“People probably don’t get the white guy to white guy alley oop all the time”. When describing the pass made to him by Travis Wear, during the 2017 NBA Summer League, Alex Caruso highlighted that he doesn’t mind letting his intrusive thoughts win, making jokes about race. After all, in a sports league that reportedly consisted of 70.4% black players, and 17.5% white players in 2023, one never knows whether it is right to joke about such things. Fortunately, Caruso did not receive any backlash over the remarks. After all, the now Oklahoma City Thunder star barely discusses anything regarding his race or family background.

In light of this, let us take it upon ourselves to find out more about the NBA star’s background.

Who are Alex Caruso’s parents? What is OKC Thunder star’s nationality?

Born and raised in College Station, Texas, Alex Caruso holds an American Nationality. His father, Mike Caruso, reportedly grew up in Oakland, California, while no clear information is given out on the origins of the NBA player’s mother, Jackie Caruso. Similarly to his parents, Alex Caruso is of Caucasian ethnicity.

Religion played an important part in the 2020 NBA champion’s upbringing. In an interview back in 2014, Alex Caruso revealed, “My parents did a good job of making sure we were educated as kids. We went to church every weekend, got into youth programs at church and around the community, so I had a very good faith and upbringing through God and through Christ”.

Alex Caruso has highlighted that his father has handed his basketball genetics and skills down to him. After all, during his early days, Mike Caruso himself was an up-and-comer when it came to the ball sport. As the NBA player highlighted, Mike helped to establish a 34-1 record during his high school days. In fact, he even won the California state championship.

Later on, he took his talents to Creighton University. As highlighted by Sports Reference, Mike averaged 11 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists during the three seasons between 1968 and 1971. His average score during his senior season stood at 13.1 (13.2, according to Sports Reference) points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. As of October 2020, Mike Caruso ranked second on CU’s all-time free throw percentage chart. His individual percentage stat stood at 84.4%. Furthermore, he was also a member of the Eddie Sutton squad. Through that, he reportedly upset No. 5 New Mexico State at the Civic Center in 1970.

After his playing stint, Mike Caruso even adopted coaching for a little. However, as Alex Caruso highlighted, the same didn’t last long, “because he didn’t like recruiting”. Later, Mike took up a job as an associate athletic director at Texas A&M. Perhaps this is where he met his future wife since Jackie Caruso also served in the HR Department at Texas A&M at one point.

Reports reveal that Mike and Jackie Caruso have lived in Texas for over 30 years now. Together, they created an environment that helped Alex and his two sisters, Megan and Emily, grow into individuals who found their own paths in the world. While the NBA star revealed that his parents never forced him to go into a specific field, his father knew from an early stage that the now OKC player had a calling for basketball.

Caruso Sr. saw a basketball ‘knack’ in his son from the start: “Hadn’t seen many kids do what he was doing”

Back in October 2020, Mike Caruso gave an interview to the Omaha-World Herald. Touching upon Alex Caruso’s childhood, he reaffirmed his son’s earlier claim that he didn’t force him to take up any specific thing. Especially basketball. After all, just because he found some success in the sport does not necessarily mean that it is for his son. However, that belief changed one day when he saw Alex practicing across the pavement, outside their Texas home.

“It was just interesting because Alex, when he was really little, he had an instinct, a knack,” said Mike Caruso during the phone interview. “He was 6, 7 or 8 years old. But I’m like, ‘Hmm.’ I hadn’t seen many kids do what he was doing.”

Diving further into Alex’s journey of going undrafted out of Texas A&M to eventually playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, Mike highlighted his role as being more of an observer. The fact that he only looked on, while his son set his own course, was something he was reportedly fine with.

“He had coaches all along the way, some pretty good ones,” Mike Caruso added. “I left the coaching to them. I was his supporter and a proud dad.”

Today, Alex Caruso stands out as an NBA champion, a member of the All-Defensive First Team and Second Team, and a player to watch out for during the ongoing season.

With Oklahoma City Thunder currently occupying the top seed on the Western Conference chart, there is a good chance that Mike Caruso may see his son make a mark in the playoffs once again.