NEWSLETTER
A Chicago Bulls player was not snubbed!
The NBA officially announced on Thursday that Alex Caruso is the winner of the 2023-24 Hustle Award. Each season the league recognizes one player “who makes impactful effort plays that might not appear in the box score.” We can all agree that Caruso is the epitome of that, right?
Caruso beat out Scottie Barnes, Brandin Podziemski, Luguentz Dort, and Grant Williams for the acknowledgment.
Alex Caruso Hustle Stats
I know the award is specifically created to honor someone with a lack of box score flare, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t stats that highlight Caruso’s impact!
We all know his extra effort shots up most on the defensive end, where he finished this season second in total deflections (265) behind only De’Aaron Fox (269). He was also seventh in loose ball recovered (73) and top 15 in charges drawn. Few players sacrifice their bodies for a big play more than Caruso.
Of course, Caruso also finished Top 3 for total steals and ended the year with a +3.4 defensive estimated plus-minus, which Dunks & Threes has inside the league’s 99th percentile! But this season wasn’t just about defensive stops. Caruso had easily the best offensive campaign of his career, as well. He knocked down a career-high 136 shots from downtown on a 40.8 percent clip.
The veteran guard became one of the league’s elite two-way role players this season, so I’m thrilled to see him land one of the NBA’s few end-of-year prizes. He now joins a nice list of well-respected contributors to earn the award, including former Chicago Bull Thaddeus Young.
Here’s a look at the past winners:
Congrats to AC! Let’s hope I get to write up his second-straight All-Defensive First Team spot next!
