Work hours in South Korea were prime-time basketball hours on the other side of the world. Taehyun Kim didn’t care for his day job. Fresh out of college, he was a finance assistant for a German IT company. His head and heart were elsewhere.
“That wasn’t my dream job,” he said.
So Kim used his computer to watch games at the office via NBA League Pass. His attention was magnetically trained on one player in particular: Russell Westbrook, the mercurial superstar point guard who collected triple-doubles like they were stamps.
Sometimes, Kim got caught.
“My boss,” he recalled, laughing, “yeah, he didn’t like that.”
Inspired by Westbrook’s mantra — “Why not?” is the namesake of his charitable foundation and signature shoes — Kim left his job after about nine months to pursue his passion for basketball. Six years later, that pursuit led him from Suwon, South Korea, to Denver when the encounter of a lifetime unfolded.
Kim was standing in the corner of Ball Arena, near his seat behind the Nuggets’ bench. He was already beaming as he watched Westbrook’s postgame interview on the Jumbotron. He had chosen a perfect game. Vintage Russ had made an appearance, scoring 25 points in a comeback win.
Then as the interview ended, Altitude Sports color analyst Scott Hastings pointed out Kim to Westbrook.
“I appreciate you, brother,” the 36-year-old guard said, removing his blue Nuggets jersey and beelining toward a stunned Kim. Westbrook hugged the self-labeled superfan and signed the back of the jersey.
“How can I express that?” Kim said later in an interview with The Denver Post, searching for the appropriate words to describe the interaction, both in English and in the language of human emotions. “That was like a movie. It’s not a reality. I just said, ‘Oh my god.’”
When the Nuggets signed Westbrook, the role they had in mind for him was ancillary — a sixth man, a spot starter, a veteran to enlighten their youthful roster off the court and complement Nikola Jokic on it. He has checked those boxes in a largely productive 17th season, bringing solid value at his $3.3 million salary. Even if he’s peripheral in practice, though, Westbrook is still Westbrook in stature.
He is not your ordinary sixth man. He’s a former league MVP, a future Hall of Famer, an undeniably major character in NBA history books. He may be perceived as a fading star, but his international fame continues to eclipse that of many top players in the league today. His arrival in Denver was always going to cultivate a miniature tourism industry.
“I’m always really grateful to be able to use this game to be able to inspire people globally,” Westbrook said. “Like I’ve always said since I’ve been in this league, I feel like that is my duty. That is why I’m in this position, to use this game to help inspire other people in any pathway of their lives.”
This wasn’t Kim’s first Russ pilgrimage. As a child, the NBA always felt at arm’s length through the prism of a screen. Steve Nash was his first idol — “I was a very short guy” — until Westbrook, Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder eventually captured his heart.
Like most Thunder fans, he was heartbroken when Durant signed with the Golden State Warriors. Like most Thunder fans, his appreciation of Westbrook strengthened. He was a university student majoring in hotel management in 2017 when he first traveled to the U.S., wanting to take in the frenetic athleticism of Westbrook with his own eyes.
Oklahoma City wasn’t exactly the most accessible destination. So Kim flew from Seoul to Los Angeles first to check out a Clippers game before connecting to the Great Plains.
“Most people, the first visit to USA is Vegas or L.A. or New York. But in my case, my interest was just watching Russ,” he said. “That is my main goal. … I was not interested in any of the famous places. The Hollywood sign, that is not my interest.”
He spent four nights in OKC, attending two enticing games. The Thunder defeated LeBron James’ Cavaliers, then lost to Golden State in Durant’s first return to town. Kim witnessed the chorus of boos from the nosebleeds. He witnessed a Westbrook triple-double.
“His passion on the court, that gave me a lot of inspiration,” Kim said. “Watching it directly in the arena was unbelievable for me.”
He returned home with dreams of becoming a professional sportscaster. After he finished school, he worked his day job while teaching himself how to edit videos. When he quit, he started a YouTube channel.
The NBA is more niche than mainstream in South Korea. Kim capitalized by establishing a devoted online community and even receiving donations to help fund more “work” trips. He says his income as a professional YouTuber is about the same as his previous salary. “I don’t think of it as a job,” he said. “… The ‘why not’ spirit is why I’m chasing what I really wanted.” He returned to the U.S. to watch Westbrook with the Rockets and Clippers, chronicling his travels.
Then came his most recent trip. On his way to Colorado, Kim stopped in San Francisco and Los Angeles to see other games. He visited Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre during his four nights in Denver. He went on a whiskey tour.
But the main event was Westbrook, as always. Kim showed up yielding a piece of paper to detail his loyalty. The number “6,000” was typed in massive font to accentuate how far he had traveled — even using miles instead of kilometers to appeal to the local audience — as was the name “Russ.” Kim’s jaw dropped in disbelief when Westbrook earned a 3-point play. He howled in defense of his hero after a disputed foul call.
“I was taken back to my childhood,” Kim said.
The signed jersey was stowed in a plastic bag for the journey home. He’s ordered a frame for it — one last expense at the end of an estimated $10,000 trip.
“No regret,” Kim said with a nervous laugh. “It was fine because Russ gave me an unforgettable moment.”
He already has plans to return when the Nuggets host the Pacers in April. If they make a deep playoff run, he hopes to come again. In the meantime, he’s still refining his English. He admitted to feeling a little uneasy being interviewed in a foreign language, but he viewed it as good practice, at least.
“Why not?” Kim decided, laughing.