A pair of Alaskans just got a lot closer to fulfilling their NBA dreams as Utqiagvik’s Kamaka Hepa and Anchorage’s Kok Yat each were picked up for next month’s Vegas Summer League.

And another Alaskan made it happen for one of them.

New Orleans Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon of Anchorage had a hand in getting Hepa on the team’s roster for the summer league, which runs July 7-17 in the desert.

Hepa just wrapped up his senior season at the University of Hawaii, where he averaged 11.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 33 games.

The 6-foot-9 All-Big-West performer is a stretch forward who shot 39% on 3-pointers and 82% from the free-throw line in 60 career games at Hawaii.

Shout out and good luck to Kamaka Hepa (Inupuaq/Hawaiian), out of the University of Hawaii men’s basketball program, who had a NBA Pre-Draft workout with the Toronto Raptors yesterday. NbA draft is on June 22nd.#NativeAthlete #Inupiaq #Hawaiian #NBA #PreDraft #Toronto #Raptors pic.twitter.com/IiElZhlICO

— NDNSPORTS.COM (@ndnsports) June 3, 2023

The three-time Gatorade Player of the Year – twice at Barrow High, once at Jefferson High in Oregon – pumped in a career-high 30 points against Saint Francis and 29 against Cal Poly.

Hepa, 23, had pre-draft workouts this month with four NBA teams, including the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors.

Yat, 20, will lace ’em up in the NBA Summer League for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The 6-foot-9 forward has played the last two seasons for Overtime Elite, a newly formed professional league comprised of 16-to-19-year-olds.

Last season, he averaged 6.3 points in the preseason before suffering a season-ending injury.

When healthy, Yat is a problem for defenders around the rim. He has a 45-inch vertical and dunks everything.

Yat was a four-star recruit coming out of Georgia Class 7A power Norcross High and committed to DePaul and coach Dave Leitao, who recruited the Alaskan. But when the school fired Leitao, he opted to play for Overtime Elite.

here’s some Sunday morning Kok Yat vs Josh Minott action pic.twitter.com/fCDLsyfGVd

— wolveshotboxscores (@wolvesboxscores) June 25, 2023

As a rookie, he was injured during the regular season but made a big impact when he played. Per 40 minutes, Yat averaged 18.6 points and 7.3 rebounds. In his second game back from injury, he scored 17 points in 16 minutes to help Team OTE win game one of the Overtime Elite finals. He was also one of 44 players invited to the G League Elite Camp in Chicago.

Yat’s Alaska ties run deep. He grew up in Anchorage and attended Romig Middle School. His cousin is NBA player JT Thor of Anchorage.

“Alaska is definitely home,” he said.

Since 1980, players from Alaska have a long tradition of participating in the NBA Summer League.

NBA SUMMER LEAGUE
The Fab 15
1980 – Tony Turner (Pistons)
1994 – Brooks Thompson (Magic)
1999 – Trajan Langdon (Cavs)
2002 – Carlos Boozer (Cavs)
2002 – Andre Laws (Cavs)
2005 – Kyle Bailey (Spurs)
2006 – Doron Perkins (Lakers)
2008 – Mario Chalmers (Heat)
2014 – Damen Bell-Holter (Celtics)
2022 – JT Thor (Hornets)
2022 – Daishen Nix (76ers)
2022 – Justinian Jessup (Warriors)
2022 – Isiah Brown (Clippers)
2023 – Kamaka Hepa (Pelicans)
2023 – Kok Yat (Timberwolves)