Alex Caruso, a guard with the Chicago Bulls, is the eighth NBA player to win the Hustle Award. On May 2, NBA.com’s Brian Martin stated, “The NBA Hustle Award honors players who make the effort plays that don’t often appear in the traditional box score but impact winning on a nightly basis.”

Caruso is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, as seen by his hustling statistics, which earned him a spot on the 2022–2023 All-Defensive First Team.

“Caruso may not always show up in the traditional box score, but his energy plays, the sacrifices he makes for his teammates, and the all-out effort in which he competes helped him win his first NBA Hustle Award.”

A message was sent to Caruso by teammate and Bulls big man Andre Drummond, addressing the former championship Los Angeles Laker. This is not surprising! Well deserved, brother, @ACFresh21.On May 2, Drummond made a post on X.

For the honor, Caruso defeated Grant Williams of the Charlotte Hornets, Bruce Podziemski of the Golden State Warriors, Luguentz Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors. It makes sense that the large man gave the guard his due.

According to NBA.com, the pair had the highest net rating out of the 13 two-man lineups that played in at least 60 games and 600 minutes for the Bulls in the previous year.

This season, Caruso averaged 10.1 points and 3.8 rebounds, setting new career highs. In addition, he delivered 3.5 assists per game and tied his career high of 1.7 steals. But his influence was not limited to those.

Caruso finished fourth in loose balls recovered, fourth in thefts, and ninth in total charges drawn, but he led the NBA in deflections. The second Bulls player to receive the honor is Caruso.

He joins forward Thaddeus Young, a fan favorite who is currently with the Phoenix Suns and won the award in 2020–21. That was the last season he played for the Bulls. That July, they traded him for DeMar DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs.

Caruso has been crucial to the Bulls’ success defensively, much like Young was back then and even more so than DeRozan is now on offense. According to Martin, they were 24th defensively when he wasn’t on the court and second best when he was.

In addition, the adaptable Caruso came in eighth place among 132 players who participated in an anonymous survey by Josh Robbins and Sam Amick of The Athletic for best defender. He received about seven votes, or 5.3% of the total.

Caruso received votes for “Most Overrated Player” in that same survey. Out of 81 votes, he received 1.2% (or around one vote).

This offseason, the Bulls are interested in extending Caruso’s current four-year, $36.9 million contract. However, Drummond might enter free agency this offseason. This season, Drummond, a two-time All-Star, wrapped up a two-year, $6.6 million contract.

Last summer, he also toyed with the idea of signing a free agent contract with the Dallas Mavericks and forgoing the second year of his current deal. In the end, Drummond stayed and played well on the floor.

However, he played a largely uneven role behind starting center Nikola Vucevic for the second straight season. Vucevic is entering the second year of a three-year, $60 million contract. Additionally, Drummond—who has made it clear that he still sees himself as a starter—was on the verge of being dealt by the Bulls this season.

He supported his statements. For seven straight games this season, Drummond averaged 14.0 points, 17.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.4 steals. A different team might make a better summertime offer or a bigger role if the Bulls make either one of them.