- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,265,328
- Reaction score
- 59
Jose Alvarado and Julian Champagnie are familiar with each other — and have similar paths.
Both made their names starring in New York’s Catholic High School Athletic Association — with Alvarado playing at Christ the King Regional High School in Queens and Champagnie hooping at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn.
From there, four-star recruit Alvarado took his talents to Georgia Tech while the three-star Champagnie stayed local at St. John’s University.
Both enjoyed individual success throughout their college careers, but neither of them enjoyed the privilege of hearing their names called on draft night. That now doesn’t matter as the two New Yorkers found their way to the 2026 NBA Finals battling each other — and talking trash — just like they did as teenagers.
“Yeah, I think it’s just friendly banter, honestly and truly. Obviously I’ve known Jose for a while,” Champagnie said. “Yeah, he makes one, he talks. I make one, I talk. That’s just how New York is. That’s how it goes.”
The two exchanged words in the second quarter of Wednesday’s Game 1 after trading three-pointers during a tight matchup.
With Champagnie closing out, Alvarado knocked down a trey and immediately let the Spurs forward know about it as they ran back to the other end. Seconds later, Champagnie responded with his own corner three-pointer right in Alvarado’s face.
Champagnie’s trey was one of five made in the first half.
“I don’t think it was anything too crazy,” Champagnie said of the exchange. “It was just, ‘You like that one’ and whatnot. That was all it was.”
Alvarado and the Knicks had the last laugh at the end after pulling out a 105-95 Game 1 victory. The Knicks guard finished with seven points, four rebounds and one assist off the bench.
“He was huge,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said about Alvarado’s Game 1 performance. “We talked about it during our film session. I pointed it out before we got started. When Jalen [Brunson] went out the game, he came in and he kind of stabilized us because we were floundering a little bit. He got us into our offense.”
Champagnie didn’t make another shot after halftime, logging 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The two New Yorkers played in bigger roles — like they did throughout high school and college — in Game 1.
The Knicks kept losing track of Champagnie on the perimeter, allowing him to catch fire early for a Spurs team that witnessed its starting lineup struggle making shots out the gate. And Jalen Brunson’s multiple injuries scares thrusted Alvarado into key, early minutes.
“He was really, really good defensively,” Brown said. “He’s always into the game. He’s always present. So for him to be able to come and hold down the fort the way that he did was much needed.”
Alvarado’s defense was touted at Christ the King, and he kept that reputation in college as a winner of ACC Defensive Player of the Year during his senior season. The guard averaged 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.8 steals that season.
His college resume includes 2020-21 ACC All-Defense, two-time All-ACC and 2021 All-ACC Tourney. Alvarado helped lift the Yellow Jackets to its first ACC championship in nearly three decades after defeating Scottie Barnes and Florida State University in the 2021 title game.
Champagnie doesn’t have any conference titles on his collegiate resume, but he did receive accolades in his three seasons with the Red Storm.
The guard was two-time All-Big East, 2019-2020 Big East All Freshman and 2020-21 Big East Most Improved Player of the Year. He upped his scoring from 9.9 points per game to 19.8 from his freshman to sophomore season. In his junior year, Champagnie averaged 19.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.
Champagnie, who initially declared for the NBA Draft in 2021 but withdrew, permanently entered the draft in 2022.
Alvarado declared for the draft a year prior.
Both went undrafted. They each spent time in the G League before finding themselves in key roles on championship contenders.
Their teenage New York upbringings are shaping who they are on the court — and it’s now on full display on a national stage.
“Figuring out how you can play on those courts, definitely I feel like it translates into playing on the NBA court,” Champagnie said. “Obviously the talent is different and stuff like that. But you take little tidbits, the trash talk, the physicality, perseverance and how to get through and actually win a game. You take those things with you throughout your whole career.”
Continue reading...
Both made their names starring in New York’s Catholic High School Athletic Association — with Alvarado playing at Christ the King Regional High School in Queens and Champagnie hooping at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn.
From there, four-star recruit Alvarado took his talents to Georgia Tech while the three-star Champagnie stayed local at St. John’s University.
Both enjoyed individual success throughout their college careers, but neither of them enjoyed the privilege of hearing their names called on draft night. That now doesn’t matter as the two New Yorkers found their way to the 2026 NBA Finals battling each other — and talking trash — just like they did as teenagers.
“Yeah, I think it’s just friendly banter, honestly and truly. Obviously I’ve known Jose for a while,” Champagnie said. “Yeah, he makes one, he talks. I make one, I talk. That’s just how New York is. That’s how it goes.”
The two exchanged words in the second quarter of Wednesday’s Game 1 after trading three-pointers during a tight matchup.
With Champagnie closing out, Alvarado knocked down a trey and immediately let the Spurs forward know about it as they ran back to the other end. Seconds later, Champagnie responded with his own corner three-pointer right in Alvarado’s face.
Champagnie’s trey was one of five made in the first half.
“I don’t think it was anything too crazy,” Champagnie said of the exchange. “It was just, ‘You like that one’ and whatnot. That was all it was.”
Alvarado and the Knicks had the last laugh at the end after pulling out a 105-95 Game 1 victory. The Knicks guard finished with seven points, four rebounds and one assist off the bench.
“He was huge,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said about Alvarado’s Game 1 performance. “We talked about it during our film session. I pointed it out before we got started. When Jalen [Brunson] went out the game, he came in and he kind of stabilized us because we were floundering a little bit. He got us into our offense.”
Champagnie didn’t make another shot after halftime, logging 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The two New Yorkers played in bigger roles — like they did throughout high school and college — in Game 1.
The Knicks kept losing track of Champagnie on the perimeter, allowing him to catch fire early for a Spurs team that witnessed its starting lineup struggle making shots out the gate. And Jalen Brunson’s multiple injuries scares thrusted Alvarado into key, early minutes.
“He was really, really good defensively,” Brown said. “He’s always into the game. He’s always present. So for him to be able to come and hold down the fort the way that he did was much needed.”
Alvarado’s defense was touted at Christ the King, and he kept that reputation in college as a winner of ACC Defensive Player of the Year during his senior season. The guard averaged 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.8 steals that season.
His college resume includes 2020-21 ACC All-Defense, two-time All-ACC and 2021 All-ACC Tourney. Alvarado helped lift the Yellow Jackets to its first ACC championship in nearly three decades after defeating Scottie Barnes and Florida State University in the 2021 title game.
Champagnie doesn’t have any conference titles on his collegiate resume, but he did receive accolades in his three seasons with the Red Storm.
The guard was two-time All-Big East, 2019-2020 Big East All Freshman and 2020-21 Big East Most Improved Player of the Year. He upped his scoring from 9.9 points per game to 19.8 from his freshman to sophomore season. In his junior year, Champagnie averaged 19.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.
Champagnie, who initially declared for the NBA Draft in 2021 but withdrew, permanently entered the draft in 2022.
Alvarado declared for the draft a year prior.
Both went undrafted. They each spent time in the G League before finding themselves in key roles on championship contenders.
Their teenage New York upbringings are shaping who they are on the court — and it’s now on full display on a national stage.
“Figuring out how you can play on those courts, definitely I feel like it translates into playing on the NBA court,” Champagnie said. “Obviously the talent is different and stuff like that. But you take little tidbits, the trash talk, the physicality, perseverance and how to get through and actually win a game. You take those things with you throughout your whole career.”
Continue reading...
