If there were one rule in today’s NBA that Shaquille O’Neal would change, it would be to “let them fight.” This is the same mantra he passed on to the New York Knicks guard who lost a good chunk of his money because of the suspension. It was a hilarious conversation that Jose Alvarado shared about how Shaq encouraged him to keep on fighting.

The fight was with Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams back in December. Alvarado was a member of the Pelicans then and explained what led to the scuffle. “Once he pushed me in the back, I was like, oh, I was on tap.” The then-Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado was called for a foul for running into Williams on a screen. But the Suns center did not appreciate the foul and pushed his opponent. Just like that, a fight broke out, and Alvarado landed a quick hook shot, catching Williams flush. They earned the punishment but also backing from Shaq.

“Shout out to Shaq, yo, he’s funny. He called me right away. He said, ‘That’s how you do it, young fella.’ ‘How much you think you’re going to run me, Shaq?’ He’s like,’ Don’t worry about that, that’s chump change.’ And I was like, Shaq, ‘There’s a different payroll out here, boy.’ The private conversation perfectly captured both O’Neal’s and Alvarado’s energy. The Lakers legend is encouraging to continue standing up, while the 28-year-old who faced the NBA punishment thinks otherwise.

Williams and Jose Alvarado were ejected, and the NBA later handed Alvarado a two-game suspension while Williams received one game, without pay. Now, the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) uses the 1/145th rule for standard short-term suspensions. Meaning Jose Alvarado on a $4.5 million per year contract, had to pay a total of $62,069 ($31,034.50 per game). Why this was “chump change” for Shaquille O’Neal was because of his mega contracts throughout his tenure. In fact, the 4x NBA champion ended up accumulating more than $286 million in his 19-year spell.

This is just about his standard NBA contract. Clearly, Jose is a role player, which is why his salary is comparatively lower. The current Knicks star was already burned by the league before, so he knows financially it will be more draining if he keeps getting involved in brawls.

Why Alvarado didn’t listen to Shaquille O’Neal’s encouragement

During the podcast appearance on 7PM in Brooklyn, Alvarado detailed that he had even been fined previously for a similar incident with another big man, so he knew the consequences. The on-court altercation occurred in February 2024 during the New Orleans Pelicans and the Miami Heat matchup. While officials were managing a confrontation between Jimmy Butler and Naji Marshall, Alvarado and Heat center Thomas Bryant engaged in their own physical fight near the scorers’ table.

“I got fined for doing the same thing to another big fella. Three games. So I’m like, yo, I’m done — I’m going to get my money worth. Little do you know, my check didn’t move for like three months. I told my family, yo, we got to save, bro. We’re going to be down three months.” Jose Alvarado was suspended for three games without pay. Now, at that time, he was on his rookie year deal, earning close to $1.7 million per year. So the appropriate fine amount was close to $35,172.

So far, Jose Alvarado has lost $100k in fines. That’s why he wants to stop. But Shaquille O’Neal loved the fiery spirit of the Brooklyn native and wants him to continue. As we begin the playoffs, the stakes are higher, and so will be the emotions. There is a possibility that Shaq’s words of encouragement might lead to some action.