Alex Caruso

none

Bulls.com

The NBA announced today that Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso has been named to the 2023-24 Kia NBA All- Defensive Second Team, marking his second-straight NBA All-Defensive nod after earning first team honors in 2022- 23. This marks Caruso’s second career NBA All-Defensive selection and is his second postseason recognition on the year, along with receiving the 2023-24 NBA Hustle Award.

Caruso is the ninth player in franchise history to earn two or more All-Defensive Team nods, joining Michael Jordan (9x), Scottie Pippen (8x), Norm Van Lier (7x), Jerry Sloan (6x), Bob Love (3x), Joakim Noah (3x), Jimmy Butler (3x), and Horace Grant (2x). The Texas A&M product also became the fifth undrafted NBA player in league history with multiple NBA All-Defensive honors (Bruce Bowen – 8x, Ben Wallace – 6x, Moses Malone – 2x, Raja Bell – 2x).

Caruso averaged 1.7 steals (T-3rd in NBA), a team-high 1.0 blocks and career-high 3.7 deflections (1st in NBA) in 28.7 minutes over 71 games (57 starts) during the 2023-24 campaign. Caruso tallied career highs in steals (120) and blocks (70), making him the only NBA player to record at least 100 steals and 70 blocks this season.

Caruso’s 265 total deflections on the year marked the third-highest such total in the NBA since 2019-20 (D. Murray – 271 in 2021-22, D. Fox – 269 in 2023-24) and were the second-most in Bulls history (J. Butler – 273 in 2016-17) since the NBA officially began tracking hustle stats in 2015-16. Caruso ranked seventh among all NBA players in loose balls recovered (73) and seventh in contested three-point shots as a defender (221), while ranking tied for ninth in charges drawn (12) and 13th in total shots contested (357) among all NBA guards.

The College Station, Texas native was one of three players in the NBA to finish the regular season with at least 35 games of two-plus steals (37) and ranked tied for second in the NBA in 2023-24 with 23 games with minimums of two steals and one block. Caruso’s 2023-24 campaign was also highlighted by a 17-game streak with at least one block (12/30/23–2/6/24), which was the longest such streak this season among NBA guards and forwards and tied for the fifth longest such streak in the NBA in 2023-24.

The 2023-24 Kia NBA All-Defensive Team was selected by a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Players were awarded two points for each vote to the NBA All-Defensive First Team and one point for each vote to the Second Team. Voters selected two guards, two forwards and one center for each team, choosing players at the position they play regularly. Players who received votes at multiple positions were slotted at the position at which they received the most voting points.

NBA All-Defensive selections first became official following the 1968-69 season.

See full voting results for 2023-24 Kia NBA All-Defensive teams below:

alex-caruso-named-to-2023-24-kia-nba-all-defensive-second-team

Alex Caruso named to 2023-24 KIA NBA All-Defensive Second Team

The NBA announced today that Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso is the recipient of the 2023-24 NBA Hustle Award. Caruso becomes the second winner of the league honor for the Bulls since the introduction of the award in the 2016-17 season, joining Thaddeus Young (2020-21).

The NBA Hustle Award recognizes a player that impacts winning on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor on a nightly basis through statistics not always seen on the traditional box score – including deflections, loose balls recovered, charges drawn, screen assists, contested shots and box-outs, among others.

Caruso continually made his presence felt on both sides of the court for Chicago this season, ranking among the league leaders in a variety of hustle statistics. Along with posting career-high averages in scoring (10.1 ppg), rebounding (3.8 rpg), steals (1.7 spg – third in NBA) and blocks (1.0 bpg) through 71 games during the 2023-24 campaign, he ranked first among all NBA players in deflections per game (3.7), seventh in total loose balls recovered (73) and seventh in contested three-point shots as a defender (221). Among all NBA guards, he ranked tied for ninth in charges drawn (12) and 13th in total defensive shots contested (357).

Following an NBA All-Defensive First Team selection a year ago, Caruso set career highs in three-pointers made (136), steals (120) and blocks (70) this season, becoming the first player in Bulls history to record such minimums in a single season. He was the only NBA player with 100-plus steals and 70-plus blocks in 2023-24.

Caruso becomes the sixth winner of the NBA Hustle Award in its eight-year history, joining Patrick Beverley, Amir Johnson, Marcus Smart (3x), Montrezl Harrell and Young.

alex-caruso-receives-2023-24-nba-hustle-award

Alex Caruso receives 2023-24 NBA Hustle Award

chintan

Alex Caruso reflects on the 2023-24 season following on our season-ending play-in loss in Miami.

end-of-season-presser-alex-caruso

End-Of-Season Presser: Alex Caruso

nbaplatformservices

caruso-gets-the-steal-and-coby-gets-the-bucket

Caruso gets the steal and Coby gets the bucket

caruso-finds-drummond-with-the-bounce-pass

Caruso finds Drummond with the bounce pass

coby-dishes-to-caruso-for-the-layup

Coby dishes to Caruso for the layup

Presented By

AT&T

<a title="Bulls Play-In Tournament Tickets are On Sale Now" href="https://www.nba.com/bulls/postseason">Bulls Play-In Tournament Tickets are On Sale Now!</a>