Jose Alvarado to Play for Puerto Rico’s National Basketball Team
There is no denying Jose Alvarado is a fan favorite in New Orleans. His passion, grit, and energy have won the fans in New Orleans over.
The American-Puerto Rican guard from Brooklyn plans on embracing his roots and playing for his national men's basketball team. Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported that Alvarado will play in the World Cup basketball qualifiers this summer.
Mar 20, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado (15) reacts after the Pelicans defeated the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Carlos Arroyo, Puerto Rico's general manager on the national team, was in New Orleans to present Alvarado with the national team's jersey after the play-in game versus San Antonio. Alvarado was recently on teammate CJ McCollum's Pull Up podcast and talked about the possibility of having the honor to play for Puerto Rico.
"He (Arroyo)- called me a few days ago and told me: 'We are going to try to include you in Puerto Rico.'" Jose then went on to say that Arroyo and Puerto Rican native JJ Barea were guys he looked up to and wanted to emulate growing up.
Before that takes place, the Pelicans' season is still yet to conclude. Alvarado hopes the season will continue past the next play-in game versus the Clippers. Alvarado did his part to continue the season as he came up big versus the Spurs scoring 12 points and dishing out three assists off the bench. No matter which jersey Jose has on, rest assured he will give his all to the game.
