The ultimate dream of an undrafted player is this very moment.

When we talk about Alvarado, Chris Paul is always an unavoidable name. Alvarado’s breakout game was his battle against Paul in the 2022 playoffs. And the last peak of Paul’s career was going 14-for-14 in the first round of those same playoffs, with Alvarado guarding him.

And in the year Paul confirmed his retirement, Alvarado secured the championship that Paul had pursued his entire career. Keep in mind that just a few months earlier, Alvarado was stuck on the league-worst Pelicans, a player on an expiring contract who was traded for two second-round picks. A few months later, he stood on the biggest stage and played a crucial role in the Finals. Sometimes, fate truly decides what is meant to be yours and what isn't.

The turning point of this year's Finals was undoubtedly Game 4, when the Knicks erased a 29-point deficit—a 3-1 series lead versus 2-2 is a world of difference. And the turning point within that Game 4 came in the fourth quarter, thanks to Alvarado.

At halftime, trailing by a large margin, the Knicks were not discouraged. In the locker room, Alvarado rallied the team: “Brothers, listen—no matter whether we win or lose tonight, for the next 24 minutes, we better give it our all out there! We have to show our opponents and the whole world what true Knicks basketball and defensive intensity look like.”

The Knicks delivered. They elevated their defensive intensity in the second half, waiting for the Spurs’ shooting to cool off. In the fourth quarter, Mike Brown gave Alvarado his full trust, letting him play 10 minutes of the entire period. These were the most important 10 minutes of Alvarado’s NBA career so far—and the most brilliant.

On the court, he greatly eased the ball-handling pressure on Brunson. Even when facing the Spurs’ full-court pressure, he handled it with ease, showing no signs of nerves. On that crucial play involving a potential backcourt violation, Alvarado kept the ball securely in the backcourt, avoiding any turnover.

In the fourth quarter, Alvarado scored 8 points, hit two three-pointers, and dished out 3 assists—all of which led to three-pointers by his teammates. In a short span, he generated 17 points for the Knicks, instantly flipping the momentum. For a kid born and raised in New York, this was a dream come true.

On the Knicks, Alvarado is the most “New York” New Yorker of them all. People say Towns went home when he joined the Knicks, but Towns is actually from New Jersey, across the Hudson River. Alvarado was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Queens—he’s the real local.

Interestingly, Alvarado wasn’t the only New Yorker in this Finals. Champagnie of the Spurs was also born in Brooklyn. In high school, their teams faced off often, and they’ve known each other since then—close friends. So in Game 1 of the Finals, after trading trash talk on the court, they both broke into smiles. Both are New Yorkers, both went undrafted, and now their rivalry has evolved from street courts in New York to the Finals at Madison Square Garden—quite a story.

Despite being only 1.83 meters tall, Alvarado was already one of the top players in New York by the time he graduated high school, rated a three-star recruit nationally. He spent four years at Georgia Tech. Notably, his height never budged from 1.83 meters throughout those four years. Even though he grew more skilled on the court, he never heard his name called on draft night.

He earned a spot with the Pelicans on a two-way contract, cracking the NBA door. His name first became known to fans because of Embiid. In a game against the Sixers, Alvarado was assessed a technical foul after a confrontation with Embiid, which came with a $2,000 fine.

Learning that Alvarado couldn’t afford the fine, Embiid graciously covered it. Embiid said, “I just love his energy. He plays hard, he’s very competitive. Even when he got the tech, he didn’t back down. I respect that—I like that about him.”

He became famous for his sneaky steal-from-behind move, earning the nickname “Lao Liu” (The Sixth Man), but what truly kept him in the league is his relentless, dogged defense. In the 2022 playoffs, he forced Paul into back-to-back 8-second violations—likely a first for Paul’s entire career.

After stealing the ball from Paul, Alvarado ran toward his teammates and shouted, “I got him, I got him!” As a child, Paul had always been his idol. In 2013, in his school yearbook, he wrote this:

“My future goal is to become a basketball player. I know everyone says that because they love sports, but I’m serious. Every day after school, I go straight home to do my homework, and then I go straight to the training gym. I work very hard. Chris Paul inspired me and gave me the goal of becoming a player.”

Until this year, he had never imagined he could play for his hometown, let alone win the ultimate championship. He always considered New Orleans his second home. But when he learned he was actually coming back to New York, his whole family burst into tears.

After winning the Eastern Conference title, Alvarado wrote this on social media: “They told us to dream smaller. Now the whole city is dreaming with us.”