Super Mario First Alaskan to Win NBA Title

Hometown hero Chalmers is a champ

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By Corey Allen-Young
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Story Created: Jun 23, 2012 at 9:36 AM AKDT

Story Updated: Jun 23, 2012 at 9:37 AM AKDT

ALASKA - We know him as Super Mario, but now the former Bartlett Golden Bear can officially call himself an NBA champion. The basketball player is now part of an elite group.

With two state basketball and one NCAA title already under his belt, the man born Almario Venard Chalmers had the chance to complete a rare trifecta, winning the NBA version with his Miami Heat team.

Even before Thursday's game, Chalmers knew he could achieve something special
“I got the smile, but it’s still all business, we got one more win, that's when we want to take care of business and then after we get that last win, I can be all smiles,” he said.

And smiles were definitely spread all around; Chalmers and the rest of his Heat teammates took care of business beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 121 to 106 to win the series four games to one, making Chalmers the first ever Alaskan to be called an NBA champion.

Chalmers helped out in a big way, averaging 11.3 points for the playoffs, including a huge game four where he scored 25 points.

With his state championships at Bartlett in 2002 and 2003 and NCAA championship as a member of the University of Kansas Jayhawks in 2008, with the NBA ring, Chalmers completes the rare trifecta that only a handful of players are part of.

His mother Almarie Chalmers tweeted to us that she is very proud of her son. It’s a feat he might be able to add to; with players like superstars LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh coming back, Chalmers has the chance to possibly get even more rings.

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