Jose Alvarado and his signature Grand Theft Alvarado steal has claimed a new victim, and it’s none other than the legendary LeBron James. The New Orleans Pelicans faced LeBron’s Los Angeles Lakers in the Smoothie King Center and it ended with a 129-109 victory for the Pelicans.
Despite Zion Williamson, James, and Anthony Davis putting in good performances, the highlight of the game was Jose Alvarado stealing the ball from the 39-year-old veteran James and not just once, but twice in the same game.
Jose Alvarado got LeBron TWICE 👀 pic.twitter.com/w9ZmQDbv1N
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 1, 2024
Jose Alvarado humiliates LeBron James
Amidst the 2nd round, LeBron tried to use his body past Alvarado, but he anticipated it perfectly and stole it clean on the run, backed it up with a good turn, and set up a great assist.
In the 4th round, Jose Alvarado picked up pace and caught LeBron from behind as he stole the ball with ease. He couldn’t follow up due to a collision but his steal ended up with points on the board for the Pelicans.
The steals were sneaky and it caught even LeBron off the guard. He’s very aware and cautious on the court and has gained a huge reputation for his game sense. On the other hand, Jose Alvarado is known for his ability to sneak up and catch the opposition ball carrier off guard. His reputation has also grown in a very short span of time. His time in the NBA has claimed many good players, but LeBron is the most prized asset on the Alvarado steal list.
During the post-match interview, Alvarado expressed his humility and surprise at being able to pull off the GTAs as he commented “Surprising because he watches films is always alert to me when I am on the court. You know, it’s funny, you know. It would’ve been anybody who had the ball driven up the court, but LeBron? I can say, that’s one of the greatest players to ever play this game.”
Alvarado also considers this a great highlight in his career as he says “When I go back to watch videos when I grow old… at least I got a video on him getting a steal”
"Surprising because he watches film and is always alert to me… When I go back to watch videos when I grow old… at least I got a video on him getting a steal"
— Jose Alvarado on getting 2 GTA's on LeBron pic.twitter.com/VM3Y9SMSNS
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) January 1, 2024
Teammate Zion Williamson praised Jose Alvarado for his game-changing efforts. He said, “Cmon man, you was there. yall was there… Stuff like that is huge for momentum in games so that’s big time.”
"Cmon man, you was there. yall was there… Stuff like that is huge for momentum in games so that's big time."
— Zion Williamson on Jose Alvarado's steals tonight pic.twitter.com/lMmW4rjWcJ
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) January 1, 2024
Pelicans Head coach Willie Green is positive of Jose Alvarado’s impact and commented “He’s one of our emotional leaders… It’s a blessing to have a guy who can really ignite the whole building”
"He's one of our emotional leaders… It's a blessing to have a guy who can really ignite the whole building"
— Willie Green on Jose Alvarado's impact tonight pic.twitter.com/xeqbqTfO1T
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) January 1, 2024
It was a great game for the Pelicans point guard as he racked up 8 points, a great assist, 3 rebounds, and 4 steals in a little over the 20 minutes he played. Pelicans face the Brooklyn Nets next and Jose Alvarado is on his way to becoming a starter if he continues to perform like this.
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