Alex Caruso exits early vs. Suns with sprained right ankle as Thunder's injury woes continue

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s mounting injury issues went from bad to worse on Monday night, when reserve guard Alex Caruso left the team’s matchup with the Phoenix Suns after spraining his right ankle in the second quarter.

With just under two minutes to go until halftime and the Thunder holding a 61-47 lead, Caruso rotated in help defense to try to contest a shot attempt by Suns forward Dillon Brooks. But as Brooks drove across the lane and jump-stopped, his right foot collided with the inside of Caruso’s right ankle, sending the veteran super-sub to the floor in evident pain:

After taking a few moments to get up, Caruso walked gingerly back to the Oklahoma City locker room with 1:34 remaining in the second quarter. Shortly afterward, the Thunder ruled him out for the remainder of the game. He finished with nine points, three assists and two rebounds in just over nine minutes of action.

Caruso’s ankle sprain is the latest in a string of injuries to hit Oklahoma City’s perimeter rotation. Before Monday’s game, Thunder general manager Sam Presti announced that All-Star swingman Jalen Williams and just-extended guard Cason Wallace had bothsuffered serious injuries that would require surgical repair, likely leaving Oklahoma City — considered one of the favorites to represent the Western Conference in the 2027 NBA Finals heading into the season — without two members of its starting five for most if not all of the campaign.

The 32-year-old Caruso’s ankle roll didn’t look to be nearly as serious as Williams’ dislocated ankle and fractured fibula or Wallace’s torn labrum. Even so, losing another perimeter player for any period of time would take an even bigger bite out of Oklahoma City’s wing depth — particularly after the Thunder dealt rotation players Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe this summer in financially motivated transactions.