Josh Hart is not capable of letting a moment pass without making a joke about it. The Knicks just clinched their first NBA Finals berth since 1999. Hart spent the flight home turning his teammate into a meme.
The target was Jose Alvarado, the backup point guard the Knicks acquired from the Pelicans at the trade deadline. Alvarado, who spent the last four years stealing money out of opposing point guards’ wallets in New Orleans, is suddenly four wins away from a championship ring.
Hart noticed.
He posted a photo to his Instagram Story showing Alvarado on the team plane, beaming next to the Eastern Conference trophy. The caption: “Changed this broke boys life.” Two laughing emojis. Alvarado tagged in the post.
The internet did the rest.
Alvarado’s Story Is Actually Real
This is funny because it is also true. Jose Alvarado went undrafted out of Georgia Tech in 2021. He signed with the Pelicans on a two-way contract. He carved out a career as one of the most annoying defensive guards in the league, hiding behind screens to poke balls loose, drawing charges with theatrical flops, and earning the nickname “Grand Theft Alvarado” from announcers who got tired of seeing him take the ball.
He was a fan favorite in New Orleans. He was also expendable when the Pelicans dropped out of the playoff race and started selling at the deadline. The Knicks bought low, sent New Orleans a future second-round pick and Cam Reddish, and brought Alvarado in to back up Jalen Brunson.
Four months later, Alvarado is on a team that just swept the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pelicans are picking in the lottery.
That is what Hart means when he says “changed this broke boys life.” It is a joke. It is also accurate.
Hart Has Been the Knicks’ Best Hype Man All Season
This is what Hart does. He plays defense, he chases offensive rebounds, he does not need plays run for him, and he tells jokes on Instagram. He is the perfect glue guy for a star-driven team because he honestly does not need the ball or the credit.
Hart also has the best one-liner game in the league. He once posted “if they have you hostage just blink” on Instagram while Mikal Bridges was struggling on the Brooklyn Nets. He has been ribbing Brunson about photobombing him since the NBA Cup. He gives interviews where he insults himself before anyone else can.
Other teams don’t have this. Other teams have stars who give canned answers and role players who keep their heads down. The Knicks have Josh Hart calling his backup point guard a broke boy on a team flight to an NBA Finals.
Alvarado Loved It Too
Alvarado responded with a laughing emoji of his own and reposted Hart’s story to his own Instagram. The two have only been teammates since February but they are clearly part of the same comedic ecosystem. Alvarado fits the Knicks locker room because he is willing to embrace the chaos.
The Pelicans, meanwhile, traded a tough, switchable, fan-favorite guard for a future second-round pick and a guy who washed out of New York. New Orleans is now staring at a roster overhaul and a fan base that just watched its old folk hero make the Finals in his first season with another team.
Hart’s joke wrote itself. The Pelicans handed it to him.
The Knicks are four wins from a championship. If they pull it off, the funniest moment of the celebration is going to involve Hart, Alvarado, and a caption that nobody could have predicted in February.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
