Pelicans’ Jose Alvarado says he’s OK after being carried off on stretcher in Puerto Rico’s AmeriCup loss

Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado gave everyone a scare Thursday while competing for Puerto Rico in the AmeriCup quarterfinals. He went down hard in overtime, stayed on the floor in pain, and was eventually taken off on a stretcher.

Rod Walker of NOLA.com noted that Alvarado lost his balance while fighting for a rebound and landed squarely on his tailbone. He remained on the court for several minutes before being carted away, leaving the Puerto Rican crowd in stunned silence.

The injury spoiled what had been a brilliant showing. Alvarado poured in 25 points in 36 minutes, connecting on seven of his 15 attempts from deep. Puerto Rico still fell in overtime, 82-77 to Argentina, who now advances to face Canada in Saturday’s semifinal.

Not long after the game, Alvarado took to Instagram to calm nerves. “Appreciate the love, y’all. But your boy good,” he wrote. “God got me.”

There has yet to be an official update, but the tone of his post suggests he avoided anything serious. That would be welcome news for the Pelicans, who are coming off a season defined by injuries to Dejounte Murray (Achilles), Trey Murphy III (shoulder), Herbert Jones (shoulder), and more.

Alvarado himself was sidelined last year from mid-November into January with a hamstring strain, though he returned to play 56 games and delivered career-best averages across the board, including 10.3 points and 4.6 assists.

He is now entering year one of the two-year, $9 million extension he signed last September. He’ll earn $4.5 million this season and hold a player option worth the same for 2026.

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