G to now, we really hold that dear. Our team is really receptive to him and what he has to say. He always says the right thing, which makes us even more inclined to listen to him. Obviously, he does the right stuff on the court, too.”

Caruso’s commitment to the team is also evident in his patience off the bench, never complaining despite averaging only 19.2 minutes per game, his fewest since 2019-20, which was his first season on a standard NBA contract.

Caruso understood the developmental benefits of giving minutes to Wallace and rookie guard Ajay Mitchell, among other young players, especially when the Thunder were nursing big leads during their march to a franchise-record 68 wins. In those instances, Caruso contributed as an extension of the coaching staff on the bench.

“You never question his intentions as a competitor or as a team guy — ever,” said Daigneault, who refers to Caruso as a “warm-weather player,” meaning his value peaks during the playoffs.

Now, in the playoffs, with the Thunder in the Finals for the first time since 2012, Caruso’s impact is best summed up with one stat. Oklahoma City has outscored opponents by 16 points per 100 possessions with Caruso on the floor, a net rating that ranks second in the league behind Wallace among players who have logged at least 225 minutes this postseason.

Down 0-1 in the Finals after a Pacers comeback, the Thunder will certainly look to their veteran defensive leader to help guide this young team to play a full 48-minute game.

“There’s never a selfish or a noncompetitive moment that he has, and so it just gives him this very strong platform,” Daigneault said.

“He had that even when he was younger than everybody on his team. Now he’s older than everybody on his team.”