Alex Caruso pinpoints what separates Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from LeBron James and Anthony Davis

The rise of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to stardom is probably one of the best stories in the NBA over the last few years. From being a secondary star to Russell Westbrook with the Oklahoma City Thunder, to inspiring his team to dream of an NBA title with his MVP-level performance, SGA's rise is the story of a man striving for greatness.

Alex Caruso has been teammates with some of the future Hall of Fame players in the league. He won his first NBA title when he was teammates with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He spent three years with DeMar DeRozan and is now playing with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The Thunder player recently spoke to The Athletic about his star teammate in Oklahoma. When asked what separated SGA from the other superstars, Caruso had an interesting take: a talent meets competitive nature.

"He’s got that special, competitive edge that all the great guys do," Caruso said. "The guys that I’ve seen — Bron, AD, (Rajon) Rondo, Danny Green, Dwight Howard, DeMar — these are guys that were already the most talented, but then also there’s a standard that they hold themselves to. They’re competitive with themselves to get better and be the best."

"That’s something I see with (Gilgeous-Alexander). He puts in as much work, if not more work, than anybody on the court."

"In practice, there are days when he just has the juice, and his team is the one that wins no matter what," he added. "It’s just things that I’ve seen in guys where they can control the game just by competing at such a high level, and then they’re also the most talented. That’s a special combination."

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finds his touch in close out game against the Grizzlies

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots as Memphis Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama (7) defends during the third quarter of Game four. (Credits: IMAGN)

The Western Conference first-round playoff series between the Memphis Grizzlies and the OKC Thunder was a clean sweep. There is no other way to put it for the Grizzlies: the series was a brutal humiliation. The top-seeded team in the league dominated the series, closing it out early with a 4-0 series sweep.

However, despite the domination, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled through the first three games. An efficient scorer and the current scoring champion shot less than 40 percent in every game and never over 30.0 percent from the 3-point line.

Despite his struggles, SGA kept an attacking mindset and it finally paid off in Game 4 (38 points, shooting 54.2 percent from the field) to send the Grizzlies packing.

After the game, the Thunder star spoke about finally finding his rhythm.

"I just tried to be aggressive," Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said after the game. "The last few games I felt like I was still getting to my spots, the ball just didn't go through the hoop. Tonight the ball was going through the hoop ... I think since I kept the same mindset, it allowed me to play free."

The Grizzlies were an easy obstacle to get over. However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will have to find his offensive rhythm when the Thunder face the winner of the LA Clippers vs Denver Nuggets series. Amidst SGA's struggles, the Thunder found a silver lining in the fact that their role players found a way to win despite their star player making little contribution.