Alex Caruso says that the main reason that he wants the season to return is because chances to win a title are so rare

If you’re a longtime fan of the Los Angeles Lakers, you may be under the impression that winning an NBA championship isn’t all that difficult.

Since 2000, the Lakers have won five championships, which is more championships than most teams have won in their history. The Lakers are also the team with the second-most championships of all time (16), and that would still be true if you took away the five championships they won while they were still in Minneapolis.

Suffice to say, they’ve enjoyed a healthy amount of success as a team over the years, but the same can’t be said for every team or player in the NBA, which is why Alex Caruso is so anxious to restart the 2019-20 season.

During a recent appearance on “The LiucciCast,” Caruso said that he’s fully aware of the unique situation he’s in this season, and he doesn’t plan on wasting it:

“That’s the simple reason why I want to finish the season. There is no other reason other than that... I mean obviously you want to get paid, you want to get all your money and you don’t want to mess up the CBA, but you don’t get a lot of chances to win a ring unless your name is LeBron James, right?

“I’m a role player, I know my role and I’m working to get better and to maybe have a bigger role on different teams, but I know that the chances are very slim. You don’t get many opportunities, and you hear that from so many people around the league and in professional sports, that you don’t get a lot of opportunities to win championships.

“I’m not taking this for granted. I’m 100%, ten toes in trying to get back in and win this, because that would be a life accomplishment, career accomplishment, you can’t top that. It would be nice to get one, and then obviously if I got one I’m gonna try and get another one. I’m just excited to be a part of it.

“I want to be the last one standing. I want to know what that feeling is, and I think we have the team to do it. I’m just getting excited talking about it right now, I’m getting a little hyped up.”

In addition to Caruso, there are a handful of players on this year’s Lakers team that will be trying to take advantage of the opportunity they’ve worked for. Take Dwight Howard, for example.

Howard has accomplished just about everything a basketball player can during his 16-year career, from his three Defensive Player of the Year awards to his Olympic gold medal. What Howard doesn’t have, though, is an NBA championship, and at the age of 34, his chances of getting one before he retires are only getting slimmer. The same can be said of LeBron James, although it’s a little different because he’s looking to add his fourth, not his first.

There are plenty of reasons to root for the Lakers this season, but seeing players like Caruso, Howard, Dudley and Kuzma win their first championship would be especially gratifying. Let’s hope they can get it done.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.