There’s much more to being a player for the Los Angeles Lakers than just hooping. When you play for the purple and gold, you’ll be going to face unprecedented scrutiny and like it or not, you’re going to be a public figure. There will never be such a thing as ‘privacy’ again.
That’s what’s happening with Alex Caruso, who instantly became a fan favorite thanks to his unorthodox look for an NBA player and all the grit and grind he puts in the defensive end of the court.
Caruso became a meme last season but, far from getting upset about it, he’s embracing it and having a good time with the rest of the Lakers locker room, who are apparently still calling him GOAT, as he claimed during an interview with Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times.
“It’s funny. Every time it comes up, it’s funny. It has kind of lost its pop to me because everyone on the team says it now, but when it first started happening it was funny and it was a good laugh. Everyone still enjoys it and they’re still saying it,” the guard claimed.
Needless to say, the Caruso-mania started off as a joke, but the Texas A&M product has earned every single one of his minutes thanks to his commitment on the defensive end and determination to do all the dirty work it takes to win games. As a matter of fact, he’s one of the first players off Frank Vogel’s bench, especially when his team needs to get a stop.
With season averages of 5.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, Caruso’s far from the greatest player of all time, but he’s earned a lot of respect among his peers and it seems like he’s going to have quite a long career in the NBA.
