You can’t talk with Jose Alvarado for 15 minutes and not be charmed. Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to chat with the new Knickerbocker and the same exuberance he brings to the court came through our Zoom screen. One of my favorite moments of the season was when Alvarado scored his first basket as a Knick at Madison Square Garden, and the broadcast cut to his family in the stands, joyfully losing their minds. It was exactly the kind of passion the Knicks had been missing before February 5, when they sent Dalen Terry and cash to the New Orleans Pelicans for Alvarado.

We talked the day after New York scraped out a win in Utah, in the fourth game of a five-game road trip. Soon after joining the team, Alvarado made a splash with a 26-point, 5-steal game against the 76ers. Since then, his defense and playmaking have continued to benefit the team off the bench, but his shooting has disappointed—Jose hadn’t made a three-pointer in seven games.

I asked him how one stays motivated when the season drags on, you’re in the middle of a road trip, your shot isn’t falling, and you’re hunkered down in Salt Lake City. According to Alvarado, the key is perspective.

“The season’s a rollercoaster,” he said. “We had a couple of good games, and then had some trouble, and people start to lose faith. But we trust the process. We’re so deep as a team, we just need to put in the work and the wins will come.”

For Alvarado, the job goes beyond personal statistics. On nights when he’s not scoring, he measures his value in other ways. “It’s not all about the shooting,” he said. “There are lots of ways to contribute. My job is to try to set up easy baskets on offense and get the team going on defense.”

That defensive identity has followed him throughout his career. As a small guard, Alvarado built his reputation by harassing opposing ballhandlers. His secret is surprisingly simple. “I watch their hips,” he explained. “If they’re tilting back, I’ve got them. If they start leaning forward, I know they’re about to drive and I can strike.”

The Knicks guard has quickly developed chemistry with teammates. I asked how much fun it is to throw lobs for Mitchell Robinson.

“It’s great,” Alvarado said with a big smile. “He’s such an easy target to throw the ball to.”

Alvarado’s transition to New York happened fast. After being dealt from the New Orleans Pelicans to the New York Knicks in February, he has had only a short window to settle into a new team and system.

“It’s a learning process,” he said. “Those guys had the first half of the season to work together, and I’ve had just a couple of weeks. So it takes time to figure things out, but we’re getting there.”

The basketball adjustment is only part of the challenge. A midseason trade uproots nearly every part of a player’s life overnight.

“People don’t understand,” Alvarado said. “You think, ‘They’ve got millions,’ and don’t get me wrong, the financial security is great. But one day you’re comfortable in your forever home, and overnight you have to go to a different city, leaving your wife and kids behind.”

As Alvarado explained to me, the logistics are chaotic. Players scramble to find temporary housing, ship belongings across the country, and introduce themselves to new teammates—all while continuing to play NBA games. “I haven’t been back to my home in New Orleans since the trade,” he said. “I just had to have someone send me some things from there.”

Despite the upheaval, New York holds special meaning for Alvarado.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m so glad to be back in New York, because my mom and dad are here,” he said. “I grew up a Knicks fan. This is where I want to be. But it’s not easy. Being away from my wife and kids is hard.”

Long before he reached the NBA, Alvarado made his name as a defensive menace at Georgia Tech. During the 2020–21 season, he led the Yellow Jackets to an unexpected run through the ACC Tournament. March 13 marked the five-year anniversary of winning the tourney. Jose called it, “The highlight of my career. We didn’t have a great season leading up to it, and then went on a nine-game streak. No one saw us coming.”

His playmaking and defensive clamps were vital to the team’s success. That season, Alvarado led the ACC with three steals per game and was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year. It was a target he had set early in his college career.

“Winning that award was my goal,” he said. “As a small guard, I knew that would help me stand out, so that’s what I focused on and worked for.”

Even now, he keeps in touch with teammates from that successful run, though distance and overseas careers make it difficult. “I keep in contact with those guys,” he said. “But it’s hard because some of them are in Europe, in different time zones.”

I asked for Jose’s thoughts on older players returning to college to play, such as James Nnaji at Baylor. Due to a controversial loophole, Players who have left college are eligible to return if they never signed an NBA contract or played in an official NBA game.

“I’m against it,” said Jose. “Imagine you’re a senior and trying to line up your career, and then an older player comes back to take your spot. You make one mistake and lose your chance. That just doesn’t seem fair.”

Asked about the most defining matchup of his career so far, Alvarado didn’t hesitate. He pointed to a playoff series against Chris Paul during the 2022 postseason, when the Pelicans faced the Phoenix Suns.

“He’s one of the best, and he has so many tricks,” he said. “We didn’t win, but I felt like I had achieved what I set out to do and showed everyone what I’m capable of.”

That confidence has fueled his rise from an undrafted guard to a rotation player known across the league for his relentless drive.

Alvarado’s connection to Madison Square Garden dates back to early in his career. One of his breakout performances came there in 2022, when he scored 13 points, four assists, and four steals in a game against the Knicks, while still not secured on the Pelicans’ roster.

“I was still on a two-way then and needed to prove myself,” he said. “We had played a few nights before in Brooklyn, so I was warmed up. [Willie Green] gave me a chance, and I made the most of it.”

The Garden experience is like no other. “It’s one thing to go to a Knicks game as a fan, or play there in a college game,” he said. “It’s a different experience as a pro.”

Jose reminds me of my childhood idol, John Starks, who was also a small guard, used grit to define himself, and was not guaranteed a path to an NBA success. Alvarado will appear with Starks, Patrick Ewing, Jalen Brunson, and Karl-Anthony Towns in AT&T’s Connection Matters campaign for March Madness.

The campaign highlights the role shared experiences play in college basketball’s biggest moments. The ads focus on how connections—fans in arenas, friends watching games from different places, or loved ones sharing milestones—can lend extra meaning to the tournament. The campaign emphasizes AT&T’s goal of supporting those moments through a dependable network. The spots will run throughout the tournament across CBS, TBS, TNT, the March Madness Live app, and more.

Alvarado said that it is humbling to be in the presence of Knicks legends. Now that he wears the orange and blue himself, the reality still hasn’t quite sunk in. I asked how it felt to check into the game for the first time playing as a Knick, the team he rooted for as a kid.

“It’s surreal,” Alvarado said. “But you tell yourself, ‘Alirght, let’s get rid of these bubbleguts and get to work.‘”

Trust the work, unselfish basketball, and pitbull defense? Thibs would have loved him. Here’s the aforementioned Connection Matters ad. Go Knicks!

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