OKC newcomer named as a favorite to win one of the NBA's individual award

The arrival of Alex Caruso offered league-wide headlines to the Oklahoma City Thunder . The veteran swingman's addition is pegged as a groundbreaking move, as his hustle and dirty work perfectly fit the team's championship hunt, making OKC one of the big-time winners this offseason.

With his well-rounded skill set, A.C. is considerably a Swiss army knife who can thrive in any role he may be given, whether as a ball handler or a defensive unit. And in terms of potentially being slotted by the Thunder on a sixth-man position, the consensus expects him to excel at his best.

Caruso is favored to win the Sixth Man award

By this belief, a panel of ESPN experts had a recent poll on their choices for the NBA's six major individual awards for the 2024-25 season. And in terms of the sixth man category, Caruso intriguingly landed at the top spot.

Garnering 38 points, Alex secured the No. 1 rank for the award, tied with Sacramento Kings microwave scorer Malik Monk. Both A.C. and Monk have a significant margin over the rest of the leaderboard, such as reigning Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid (29), Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (18), and Indiana Pacers point man T.J. McConnell (13).

Ready to impress at any role

Playing as a sixth man isn't anything familiar isn't for Caruso. He logged 233 out of 363 games as a reserve throughout his professional career. And in his past three seasons as a member of the Chicago Bulls, he often embraced being the leader of their bench unit.

It remains to be seen how coach Mark Daigneault will plot and finalize each position within OKC's roster heading into the upcoming season. Nevertheless, Caruso can only be expected to produce massively wherever he is assigned due to the versatility and intangibles he brings to the table.

Related: Alex Caruso’s No. 1 expectation next season