(670 The Score) Bulls guard Alex Caruso has earned first-team all-defense honors, the NBA announced Tuesday afternoon.
It marked the first time in Caruso’s career that he earned an all-defense selection, and he’s the first Bulls player to get the first-team honor since Joakim Noah in the 2013-’14 season.
Caruso drew 50 first-team votes and 25 second-team votes among the 100 sportswriters and broadcasters who had ballots. He had 125 points overall, which outpaced the Celtics’ Derrick White’s 99 points for the final guard spot. In addition to Caruso, Bucks center Brook Lopez, Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr., Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley and Bucks guard Jrue Holiday were the other four players who earned first-team all-defense honors.
Caruso averaged 1.5 steals, 0.7 blocks and 3.4 deflections in 23.5 minutes across 67 games this past season. He led the NBA with 3.0 steals per 100 possessions and with 5.2 deflections per 36 minutes.
Caruso was a central figure in uplifting a Bulls defense that finished fifth in the NBA in efficiency despite having several liabilities among its starting five.
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