Puerto Rico has a new NBA champion.

Point guard José Alvarado lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy on Saturday with the New York Knicks, who rallied to defeat the San Antonio Spurs 94–90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

For the team from the Big Apple, it marked the end of a 53-year championship drought.

Alvarado, 28, who was born and raised in Brooklyn to a Puerto Rican family, became the third Puerto Rican to win a title in the world’s premier basketball league. During the celebration, he proudly waved the Puerto Rican flag on the awards stage.

“I have no words. It’s special. It’s something we’re going to celebrate for the rest of our lives. I’m happy we achieved it, and the way we did it made it even more special”, Alvarado told Monica McNutt of Gotham Sports.

The first Puerto Rican champion was Alfred “Butch” Lee, who was born on the island to American parents. He was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers’ championship roster during the 1979–80 season, when they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 4–2 in the NBA Finals.

Lee remains the only Puerto Rican to have won championships in the NBA, NCAA, and Puerto Rico’s Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN).

In 2011, point guard José Juan Barea of Mayagüez played a valuable role in the Dallas Mavericks’ first championship in franchise history. Barea remains the only NBA champion developed in Puerto Rico.

Alvarado, a member of Puerto Rico’s National Team that helped return the men’s senior program to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games for the first time in 20 years, was traded from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Knicks midway through the season.

In his first NBA Finals appearance, he played a key role in the historic comeback victory in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks erased a 29-point deficit.

Alvarado contributed eight points, three assists, and two rebounds in 15 minutes. His energy on the court during the decisive fourth quarter was praised by head coach Mike Brown and basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

Over the five-game series, Alvarado averaged 4.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 12 minutes per game.

This was his fifth NBA season, including four and a half with the Pelicans. In 296 career games, he has averaged 8.0 points, 3.2 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game.

Alvarado, who will be celebrating for the next several days, is part of Puerto Rico’s 24-player preliminary roster for the third and crucial qualifying window for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Puerto Rico will play Canada on July 3 and the Bahamas on July 6, with advancement to the next round at stake.

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This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.