Los Angeles Lakers: Top 10 moments of the 2018-19 NBA season

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 22: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates his basket in overtime between Lonzo Ball #2 and Kyle Kuzma #0 during a 143-142 loss to the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center on October 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) /

10. Alex Caruso‘s put-back jam vs. the champs

Alex Caruso was an undrafted point guard out of Texas A&M back in 2016 when he was cut and subsequently waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder, only to find his way to the City of Angels in the summer of 2017 on a two-way contract.

Since then, he’s made a name for himself on the Lakers roster, enough to see an increase in playing time towards the end of the 2018-19 regular season. He didn’t have many tangible skills, nor were his stats all that impressive at just 9.2 points and 3.1 assists per game, but as a 6’5” ball-handler he brought grit and energy whenever he stepped foot on the court.

Caruso was built more for the hustle stats than the highlight reel, so when he soared for in from the left wing for a put-back slam against the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors, everyone inside the Staples Center — L.A.’s bench included — lost their collective minds.

https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1114008356509835269

He slammed it over his own teammate in JaVale McGee. LeBron himself didn’t appear to believe what he had just witnessed. Even Kevin Durant appeared stunned if only for a second, shocked that a seemingly unathletic point guard could leap so high.

The Lakers were down 58-40 when Caruso slammed it through towards the end of the first half, and would go on to face defeat by the final score of 108-90. In that singular instant though, none of that mattered. The sole focus was on a guy whose reputation led many to believe his most recent play wasn’t possible, leading to an absolute state of shock when he pulled it off.

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