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• Updated May 23, 2026 at 8:10pm

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Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will once again be at the forefront of the team's starting five as team battles the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4.

NBA icon LeBron James has played with some of the best players in NBA history, but he has expressed stronger praise for one specific role player. A recent episode of his Mind the Game podcast featured LeBron going out of his way to praise former teammate Alex Caruso after playing in a four-game series against him and the Oklahoma City Thunder. James went as far as to say he misses Caruso every game while praising the defender.

The following quote came from LeBron during his podcast conversation with Steve Nash:

“I miss [Alex Caruso] every single day, every single day. To be able to compete against him, in a playoff series, it’s everything. Two things are for certain: if you wanna compete, AC’s gonna be right there.

He’s gonna get underneath you, he’s gonna grab you, hold you, he’s gonna compete, and he’s gonna do it at a professional level. AC’s not gonna beat himself; you have to play that chess game with AC, understanding where he is on the floor.”

James both talked about missing teaming with Caruso on the Los Angeles Lakers and praised his intelligence on the basketball court. The Lakers chose to let Caruso leave due to his value getting too high for them to pay after he contributed to an NBA Championship.

Why LeBron’s Alex Caruso Praise Matters

Few athletes have ever been as aware as LeBron when it comes to knowing that his quotes will be shared everywhere. James has rarely gone out of his way to praise former teammates to this extent.

Bigger stars like Dwyane Wade and Anthony Davis are usually the ones to see LeBron giving them glowing praise together since they were his co-stars and two of his closest NBA friends. Caruso is a great defender, but no one would put him on that tier of NBA All-Stars.

James truly has strong respect for Caruso and wanted to share an honest take to make sure it’s known how much love he has for him. The two players butted heads via trash talk in the intense playoff series, and LeBron wanted to share the respect he holds towards Caruso to make that clear.

Lakers Losing Alex Caruso Hurt Team

The Lakers made too many changes after winning the 2020 NBA Championship and having one lackluster season afterwards. General Manager Rob Pelinka felt big changes were needed after the first round elimination in 2021.

Caruso signed a new deal with the Chicago Bulls to get a bigger contract as a reward for all his contributions to the Lakers. Pelinka let one of the best defenders in the league leave due to not feeling Caruso was worth the money he commanded on the free agent market.

The Lakers also made a bold trade for Russell Westbrook due to feeling they needed a third superstar with James and Davis to contend. Westbrook ended up declining and failing to fit into the Lakers’ system. Caruso and other players leaving the team caused them to slip further down in the West and never truly contended for the title since then.