Lillard hands out free shoes to fans in Portland
There were a lot of happy people in Portland on Monday.
While the 2018 NBA Awards were being broadcast, Trail Blazers All-Star point guard Damian Lillard sent out a tweet inviting "all kids in Portland" who wear a size 12 or 12.5 to meet him in Irving Park for a shoe giveaway.
Lillard showed up in a U-Haul and, as promised, started handing out shoes to the huge crowd. When he ran out of shoes to give away, he started signing autographs instead.
Always draws a crowd pic.twitter.com/3RMNT33MVO
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) June 26, 2018
Craziness at a city park in Portland! NBA All-Star @Dame_Lillard posted on social media he was en route to give free shoes to kids, and a BUNCH of people showed up on short notice. pic.twitter.com/vX9gCGU1bJ
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 26, 2018
"I thought someone was going to get stampeded. Or get hit by a car," one fan, Ben Shore, told Joseph Hoyt of KOIN6. "There were cars driving and people running in the street. No one cared at all."
Ben Shore got an autograph from @Dame_Lillard, one of hundreds of people. He said it means a lot to see a crowd favorite do this. “Fans here are obsessed with him and he’s really showing that he actually cares about everyone.” pic.twitter.com/J6fWLKxnP7
— Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) June 26, 2018
He ran out of shoes to give away so now he’s just signing autographs. pic.twitter.com/4LWqalmF16
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 26, 2018
Maybe the best part of this: Dame drove the U-Haul himself! pic.twitter.com/Ky2rqNAWr7
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 26, 2018