The NBA announced today that Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso is the recipient of the 2023-24 NBA Hustle Award. Caruso becomes the second winner of the league honor for the Bulls since the introduction of the award in the 2016-17 season, joining Thaddeus Young (2020-21).
The NBA Hustle Award recognizes a player that impacts winning on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor on a nightly basis through statistics not always seen on the traditional box score – including deflections, loose balls recovered, charges drawn, screen assists, contested shots and box-outs, among others.
Caruso continually made his presence felt on both sides of the court for Chicago this season, ranking among the league leaders in a variety of hustle statistics. Along with posting career-high averages in scoring (10.1 ppg), rebounding (3.8 rpg), steals (1.7 spg – third in NBA) and blocks (1.0 bpg) through 71 games during the 2023-24 campaign, he ranked first among all NBA players in deflections per game (3.7), seventh in total loose balls recovered (73) and seventh in contested three-point shots as a defender (221). Among all NBA guards, he ranked tied for ninth in charges drawn (12) and 13th in total defensive shots contested (357).
Following an NBA All-Defensive First Team selection a year ago, Caruso set career highs in three-pointers made (136), steals (120) and blocks (70) this season, becoming the first player in Bulls history to record such minimums in a single season. He was the only NBA player with 100-plus steals and 70-plus blocks in 2023-24.
Caruso becomes the sixth winner of the NBA Hustle Award in its eight-year history, joining Patrick Beverley, Amir Johnson, Marcus Smart (3x), Montrezl Harrell and Young.