It was Christmas Eve and Blake Wesley had finished all of his holiday shopping, so the Trail Blazers point guard decided to treat himself to a visit to Index, the downtown Portland sneaker consignment store.
“I was looking for some J’s or maybe a pair of Nikes,” Wesley said. “I just wanted to look around.”
Instead, all Wesley saw was a security gate blocking the entrance and a “Closed” sign. The store had shuttered early for Christmas.
So Wesley backed away and started to stroll back to his car, hobbling along with a walking boot, which he’s been forced to wear since suffering a broken foot in a game on Halloween. But on the way to his car, Wesley spotted a man sporting a baseball cap adorned with a familiar looking logo — the Blazers pinwheel.
“What’s up, bro?” Wesley said to the man. “You know the Blazers?”
Indeed, he did.
“Well, I play for them,” Wesley said. “What are you doing for Christmas?”
The man, it turns out, was homeless. And when he informed Wesley that he had no plans, the 22-year-old had a spontaneous idea.
“Do you want to go get some food and chop it up a little bit?” Wesley said.
And just like that, Wesley and the man, whose name was Dave, were strolling downtown in search of a meal. Their options were limited — most places were closed for the holiday — but they found a nearby Greek spot and Wesley treated Dave to two gyros, some fries, a drink and some company.
Wesley said they chatted about basketball and life. Wesley explained that this was his fourth season in the NBA, detailed how he injured his foot and answered questions about the league. Dave mentioned that he was from Arkansas.
“I didn’t want to get in his personal business like that,” Wesley said. “But I told him: ‘You’re going to be blessed, whether you’re homeless or not. I’m still going to treat you like a human being. All of us are human beings.’ So many people just walk past someone like that. I just wanted to make sure he was good and we had a little time to chop it up.”
After picking up gyros, they made their way to Voodoo Doughnut and Wesley picked up a pink box filled with a dozen chocolate donuts.
Dave kept six for himself, but handed out the rest to friends on the street.
If you think it’s unusual for a professional basketball player to strike up a random conversation with a homeless man while out running errands, well, you don’t know this particular professional basketball player.
Wesley said he’s done similar acts of good service “too many times to count” over the years, a habit he learned from his parents — Leslie and Derrick Wesley — while growing up in South Bend, Indiana. Wesley would visit homeless shelters as a kid, pass out meals to underserved families and volunteer at the Boys & Girls Club, among other acts of charity.
Now, as an adult, Wesley runs multiple free summer youth basketball camps, hosting hundreds of 7- to 17-year-olds in multiple Indiana towns, including South Bend.
“I’ve just always done that stuff,” Wesley said. “My parents always told me to help others that are in need, because one day that could be you on the street. So I just always like to help people. God blessed me to help others. That’s my main motto: Help people in need.”
When told about Wesley’s Christmas Eve act of kindness, his teammates couldn’t help but smile.
“That’s Blake Wesley,” Sidy Cissoko said. “I’ve known him since I got drafted and he’s always been like that — he always tries to make sure that everybody’s good.
Added Deni Avdija: “Blake is so kind and he really just always wants everybody to be good. He has this vibe, this positivity. I feel like he’s very positive and he really cares about everything he does. He cares about the people around him, he cares about the community and he cares about us. So it didn’t surprise me that he did that.”
As they roamed downtown Portland, Wesley pulled out his phone and briefly introduced Dave to his 54,000 followers on Instagram, recording a short video about their time together.
“Merry Christmas to all and to all Merry Christmas,” Dave said.
Wesley hasn’t played in a game since October, but it hasn’t stopped him from handing out holiday assists.
“If I see somebody in need, man, I just want to help them out,” Wesley said. “I just happened to meet him. We chopped it up and I had nothing else to do. I was done shopping. So I just figured, let’s bless somebody on Christmas.”