“Jose is hard to describe, but you just know he’s going to bring that passion and energy to the game that you would want to see from anybody.” Right from the beginning, Zion Williamson knew that his teammate may not be as underwhelming as some imagined. After all, in a competitive NBA world, not many would’ve put their money on a player who went undrafted, playing on a two-way contract. Fortunately, Jose Alvarado has spent the last 3 years proving everyone wrong, making a mark on the domestic and international stage. As he finally gets to bear the fruit of his labor, the Pelicans player makes use of the opportunity to celebrate on two counts.

With no contract extension in sight and just a few days remaining until the pre-season, Jose Alvarado was heading into free agency come 2025. However, at the last hour, news emerges that he’s signed a 2-year extension with the New Orleans Pelicans that would yield him $9 million! To celebrate, the player took to Instagram to share a screenshot with his 295,000 followers. It showcased a conversation between him and another individual, with the latter stating, “Who would’ve thought just playing harder than everyone else would make you a multi-millionaire.”

Endorsing the message, the hooper added his own remarks as the caption, writing “Say it louder for the people who told me that wasn’t a skill, I was good enough y’all. Thank you god.” With this, Jose not only got to celebrate his pay raise but also proudly presented proof to those who ever chose to downplay him!

With an annual pay of $4.5 million, Jose Alvarado’s extension is a huge leap from the 4-year, $6.88 million contract that he previously had. For quite some time, he was made to believe that he did not deserve even that. After all, along with being an undrafted selection, Alvarado wasn’t anything impressive on the offensive side, averaging only 7.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists over three seasons.

However, what he couldn’t provide in terms of scoring, he did defensively. The player has become famous for his skills of sneaking through the baseline, towards ball handlers, and allowing a turnover before the rival team could even cross half-court. This earned him the nickname “Grand Theft Alvarado,” and increased the rep he held amongst his teammates and New Orleans fans.

Along with defense, Jose Alvarado has also prioritized hard work to make up for his less-than-average 6-feet build and lack of offense. After he started receiving consistent minutes in January 2022, the player and his teammates went on to outscore their rivals by 143 points in over 505 minutes of gameplay! As a result, he ended up leading all first-years in terms of ‘plus-minus.’ The next season saw him falling down the rank, but just to the second position as he secured an aggregate plus-minus of +240.

Through the extension deal, the Pelicans have shown that they value the player’s presence within their fold. After all, the franchise went 38-18 in the 56 regular season games he appeared in last season, but recorded 11-15 in the remaining 26 he missed. The decision to keep him on is resonating well with the NBA fraternity, and even the player’s former teammate is giving him a shoutout.

Larry Nance Jr praises Jose Alvarado’s extension: “Nobody more deserving!”

Amongst the first people to give Jose Alvarado praise after Shams Charania broke the news was Larry Nance Jr. Taking to X, he simply wrote “YEAHHH 15!!! Nobody more deserving!” Before he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks back in July, Larry Nance Jr served as his teammate for two seasons. More than appearing in games, however, the duo spent time together on the bench while recovering from different injuries simultaneously. They did form a bond based on mutual respect.

This isn’t the first time that Jose Alvarado’s former teammate has cheered for him during momentous occasions. Back in January, he was trending after he made his classic come-from-behind steals twice to get the better of LeBron James!

While the NBA’s All-Time Scorer would score 34 points by the end of the night, the fact that Jose Alvarado forced two of his four turnovers was not something that was to be easily forgotten. Larry Nance Jr ensured the same by uploading a photoshopped picture of his pal on the cover of the 2014 game ‘thief’, captioning it as “Game Recap.” With the point guard not going anywhere from New Orleans, it remains to be seen whether more shoutouts like these can be expected in the future.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.