Nearly every fan watching their favorite team playing the Chicago Bulls this season said to themselves, “We need a guy like Alex Caruso.” Every fan base except Lakers nation, which cursed GM Rob Pelinka under their breath for letting Caruso go.
All those little things Caruso did won him the 2023-24 NBA Hustle Award. The Bulls guard is a first-time winner of the award.
The Hustle Award recognizes a player that dominates the league’s hustle stats that don’t show up in a traditional box score: deflections, loose balls recovered, charges drawn, screen assists, contested shots and box-outs.
Caruso led the league averaging 3.7 deflections per game — he is a disruptive defender — and finished fourth in the league in steals (1.7 per game). He also ranked high in loose balls recovered (one per game) and was ninth in the league in charges drawn.
The Raptors’ Scottie Barnes finished second in the NBA’s tally, with Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski finishing third. The Thunder’s Lugeuntz Dort and the Hornets Grant Williams rounded out the top five.
Past award winners include Marcus Smart (three times), Patrick Beverley and Montrezl Harrell.
