New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado has been one of the NBA's feel-good stories since he stepped onto the scene last season as a rookie and made an impact throughout the season and into the playoffs as the Pelicans pushed the No. 1 seed Phoenix Suns to six games in the first round. Alvarado made headlines getting under the skin of Chris Paul with his signature ‘theft' move and his pesky defense. Alvarado's rise continued over NBA All-Star weekend when he took home the MVP honors of the NBA All-Star Rising Stars game after a jaw-dropping three-point shot to win the game. After the Saturday night festivities were over, Alvarado took to social media to express his thoughts on his MVP win.

This season, Jose Alvarado has taken on a bit of an expanded role for the Pelicans. He's the team's backup point guard and resident opposing player irritant. Alvarado has upped his numbers from his rookie season to 9.1 points per game, 2.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals with shooting splits of 40.9 percent shooting from the field, 33.9 percent shooting from three-point range and 81.3 percent shooting from the free throw line. While his overall shooting percentage may be down from the 44.6 percent he shot as a rookie, his three point shooting percentage has seen a jump from the 29.1 percent he shot last season.

During last season's playoff run, Alvarado averaged 8.o points per game, 1.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals with shooting splits of 48.5 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from the three-point line and 76.9 percent from the free-throw line.