PHOENIX SUNS ORIGINATIV GAME NIGHT SERIES HOSTED BY GILA RIVER RESORTS AND CASINOS TIPS OFF NOVEMBER 16

The Phoenix Suns will host ten ORIGINATIV game nights hosted by Gila River Resorts and Casinos to honor Arizona’s Indigenous communities and celebrate the team’s City Edition uniform. The uniform and corresponding court will debut at the first ORIGINATIV game on Wednesday, November 16 when the Suns host the Golden State Warriors at Footprint Center at 8 p.m.

The uniform, court and game night series pay tribute to the rich histories and cultures of Arizona’s 22 Tribal Nations and celebrates their shared love of basketball. The program name and logo, created in collaboration with Indige Design Collab within Cahokia SocialTech and ArtSpace, were inspired by the mashup of words in Native American slang and combines the words “original” and “Native.” Indige Design Collab designers Jeremy Arviso, Paul Molina and Eunique Yazzie led the project design work.

ORIGINATIV tips off during Native American Heritage month but the program will celebrate Indigenous communities throughout the season, on and off the court.

PayPal, the official jersey patch partner of the Phoenix Suns, has created a season-long campaign called “Support Our City” to drive awareness of Native American-owned small businesses in Arizona through a content series, pop-up shops at Footprint Center and a gift card toss during games. Native Ground Coffee, a Native-owned coffee company from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian community in Arizona, will be the first business showcased.

On November 16, prior to tip off, the Suns will welcome Governor Stephen Roe Lewis and members of the Gila River Indian Community to perform a Blessing song followed by a live performance of the national anthem by Navajo singer Kahara Hodges who will perform the anthem in her native language Diné. A halftime ceremony will honor the leaders from Arizona’s 22 Tribal Nations who will be in attendance.

Broadcast veteran L.A. Williams has been tapped to call tomorrow’s game in her native Navajo language and her unique style. Williams, who credits broadcast legend Al McCoy as an early mentor, started her radio career in 1992. Williams and fellow Navajo broadcaster Kenneth Maryboy called the first Suns game play-by-play in the Navajo language on April 24, 1993, when the team defeated the San Antonio Spurs. Williams and Maryboy would continue to call Suns games in Navajo during the 1993 NBA Finals. She reprised her role calling games in Navajo throughout the entire 2022 playoffs and has also provided play-by-play coverage in Navajo for the Arizona Cardinals and Oakland Raiders.

The Suns will honor a Native American basketball hero during each game of the ORIGINATIV series starting with Phoenix Mercury alumni and Arizona State University Sports Hall of Famer Ryneldi Becenti. Hailing from Fort Defiance within the Navajo Nation in Arizona, Becenti was the first Native American woman to play in the WNBA during the team and league’s inaugural season in 1997.

Throughout the game, fans will have the opportunity to learn about the history and traditions of Indigenous communities in Arizona and about local Native American businesses and personalities. Native small business Emerson Fry Bread will have their food truck out front of the arena serving various fry bread and treats for fans to enjoy before the game. Flags from all 22 Tribal Nations will be permanently installed on a wall in the pavilion thanks to support from Gila River Resorts and Casinos and Native American Basketball Invitational (NABI).

A commemorative photo of the 22-23 Suns roster with a collective of youth from Arizona’s Tribal Nations will be available to the first 5,000 fans.

Full list of the ORIGINATIV game nights: 

Tickets for Wednesday’s ORIGINATIV night and all upcoming Suns home games can be purchased at Suns.com/Tix. 

More information on the ORIGINATIV program and new City Edition uniform available at Suns.com/ORIGINATIV.