Ever since the Lakers won the 2020 NBA championship in the bubble, fans debated the legitimacy of that title given the unique circumstances. A lot of that has been people trying to rile up fans of LeBron James and/or the Lakers, and it’s extremely successful in doing so, as Alex Caruso found out on Sunday night.
Caruso was part of that Lakers’ championship squad in 2020 and picked up his second championship win as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 to win the franchise’s first title. Caruso was one of the key offseason acquisitions for the Thunder, and brought championship experience to a young roster trying to navigate their way through a deep postseason run for the first time.
His presence on the defensive end unlocked a new level for the Thunder, and they rode that defense to their first title. In his press conference late Sunday night, well into the Thunder’s locker room celebration, Caruso was asked how much better the second championship feels than his first. Caruso couldn’t help but crack a joke about how “now I got a real one, now nobody can say anything,” which was funny to everyone other than Lakers fans.
Unsurprisingly, that became “a thing” on social media, and Caruso had to make clear that he was being sarcastic in a tweet while also pointing out he was three beers deep by the time he hit the podium.
It was pretty obvious he was joking, but sometimes a clarification is needed for folks. Caruso obviously doesn’t view his first title as a fraudulent one, but there probably is a little truth in there that he’s excited to have a second to further stamp himself as a championship player and not have to hear anything from anyone about the first one being a fluke.
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