Brandon Ingram Bites Pelicans Teammate Jose Alvarado in Bizarre Bench Scene

What was happening on the Pels bench Wednesday?

The Pelicans took a bite out of one of the teams just ahead of them in the Western Conference, the Mavericks, on Wednesday with a 113–106 home win. Star forward Brandon Ingram suffered an injury that kept him out of the second half of the game, but cameras caught him having a very bizarre moment with teammate Jose Alvarado on the bench.

With seconds left in the game, cameras turned to Ingram and Alvarado, who has been out since late February with a stress reaction in his right tibia. The two appeared to playfully jostle when Ingram put his arm around Alvarado and bit his shoulder. Alvarado grimaced pretty hard, as one does when being bitten by a former NBA All-Star.

Brandon Ingram really bit Jose Alvarado 💀 pic.twitter.com/N3YW651hZR

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 9, 2023

The Pelicans have to hope that Ingram and Alvarado return to play soon, both for their on-court contributions to the team’s playoff hunt, and to cut down on instances of vampirism on the bench. 

With the win, New Orleans is 32–34, tied for the ninth-best record in the West with the Lakers.