Alex Caruso gets honest about defending Nikola Jokic and which NBA legend the Joker reminds him of.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have clinched a spot in the 2025 NBA Finals following an easy 4-1 Western Conference Finals win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
While the Thunder were barely challenged in the WCF, the same cannot be said for their conference semifinal contest against the Denver Nuggets.
Evidently, 3x NBA MVP Nikola Jokic played a crucial role in taking the series to seven games. However, Jokic was contained by none other than Thunder guard Alex Caruso.
Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty ImagesAlex Caruso compares Nikola Jokic to Tim Duncan
When it’s all said and done, there’s no doubt that Jokic will go down as one of the best NBA players of all time.
Many already believe that the Joker belongs in those conversations. But how does it feel to defend a player of his caliber?
Well, the Thunder’s Caruso recently shared his experience of playing against Jokic via the ‘Pardon The Take’ podcast.
“He doesn’t talk. He’s got a little bit, like you’ve seen those clips of people talking about Tim Duncan, the silent trash talker,” Caruso said.
San Antonio Spurs legend Tim Duncan is viewed as a phenomenal player as he helped the franchise win five NBA Championships during his career.
Duncan did so by rarely getting into altercations with his opponents and allowing his game to do the talking, but delivering subtle blows with his unique trash-talking.
Caruso has never heard ‘serial killer’ Jokic talk
Despite being a smaller guard, Caruso took on the assignment of defending Jokic for the majority of the seven-game series against the Nuggets.
One has to wonder if Caruso heard Jokic deliver a few subtle yet impactful jabs at his opponents. But the Thunder star denied the existence of such incidents.
“Jokic, at least to me, I’ve never heard him talk, he’s ‘serial killer face’, post you up, get to the jump hook, get back down the court, get a steal, push in transition, jog back down, just a blank slate the entire time,” he added.
It feels like when the Joker is on the court, he is in a zone and nothing can get through to him, which has likely played a huge role in his success in the NBA.