It’s almost time for a new NBA champion to be crowned. With a 3-2 series lead, the Oklahoma City Thunder virtually have one hand on the trophy. However, they still need to win Game 6 to actually win the championship. And it’s not just stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams who will need to show up at their best. Alex Caruso has been a huge factor the entire postseason, and the same has continued in the Finals as well. He will once again be needed to bring his A-game to make sure the Thunder avoid a Game 7 and win the chip.

But like any game, there’s a major concern heading into Game 6 of the NBA Finals — injuries. They can happen at any time, to any player. So, let’s look at the Thunder’s injury report to find out whether Alex Caruso will play tonight.

Oklahoma City Thunder Injury Report – Will Alex Caruso play tonight?

Much, much earlier in the season, Alex Caruso suffered a hip injury that ruled him out for many games in 2024. He was only able to return to the Thunder lineup in mid-January this year. And after that, ankle issues had him on the shelf till February. But since then, the former Lakers star has managed to avoid the injury bug.

And this trend continues for him heading into this decisive Game 6 against the Indiana Pacers. Alex Caruso is off the injury report turned in by the Oklahoma City Thunder ahead of Game 6 of the NBA Finals. That means Caruso is AVAILABLE for tonight’s game.

But Nikola Topic, who is redshirting his rookie season with the Thunder, is OUT of this game, much like he has been for every Thunder game since his Draft last summer. But good news for you, OKC fans, he’s the only player on the injury report.

Even so, the Thunder will need to fight tooth and nail against the Pacers to get the first-ever NBA title in their franchise’s history.

How can Alex Caruso help the Oklahoma City Thunder end this series in 6 games?

In this series, how Alex Caruso performs has almost acted like an indicator of who’s going to win the game. He put up 20 points in both Game 2 and 4. Guess who won those games? The Indiana Pacers. Just kidding, the Thunder won both those games quite convincingly. Now, correlation isn’t causation since the Thunder won Game 5 where Caruso only dropped 2 points. But the energy he brought to that game, especially in the latter quarters, was undeniable.

All this is to say that Alex Caruso is pivotal to the Oklahoma City Thunder winning this series. And Pacers HC Rick Carlisle knows this, praising the Canadian guard and his contributions in this Playoff run. See, Alex Caruso brings something that the young core of the Thunder needs – championship experience. Caruso was a part of the 2020 Lakers team that won the chip in the NBA Bubble alongside LeBron James.

And heading into Game 6, Alex Caruso revealed his mindset as he tries to win the chip for OKC. “We’ve talked about all series — when we were down one, when we were down 2-1 — it’s the first to four wins. That’s still my mentality — just to try and get this last win…Same adrenaline, same focus. You understand the moment of how close you are. You just want to be ready to put your best out there,” said Caruso.

Seems like Alex is ready to bring his A-game tonight. And if you’re an Indiana Pacers fan, you’ll be hoping that your team is prepared for it. Otherwise Alex Caruso might just become a 2x NBA Champion!