There will be no New Orleans Pelicans on Team USA when it heads to Paris to defend its Olympic gold this summer, but there will be one other Pelican in the bracket.
That honor will go to Pels point guard Jose Alvarado, who put the Puerto Rican national team on his back to punch their first ticket to the summer for the first time in two decades.
Watch below as Alvarado is celebrated as the hero following the victory over in Lithuania in their qualifying bracket, jumping up on the scorer's table and hyping up the crowd.
Alvarado scored a team-high 23 points to go with a pair of steals in the championship game as Puerto Rico defeated Lithuania 79-68. Puerto Rico also netted wins over Bahrain and Italy on their run to the title. Alvarado led the team with an average of 16 points, while adding 3 assists and more than two steals per game.
Former LSU standout Tremont Waters, who spent time as a member of the Boston Celtics and now plays internationally, added 18 points and 3 assists in the title game win.
Alvarado was a clear energizing force for his squad, something Pelicans fans are more than familiar with since he joined the team as an undrafted free agent in 2021. The 6-foot guard has served as a offensive spark plug and pestilent defender throughout his career, averaging more than 7 points, 2 assists and more than a steal per game in his 171 games played.
Games in the 2024 Olympic bracket begin on July 27, with Puerto Rico set to kick off their slate against South Sudan the following day. In the group stage they'll also match up with Serbia and the juggernaut United States squad, which has gold in seven of the past eight Olympics, including the past four. Eight of the 12 teams will advance out of the group stage to form a bracket consisting of the top two teams in each group, and the top two third place teams.
