NBA honors Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso with 2023-24 NBA Hustle Award
CHICAGO, Ill. - One of the Chicago Bulls' most important players has gotten some well-deserved acknowledgment from the NBA.
The NBA announced Bulls' guard Alex Caruso has been given the 2023-24 NBA Hustle Award.
Caruso is the Bulls' second winner of the honor since the first award was given out after the 2016-17 season. Former Bulls' forward Thaddeus Young won the honor after the 2020-21 season.
The NBA Hustle Award is given to a player who impacts a team's success on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor on a nightly basis. It honors players that make an impact in a way that goes beyond statistics, reflecting plays that aren't always seen on the traditional box score.
These plays include deflections, loose balls recovered, charges drawn, screen assists, contested shots, box-outs and more.
Caruso is deserving when considering
In the 2023-2024 season, Caruso posted career-high averages with 10.1 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, 1.7 steals per game and and 1.0 blocks per game in 71 games played. His 1.7 steals per game ranked third in the NBA.
Caruso ranked first among all NBA players with 3.7 deflections per game, seventh with 73 total loose balls recovered and seventh with 221 contested three-point shots.
Caruso also tied for ninth in the league with 12 charges drawn and ranked 13th with 357 total defensive shots contested, among all NBA guards.
He was the only NBA player with 100-plus steals and 70-plus blocks in 2023-24.
Caruso is the sixth winner of the NBA Hustle Award in its eight-year history, joining Patrick Beverley, Amir Johnson, Marcus Smart, Montrezl Harrell and Young. Smart won the award three times.
