Las Vegas Aces superfan gets Dearica Hamby tattoo

Aces forward Dearica Hamby’s game-winning 3-pointer last month against the Chicago Sky is known now as the Miracle at the Mack, the Hamby Heave or The Steal, The Shot, The Game.

And while Las Vegas native Trevor La Porte knows the shot by all of those titles, he also knows it as something else.

His newest tattoo.

La Porte memorialized Hamby’s heroics on Saturday by getting a portrait of her shot tattooed on the outside of his left leg. The 24-year-old already had more than 20 tattoos, but this particular one has some additional sentimental value because the reigning Sixth Woman of the Year paid for it from Italy, where she’s playing professionally during the WNBA offseason.

“Now, Dearica is my favorite player because we’re pretty much linked forever,” said La Porte, a patient care technician at Minimally Invasive Center of Excellence. “I love the Aces. … I’m pretty much all in.”

La Porte was born and raised a sports fan in Las Vegas. He cheered for the Detroit Red Wings and the Raiders while growing up. He’s an avid Golden Knights fan and was introduced last season to the Aces by his stepmother, who works for MGM Resorts International and gave him tickets to a game.

“I was kind of just hooked after that,” said La Porte, noting that he watches a majority of the road games and purchased season tickets for next season.

La Porte attended 10 Aces home games this season and was at their 93-92 victory over the Sky in the second round of the WNBA Playoffs at Thomas & Mack Center. Local tattoo artist Kenneth Marañon was offering to tattoo portraits for the promotional price of $250, and La Porte jokingly asked on Twitter if anyone would lend him the money to pay for a portrait of Hamby’s shot.

She saw the tweet and insisted he book an appointment. The two connected via direct message, discussed the specifics of the finances and Hamby offered to cover the cost. She wired him the $250 ahead of his appointment.

“I was surprised he really went through it, but I was excited because I love doing portraits,” Marañon said. “I hadn’t done any sports or anything, so it was kind of cool getting (to do an) action shot of a tattoo.

“It’s different from all the other tattoos I’ve ever done. Usually the portraits are of family members or an actor from a movie.”

La Porte sat through a three-hour session Saturday at Beloved Family Tattoo Studio and promptly sent a photo of the piece to Hamby, who shared it across her social media.

The Aces also shared the photo across their social media, and notable players such as A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum have posted it across their various platforms.

“I’m in a fortunate situation and I know a lot of people wouldn’t want to blow money on that,” Hamby wrote in an email. “So I’m aware of that and had some spare money this month.

“I told him that I was glad our fans and basketball got to experience that moment. … I think it’s cool that I could create memories for people like that.”

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Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.