Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso lined up against his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers, last night and appeared to get in a scuffle with former teammate LeBron James.
The video of the pair in an altercation quickly went viral, but Caruso quickly cleared up the truth in a postgame interview with NBC Sports.
Alex Caruso’s Funny Response to Scuffle With LeBron James
Caruso jokingly said, “Yeah, we were about to fight. Obviously, you can tell I’m smiling, he’s smiling, but the refs thought everything was, there’s been like 2 fights in the NBA tonight. I think everyone is on edge.”
Caruso was an integral role player in helping James win his fourth NBA championship in 2020, lifting the Lakers in the ‘Bubble’.
The undrafted guard made his name in the NBA under James’ stewardship, becoming a hardened defender who helped win championships.
Caruso averaged 5.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in the Lakers’ championship season and earned a move to the Chicago Bulls before ending up in Oklahoma.
He has since become a crucial veteran in the OKC team and helped them win their NBA championship in 2025.
Caruso and James were not the only players to get into scuffles in the NBA last night, with multiple players being ejected in different games.
Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid and Atlanta Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye were ejected early in the fourth quarter last night.
Reid appeared to have been tripped by the Hawks forward, prompting Reid to erupt and try to attack Gueye, grabbing his jersey and threatening to punch him in the face.
Both teams got into pushing and shoving before the coaches separated them. After a lengthy review, the pair was dismissed to the locker room.
The most intense scuffle of the evening came in the game between the Detroit Pistons and the Charlotte Hornets, with four players getting ejected.
Charlotte’s Moussa Diabate fouled Detroit’s Jalen Duren across the arms while trying to stop a shot attempt.
Duren quickly confronted Diabate, with the pair trying to catch each other in the face with fierce slaps and punches.
The confrontation sparked an incident between Charlotte’s Miles Bridges and the Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart, who came off the bench.
The fighting and mayhem spread right across the court, eventually leading to the four players being ejected at the 7:09 mark of the third quarter.
The NBA was full of fighting and scuffles last night, but it’s safe to say the incident between James and Caruso was nothing more than two competitors wanting the best for their team.
