Alex Caruso's 2025-26 defensive numbers, in context over 56 games
Caruso posted strong steal and deflection rates and played on an elite defensive team, but his individual matchup data was ordinary and his sample was limited to 56 games.
Published: · Figures as of September 20, 2026
Asked: How good is alex caruso on defense?
Caruso rates as an elite, high-value defender, on a limited 56-game sample
Alex Caruso's defensive numbers for last season (2025-2026, Oklahoma City) back up the reputation: he was on the floor for a defense that allowed just 99.2 points per 100 possessions across his 2,178 tracked possessions, more than 14 points better than the league's pooled defensive rate of 113.5 per 100 that season. He backs that up with real individual disruption - 1.29 steals and 3.04 deflections per game - but he only played 56 of Oklahoma City's 82 regular-season games, so every one of these is built on a smaller sample than a full-season defender's.
The individual disruption numbers
- Steals: 1.29 per game (72 in 56 games). That's a strong rate, but he didn't clear the NBA's 58-game statistical-title minimum, so he isn't on the official leaderboard (which topped out at 2.0 per game).
- Deflections: 3.04 per game - active hands in the passing lanes independent of whether a steal results, but below teammate Cason Wallace's league-leading 4.42, and just outside last season's top 15 (15th sat at 3.15).
- Contested shots: 2.39 per game, a below-marquee volume - unsurprising for a smaller guard who isn't switching onto bigs or protecting the rim.
- Blocks: 0.30 per game - not part of his game.
- Charges drawn: 2 all season.
As a primary defender Where he was the tracked primary defender, opponents shot 45.2% on 387 attempts (all ranges) - roughly average shooting for a heavily-targeted perimeter defender rather than a clear shutdown number, and it's worth reading beside the fact he only logged 387 matchup attempts across half a season.
The team-level signal His 99.2 on-court defensive rating is the strongest data point, but it's a lineup number - it credits Caruso with what his four teammates and five opponents did while he played, on a team that finished 64-18 with the league's top record. It doesn't separate his individual defense from Oklahoma City's collective one, so it's evidence about the lineups he plays in, not a measurement of him alone.
| Category | Defensive Rating (points per 100 possessions) |
|---|---|
| Caruso on-court | 99.2 |
| League average | 113.5 |
- league average: 113.5 points per 100 possessions
Bottom line: the box-score defensive indicators (steals, deflections) point to a genuinely disruptive, high-IQ perimeter defender, and the team performed elite defense with him on the floor - but the matchup shooting percentage he allowed was ordinary, and everything here rests on just 56 games due to three separate absences during the season. Medium confidence: the individual disruption stats are solid evidence on their own terms, but the most eye-catching number (on-court rating) is a team measure that can't be credited to Caruso alone, and the sample is a third shorter than a full season.