Portland Trail Blazers 7-foot center Deandre Ayton grabbed the Sonic the Hedgehog toy and beelined it over to a shopping cart — all the way over in the clothes section — at a Tualatin Fred Meyers Thursday evening.
The Blazers starting center was retrieving the toy for a young boy who was back at the cart with his family. They were one of eight families from local nonprofits the Blazers players and coaching staff hosted at the store for a holiday shopping spree for food and gifts.
Each family got paired with a player or two to help them shop. Ayton was locked into this responsibility, already on a nickname basis with the young kid who wanted the Sonic toy.
“DA, do you know how old I am?” the kid asked Ayton as they walked down the aisle, before alerting him that he turns 7 in just 15 days.
Ayton responded by telling the young fan he was “almost there,” and that they’d have to pick out Christmas and birthday gifts. Just a few minutes later, the kid ran over to Blazers point guard Scoot Henderson to show off his latest present: I GOT SONIC!
This was just one of the scenes from Thursday’s event, which included kids showing off autographed basketballs, TV giveaways and a scavenger hunt. The annual event aimed to alleviate stress and support families in need during the holidays. It also gave kids a chance to meet their idols, while helping Blazers players see the impact and joy they bring to the community when they give back.
“[The event is] a very good mutual feeling of community, village, support, love — all the things that the holidays are supposed to be about,” said Leigh Bohannon, community outreach and resource manager at the Black Parent Initiative, a local nonprofit organization that partnered with the Blazers for the event.
“This is just always one of those things that fills your cup,” said Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, who added he looks forward to this event every year. “It’s a beautiful thing.”
Bohannon said the event was all about making these families feel embraced, supported and loved by their community. When a famous professional sports team leads that charge, it can reinforce the impact.
“They’ve got this professional team that actually gives back,” Bohannon said. “So it’s really a dope experience for them to get to feel the love from people they don’t even know and people they look up to.”
Blazers forward Jabari Walker keeps in mind how he used to be in these kids’ shoes, remembering how he looked up to NBA players at a young age. Walker called it a “good breath of fresh air” to get out of the practice facility and see the excitement from the fans.
“We take pride in times like this,” Walker said. “We just came from the gym, but we’re excited as soon as we get here. We know this opportunity that we have.”
“These are the people that make it go, our fans and people that look up to us,” added Blazers forward Jerami Grant. “ … To be able to be around them is huge for us.”
Billups said he likes to walk around and “spy” on his players at these events, enjoying the chance to see their personalities in a different environment than their usual work. He said Ayton especially shines at this part of the job. This was clear at the team’s season-opening event at the Blazers Boys and Girls Club in October, and it was clear again Thursday as Ayton chased down Sonic the Hedgehog.
“DA is tailor-made for this,” Billups said. “He’s like a big kid anyway, so he dies for these opportunities. It’s just always fun to see [our players] have so much fun, and they actually know what it means. They take pride in giving back and doing these types of things.”