Average of 15+4 in the finals, NBA top championship puzzle: The Warriors could have exchanged Kuminga for him last year

The 2025 NBA Finals have been played two games. As the league's new MVP, Alexander scored a total of 72 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists and 7 steals in these two games, proving himself again.

Caruso, who played in the Finals for the second time in his career, does not seem to be as explosive as Alexander, but his presence on both offense and defense has made many NBA insiders admire him.

You should know that in the 2020 Finals, Caruso, who was still playing for the Lakers at the time, averaged only 6.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 0.8 steals per game, and his three-point shooting percentage was 37.5%.

Now five years have passed, Caruso has completely transformed into the NBA's top championship puzzle. According to statistics, Caruso averaged 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game in the past two finals, and his three-point shooting percentage was as high as 41.7%.

It is worth mentioning that when the Bulls management "tendered" Caruso last summer, the Warriors had the opportunity to exchange Kumingga alone (the No. 7 pick in the first round of 2021), but in the end they were taken the lead by the Thunder. The latter only paid for chips like Gidey (the No. 6 pick in the first round of 2021), and easily got Caruso.

In short, the Warriors management's hesitation on the issue of staying and leaving Kuminga made them miss too many excellent opportunities to strengthen. Just imagine, if the Warriors had an elite player like Caruso in the backcourt this season, Curry's physical strength slot would not have bottomed out early, and there would not be any hamstring strain later, and the team would have regretfully stopped in the second round of the Western Conference.