LAS VEGAS — Jose Alvarado is a master thief whose work is so good, it is getting mimicked.
Last season, Alvarado came up with a significant amount of steals by hiding on the baseline when other teams were inbounding the ball. He wanted to go undetected so he could leap into the play and pick off what should be a basic inbounds pass.
Alvarado, who averaged 1.3 steals in 15.4 minutes with the New Orleans Pelicans as a rookie, said he is flattered by the imitation.
In May, Jeff Willis, an assistant coach at Northwestern Ohio, tweeted that Alvarado “has ruined AAU forever.”
“I’ve seen about 25 people try his hide in the corner trick, and it’s barely 1pm,” Willis wrote.
Jose Alvarado has ruined AAU forever.
— Jeff Willis (@coachjwillis22) May 28, 2022
I’ve seen about 25 people try his hide in the corner trick and it’s barely 1pm😅
“Everybody told me, ‘You’ve got everybody doing that,' " Alvarado said. "It never gets old to me."
Alvarado was included on the Pelicans’ Summer League roster, but the team held him out of Saturday’s game. Alvarado has been playing with the Puerto Rican national team this summer, so the Pelicans felt he deserved a night off.
Alvarado joined the Puerto Rican national team in April. Long-time NBA point guard Carlos Arroyo, Puerto Rico’s general manager, recruited him.
On July 4, Alvarado tallied 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in Puerto Rico’s overtime win over Mexico. The game was played in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Alvarado said the crowd was raucous.
"It’s a whole different life,” Alvarado said. “You can bring horns. You can bring bells. You can bring everything.”
Alvarado’s grandfather moved from Puerto Rico to the U.S. Alvarado was raised in Brooklyn, New York. He played for the New York Rens, an AAU powerhouse, and he attended Christ the King, which counts famous hoopers Lamar Odom and Sue Bird as alumni.
Alvarado said his favorite part about playing for Puerto Rico is the fans’ passion.
"I play with my emotions on my sleeve, and I give it all I got,” Alvarado said. “It was just like a whole bunch of mes around me. It was pretty cool for them to show me some love. It was a very exciting moment.”
This time last year, Alvarado had yet to sign a two-way contract with the Pelicans. He had a strong showing at Summer League. He spent much of the early portion of the season with the G League Birmingham Squadron. He became a mainstay in the Pelicans’ rotation in January. By the end of the season, he was their best option at backup point guard. The team converted him to a full-time roster spot in March.
“I just want to keep building for myself. I can tell my kids, ‘I did it my way,' " Alvarado said. " 'I didn’t have to pretend to be anyone else. I did it Jose’s way.' This whole summer has been great. I can’t wait to be locked in with my teammates and get ready for the season.”