“This is the beginning of something special,” he declared CJ McCollum After New Orleans’ 103: 113 victory over San Antonio in the playoff game between 9-10 places in the West held between Wednesday and Thursday. McCollum provided an electrifying performance with 27 points on 83 percent from the field in the first half on the way to 32 overall, Brandon Ingram added 27 and Jonas Valencia contributed 22 with 14 rebounds, but according to the finishing votes outside of the Smothy King Center – it seemed That the hero of this victory is a completely different player.
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The local Louisiana fans who provided an extraordinary atmosphere did not start singing in honor of one of their top three scenes, nor in honor of Zion Williamson, so to whom did they sing anyway? The (relatively) 24-year-old older rookie of the team, who was not selected in the last draft and averaged 6 points per game in the regular season. This is one way to view the Jose AlbradoBut the second way is to just call it one of the NBA season stories.
“Ola Ola Ola Ola, Jose Jose!”, Pelicans fans sang while dressed in red, marching in a convoy and creating a scene more reminiscent of South American football fields than the team’s basketball hall that until five months ago sank to the bottom of the West with a 12-1 balance. “I almost cried after the game when I heard the fans calling my name, I will give everything for this city,” Alberado said at the press conference. How was this special relationship born? Watch the video below first and then we’ll go back to the beginning.
The Love Is Unreal … Thank you Nola❤️ pic.twitter.com/ASJFKAePX8
– Jose Alvarado (@AlvaradoJose15) April 14, 2022
Alberado spent all four of his college years at Georgia Tech, and after being named ACC’s Defensive Player of the Season last year, he hoped to make his dream come true and be drafted into the NBA Draft. Unfortunately this did not happen, mainly because of his size he played to his detriment and deterred all the best league teams in the world. No team was in a hurry to bet last summer on the American coordinator of Puerto Rican descent who stands 1.83 meters tall and weighs 81 kg, but you can be sure that it did not hurt Alberado’s confidence. After all, he was already in this film in 2016 after graduating high school.
“When I offered a scholarship contract people thought I was crazy,” Georgia Tech coach said John Fastner. “I was told he was not tall enough, that he did not do a lot of things on the floor and that he was not at the level of our league in colleges. What they did not take into account was his toughness, heart and balls, which is why I loved him so much.” As you may have realized, Alberado was one of the better college players in the United States (15.2 points on 50% from the field alongside 4.1 assists and 2.8 steals per game last season).
Fastner said many NBA scouts and executives called him ahead of the draft to ask about Alberado: “Everyone told me they were skeptical about the size of a contract, but I told them like this – ‘You want this player on your team, he’s just a winning player.’ That all the fans will fall in love with him. ”
The numbers can prove how much an Albrado player wins even at the highest level in the world. Although 11 different players on Willie Green’s squad have played more than him this season, he leads his team in the plus-minus index with 143+ in total (2.6+ per game), while in second place is Ingram with 123+ and in third place is the great rookie Rabbi Jones with 68 +.
Not surprisingly, Alberado leads New Orleans by a defensive index (104.8) by a gap of 3.0 from second place, and by an index (7.3) by a gap of 4.0 from second place. In both categories he is in the top 30 of the NBA and if we look at his number of steals (1.3) per 36 minutes (3.1) he seems to be ranked first in the league. He is also the first rookie in history with 70+ steals in less than 900 minutes. These numbers, among other things, arranged for him about two weeks ago a permanent contract worth $ 6.5 million for four years, and who remembers that he started the season in the G-League with a two-way contract?
???? @ AlvaradoJose15 ???? pic.twitter.com/FroZgpjxFO
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) April 14, 2022
If we’ve already mentioned Alberado’s abductions, sit back and enjoy this amazing thing in front of you:
Alvarado is all of us betting a glitch ???????? pic.twitter.com/T0kaYSHtDH
— JD (@j2110_) April 3, 2022
It’s crazy. Alberado only started joining the Pelicans’ rotation in January, but he already has a move he is identified with – a phrase that not many players throughout history can say. The energetic rookie has become a network sensation after time and time again he managed to hide on offense and snatch the ball cunningly, and when the sophistication of the neighborhood meets the NBA parquet, it is impossible not to get excited. In Louisiana, by the way, people like to call it “GTA – Grand Theft Alvarado” after the popular computer game.
“When I saw all the clips of my kidnappings around the internet it was crazy,” he shared. “It’s something I’ve always done. Full of people talking about my unique kidnappings and asking me how I came up with the idea to infiltrate and hide behind the attack, but it’s just me, that’s how I play basketball. I do not do it to attract attention, I do it Because it works and as long as it works I will continue to do so. ”
“I always felt that defense consisted of 90% heart and 10% ability and size,” Alberado claimed. “I personally take every position. At the moment when talking about the best defensive players in the league they are not talking about me, but I will make sure that it changes soon. I want to be selected as one of the top five defenders of the season in the future.”
This tough character of Alberado on the hardwood who is always accompanied by smiles and dances on the bench has made him one of the most beloved and esteemed players in the league in general and New Orleans in particular. To one who receives daily ‘respect’ from the biggest stars our industry has to offer.
In Alberado’s first ever game in the opening five, at Philadelphia on Jan. 25, a technical foul was burned into his duty after an exchange with Joel Ambide who snatched one of his own. The two were fined by the league $ 2,000 each, however Ambide Decided to pay the two fines: “I really like watching a game contract, I love his energies and I felt he got this technical because of me. The least I could do was pay him the fine, he probably does not earn like other players in the league (at that time was under “I did not want him to lose money. He was not afraid of the trash talk and I appreciate him for that.”
This was not the first time Alberado had enjoyed an economic gesture. On January 20, the New York-born coordinator made his Madison Square Garden debut, and on the occasion of the exciting event for him, teammates Ingram and Josh Hart purchased 20 tickets for his family. In front of family and friends Alberado helped the Pelicans get a win with 13 points, 4 assists and 4 steals from the bench: “In the warm-up I dropped the token that I was in the Garden, I felt like I was in a dream. I’m at MSG and I beat the Knicks It’s better. ”
Another viral moment was recorded in the game against Minnesota on January 11, in which the wolf coordinator Diangelo Russell guarded Alberado and asked his teammates: “Can he score?”. In response, Alberado replied “yes, I can score” and sniped a three off the arc. Russell tweeted afterwards: “I did not underestimate him, I just wanted to know if he could score.”
Alberado said that when he signed a regular contract in New Orleans he felt in a dream because players he grew up with like Damian Lillard, Kyle Laurie and Patrick Beverly sent him congratulatory messages, indicating the respect he receives in the league. Speaking of Beverly, take another little moment that will make you love Alberado even more: In the same game against the Timberwolves, Beverly squeezed an offense from Alberado and that’s what he was last to say to the referee: “What? I play aggressively and he takes advantage of it. Beverly does the same on the other side. “The pitch, I’m a less dark version of it, only I look better.”
I love the NBA lmao pic.twitter.com/Uh63ARNAuu
— PBD (@DrewwskiP) February 5, 2022
Alberado continues to climb new peaks at a dizzying pace, only yesterday he joined the Puerto Rico team (and was photographed with ex-Maccabi Tel Aviv and one of the great Puerto Ricans Carlos Arroyo), and tomorrow morning (Saturday) he will host the Los Angeles Clippers hoping to win and qualify for the season The first. In the previous play-in game against the Spurs, he received 22 minutes from the bench and scored 12 points, so that even against LA, a significant role from the bench awaits him.
“I’ve always looked at myself as a winner,” Alberado said. “I want to continue this winemaking in the NBA. We at New Orleans don’t want to be just the young, fun and exciting team. We want to be winners, that’s the goal and we hope to prove it to people already this year.”
Most players who are not selected in the draft also do not get a chance to step on the floor of the best league in the world, which is exactly why Alberado is such a special case. Already in his rookie season he has become a significant screw in a competitive team that may be in the playoffs, talked about more than many of the league stars and if you go to the Smothy King Center you will see a variety of jerseys with the number 15 and the name Alberado. A name no one knew until a few months ago.
And what’s most special about this Alberado story is where the magic takes place. New Orleans is not New York / Atlanta which is home to the 24-year-old coordinator, but it is the perfect city for this rather fictional plot. The last time “NOLA” got so excited about this young player it was a zealot for the easy pick in first place of the 2019 draft, and almost three years later the creators flipped.
While the injured Zion is sitting on the bench, the same fans who went out to celebrate the streets winning the lottery – cheer for a player who will not be counted in the draft at all. This is the story of Alberado, who is here to remind us and Pelicans how surprising this league can be and how many great players are hiding behind the spotlight, or in his case – behind the attack.
Being Puerto Rican you don’t know how dope this picture is
????????????????????????@ AlvaradoJose15 #carlosarroyo pic.twitter.com/3fibTPeIra— Chris Lebron OTB (@OffTheBallPod) April 15, 2022