Shishmaref man celebrates unforgettable birthday at NBA game in Denver, CO
Kevin Nayokpuk of Shishmaref will never forget his 21st birthday. Not only did his wish come true to go somewhere outside of Alaska to celebrate his birthday on March 24 – he and a group of Shishmaref residents went to Denver, Colorado.
Not only did he get to attend his first NBA game – his mother gifted him a ticket to the Denver Nuggets playing the Phoenix Suns.
But when he also made it known during the game that the occasion is special to him, he attracted a whole new level of attention. Nayokpuk and his friends made signs they flashed during the game. One read “21st B-Day from Alaska”, the other read “Alaskans in the House Let’s go Nuggets.” This caught the attention of Denver Nuggets photographer Taylor Vincek, the daughter of Nome-grown Julie Vincek, and when she saw the Alaska signs, she went into the stands. “It was the first quarter of the Nuggets/Suns game and I’m sitting on the baseline of the court where the photographers sit. His sign caught my eye because he was waving it around and dancing and then I saw ‘ALASKA’ in bright blue. I’ve never seen that at an NBA game before and I was so excited that I actually left my shooting position to go say hi,” Taylor wrote to the Nugget in an email. “When I asked him what part of Alaska they were from, Kevin and his friend Corey Ningeulook said a small village above Nome.”
Nayokpuk was then shocked to learn that Vincek knew Shishmaref and couldn’t believe that so far from home, he’d run into somebody who knew where his home village actually is. Vincek then arranged for the whole Shishmaref group, who were scattered across the stands in different seats, to come down to the ball court and have their photos taken.
“I’ve covered Western Conference Finals, I’ve covered Nikola Jokic winning the league MPV award, but nothing has made me as excited as meeting rural Alaskans in the crowd at Ball Arena,” said Vincek.
“Kevin and his whole crew were so kind and so gracious. Having them down on the court after the game was so special to me because I know how far they had to travel just to be in Denver. I also know how important basketball is to our state, especially small-town Alaska.”
Kevin Nayokpuk said he will never forget this birthday and repeatedly said how happy this made him.
Now back in Shishmaref, he’s looking forward to some basketball action as he’ll be playing and also refereeing in the upcoming Shishmaref Spring Carnival basketball games.