Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso was named the winner of the NBA’s 2023-24 Hustle Award on Thursday.
The award honors players who “make the effort plays that don’t often appear in the traditional box score but impact winning on a nightly basis.”
Caruso, 30, averaged 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.7 steals in 71 games (57 starts) this season.
He also excelled in the so-called “hustle stats,” leading the league in deflections per game (3.7), finishing fifth in loose balls recovered (1.0 per game) and placing seventh in charges drawn (0.17 per game).
An All-Defensive First Team selection in 2022-23, Caruso finished third in the NBA with 120 steals in 2023-24.
He is the second Chicago player honored in the Hustle Award’s eight-year history, joining Thaddeus Young (2020-21).
Toronto’s Scottie Barnes finished second to Caruso, followed by Golden State’s Brandin Podziemski, Oklahoma City’s Luguentz Dort and Charlotte’s Grant Williams.
