Kristaps Porzingis flattered by Miller Place student’s ‘promposal’
Miller Place's Sam Miller, a big Knicks fan, holds her prom proposal sign on Feb. 29, 2016. She was making the proposal to Knicks player Kristaps Porzingis. Credit: Laura Albanese
Sam Miller wanted her prom to be big. About 7 feet, 3 inches tall, to be exact.
By now, the Miller Place High School senior’s “promposal” to Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis has gone viral, spreading around Twitter and beyond with the speed of KP’s own ascent to fame. Porzingis politely declined her invitation in a video he shot himself, but Miller and Miller Place were pretty close to having a big Latvian celebrity stop by June 23.
Alas, as Porzingis said in his Twitter video, he’ll be out of the country the day of the prom, but Sam still couldn’t be happier. She said that after she and her triplet sisters were bullied last year, Sam and one of her sisters decided to skip junior prom. “I wanted to make this prom bigger,” she said.
“She’s awesome,” Porzingis said after Sunday night’s game against the Heat. “I kindly declined her offer because I’m [going to be] outside the country. But it was nice of her to invite me to her prom.”
Even if Porzingis isn’t there, Miller has accomplished her goal. Her poster — the one that read, “Hey Porzingis Take a Break From all That ‘Dishin and Swishin’ and Be My #1 ‘Stylin and Profilin’ All the Way To Prom With Me?” — got attention from the MSG Network, ABC and ESPN’s SportsCenter. She said kids are coming up to her in school — even the ones that don’t usually talk to her.
“I honestly wasn’t even expecting him to see it,” she said at her Miller Place home on Monday, decked out in a Knicks cap and Porzingis jersey. The 17-year-old is a lifelong Knicks fan and this is pretty much her everyday uniform, according to her dad, Scott. She also has about 40 hats.
Added Sam: “It made my day, my week and year. I was never expecting him to post a video where everyone could see him responding. It meant a lot to me that he took his time out, made the video and posted it.”
After all, when she debuted the sign the night of Feb. 22, she was sitting high up in the 200 seats (the tickets were a Christmas gift from her parents). By Friday, her dad’s co-worker, a season-ticket holder, was intent on getting her closer so Porzingis could see the request. That day, Sam took the ferry to meet her dad at work in Connecticut and the two drove to MSG.
After the game, Sam and her dad ran smack into Porzingis’ parents. Kristaps’ father, Talis, took a picture with her, which she posted on Twitter, and the next day, Kristaps posted his apologetic response.
She went again Sunday, this time to say no hard feelings. “Hey Porzingis Even though You will Not be Dancin & Prancin with Me at my Prom I am Still your #1 Fan Thanks everyone for your support!!!”
Security at MSG moved her closer to the court so Porzingis could see. “KP pointed to her and waved,” Scott said.
As for Sam, don’t worry about her prom plans. She said she probably won’t ask another boy — “nobody wants to be a second choice,” she said — but she and her bedazzled Knicks heels will be there.
“I’ll probably go with my sisters,” she said. “I want to make this something I can remember.”
Mission accomplished.
With Al Iannazzone
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
