José ‘Grand Theft’ Alvarado
There are so many talented people in the NBA. The best in the world in basketball. The most athletic, the fastest, the most agile…. And then there are the different ones. There’s Puerto Rican guard Jose Alvarado.
His New Orleans Pelicans team, despite being on the brink of elimination, is one of the most surprising stories so far in the league’s postseason.
While we debated whether we should lose faith in the still-injured Zion Williamson, the management – led by David Griffin – assembled a team worthy of competing.
So much so, that after acquiring star point guard CJ McCollum before the trade deadline, the team closed the season solidly, securing a playoff spot and eventually the playoffs. All this without Zion, who is still recovering from foot surgery, and still doesn’t look ready to return.
He is out, but former Laker Brandon Ingram, who is playing the best basketball of his career, is in, as is center Jonas Valanciunas. However, it is their role players who have complemented an entertaining team that has made the favored Phoenix Suns sweat. Among them, rookie Herb Jones and Alvarado, an idol in the city.
Alvarado was never the tallest (6’0″) or most promising player on every team he played for. In fact, his rivals still underestimate his game. But they all succumb, if only on occasion, to his suffocating defense. The most recent case, that of future Hall of Famer Chris Paul… His favorite player.
But where did the Puerto Rican come from and how did he earn his time on the court at such a level that the organization extended it to four years? Let’s review his story.
From draft overlooked to $6.5 million
Alvarado was playing with the prestigious Christ The King High School in Queens, New York, when his parents convinced him to move away from home in search of a better future. That’s when he committed to Georgia Tech in the NCAA.
There he played four seasons (2017-2021) averaging 13.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and just as many assists.
He didn’t have the flashiest stats. But then, what set him apart from the rest? His character. His attitude of not giving up, of fighting. It was precisely those virtues that made the Pelicans give him a chance. Not the draft, though… Nobody picked him there.
“After so many workouts with teams, I honestly thought I was going to get drafted,” Alvarado said on the Pull Up With CJ McCollum podcast. “But the Pelicans then called me and gave me that opportunity,” he added.
New Orleans originally struck a two-way deal with Alvarado, which meant he had to also play with the affiliate team in the G-League. He dominated the competition with the Birmingham Squadron and earned his place with the first team in the NBA. He was quickly rewarded with a four-year, $6.5 million contract extension.
Alvarado has become a sensation (and sometimes even a magician) when it comes to stealing the ball. Especially, for his ‘trick’ of standing in the corner of the court at the time of the other team’s kickoff. Or come on, at this point, anywhere on the court. He is always a threat. He plays 17 minutes, for example, and it looks like he played all 40. He always brings a tremendous intensity to the opponent.
Immediately, he makes a sprint and the opponent, without realizing it, loses the ball and causes the Pelicans to counterattack.
The Puerto Rican has become viral on social networks thanks to these actions. He finished the season with 1.3 steals per game.
“You know, in school they scolded me telling me that that was never going to work at the next level. Then, they told me the same thing in college…. And look at me now,” Alvarado said.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect to make it in the NBA. But the first time I did it, I noticed the players weren’t paying attention. So I go, and I take them off. You can have the best scout or the best report on me, but you’re not going to know when I’m going to show up,” he added.
Alvarado is the kind of guy who doesn’t back down. It was evident early on in February, when in a regular-season game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he had a trade with point guard D’Angelo Russell.
“He can score,” Russell questioned aloud. “Of course I can score,” the Puerto Rican replied.
From that point on, he won over the Pelicans’ fans. And even the NBA itself. Alvarado is one of those who proves that we can all do whatever we set our minds to.
On the court, maybe everyone is bigger than him, but in terms of effort? There are few of them. And that attitude rubs off on the rest of the team. That is why Alvarado is so important. He started by earning the respect of his own teammates and now of the league.
‘Grand Theft’ Alvarado, in reference to the popular Gran Theft Auto video game series. Alvarado gets even Zion out of his seat and, who knows? now rethink his future in New Orleans, because of the fact that his entourage ‘leaked’ that he was not happy with the city.
Whatever he does, because he will soon be eligible for a maximum rookie extension, there is one guarantee: the Pelicans are a great team. And they’ll be looking to even their series against the Suns, still without Devin Booker, this Thursday.
The Pelicans won’t crumple on the big stage. Neither will Alvarado.
Puerto Rico National Team
Alvarado is also one of the best pieces of news in years for the Puerto Rican national basketball team, which will count on the point guard for its future rebuild.
Alvarado is expected to make his debut in the FIBA summer window and would play against the United States and Mexico.
Former NBA player and current GM of Puerto Rico, Carlos Arroyo, traveled to officially present him with the jersey of the former ‘Magnificent 12’. The Puerto Rican national team has lost strength in the region, but an interesting crop of young players led by Alvarado is on the horizon.
His efforts not only earned him a place in the NBA, but also the national team of his origins. This is just the beginning.
