By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-12-23 10:27:37
2025年12月17日，德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥市：2025年12月17日，星期三，在德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥市的卡尔德隆男孩女孩俱乐部，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫德文·瓦塞尔在一次圣诞玩具捐赠活动中与孩子们交谈。(摄影：Reginald Thomas II/圣安东尼奥马刺队)
几个世纪以来，孩子们一直好奇圣诞老人是如何在一夜之间将礼物送到全球各地的。
虽然马刺队前锋德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 在这个假日季有更充裕的时间来完成数量惊人的慈善工作，但看起来他就像那位快乐的老人一样，几乎无处不在——至少在贝尔县是如此——在他已然深爱的这片土地上传播着欢乐。
“圣安东尼奥，这个社区，对我来说意义非凡，而我最看重的事情就是回馈。”瓦塞尔说道，“在这里的每一年，我都备受眷顾，也愈发幸运，所以我希望能持续回馈，尤其是在节日期间，这种感觉或许会更加特别。但说实话，无论何时，我都想继续奉献。”
瓦塞尔本赛季的社区工作始于八月，当时他在瓦格纳高中为从幼儿园到12年级的学生举办了一场免费篮球训练营。两个月后，他与球队的慈善机构Spurs Give合作重返该校，为雷鸟队的男女篮球队员们送去了全新的耐克球鞋和马刺T恤。
十一月，瓦塞尔向圣安东尼奥食品银行捐赠了12,000美元，NBA球员工会也匹配了同等金额，使得这笔24,000美元的善款最终帮助该非营利组织为其客户提供了超过16万份餐食。
这张数额可观的支票对食品银行意义重大，因为当时全美的饥饿问题因联邦政府停摆而加剧，需求激增。此外，作为埃隆·马斯克领导的政府效能部精简政府举措的一部分，特朗普政府在春季削减和暂停了超过10亿美元的联邦资金。
“我只是想尽我所能地帮助那些需要帮助的人。”瓦塞尔在谈到援助食品银行时说，他最早于2021年通过倡导一项至关重要的花生酱募集活动开始参与其中。“而且我知道，食品银行在善款利用方面做得非常出色，他们能让每一美元提供尽可能多的餐食。所以我只是想找到最有效的方式来回馈社会。”
25岁的瓦塞尔在十一月继续行善，为男孩女孩俱乐部东部分部的150名孩子购买了价值50美元的礼品卡，并为孩子们提供了晚餐。十二月，他的身影又出现在了西区，在那里他与快餐品牌Raising Cane’s和迪克体育用品公司合作，为卡尔德隆男孩女孩俱乐部提供玩具，帮助了更多的孩子。这也是NBA“奉献季”的一部分，该项目是一个从十一月中旬持续到十二月的为期五周的社区外展项目。
卡尔德隆俱乐部所在的社区是该市收入最低的邮政编码区之一。
2025年12月17日，德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥市：2025年12月17日，星期三，在德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥市的卡尔德隆男孩女孩俱乐部，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫德文·瓦塞尔在一次圣诞玩具捐赠活动中帮助一个小女孩骑自行车。(摄影：Reginald Thomas II/圣安东尼奥马刺队)
“在我们最近举办的这次活动中，我们能够帮助到那些真正、真正需要帮助的人，那些可能无法过上圣诞节的人。”瓦塞尔说道。在周二晚主场对阵俄克拉荷马城的比赛前，他场均得到15.7分，三分命中率接近40%，创下生涯新高。“我们帮助他们得到了想要的圣诞礼物，为他们提供了自行车、H-E-B礼品卡和其他东西。我知道这些会对他们有很大帮助。”
瓦塞尔所做的这些大量慈善工作，反映了这位来自佐治亚州的球员渴望在他新的家乡城市深深扎根。作为目前队内效力时间第二长的马刺球员（第六个赛季），仅次于凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson)（第七个赛季），瓦塞尔在2023年10月获得了一份为期五年、价值1.46亿美元的续约合同，这将使他留在球队直到2027-28赛季。
“即使在夏天，我也有很多时间待在这里。”瓦塞尔谈到圣安东尼奥时说，“我也会去旅行之类的，但绝大部分时间，我都在圣安东尼奥。这个社区真正地接纳了我，说实话，这里就像家一样。所以，只要我能为圣安东尼奥做些什么，我都会去做，因为我们的主场比赛气氛总是非常火爆，而且无论我们出现在公共场合，人们总是会上前来和你交谈，感觉一直都很好。”
瓦塞尔的善举也是他向父母致敬的一种方式。他说，陪同他前往卡尔德隆男孩女孩俱乐部的父母安德鲁·瓦塞尔 (Andrew Vassell) 和辛西娅·瓦塞尔 (Cynthia Vassell) 教导他要帮助他人，尤其是那些有需要的人。
“成长过程中，我的父母带我去教堂，我们总是回馈社会，去流浪者收容所或者任何需要帮助的地方。”瓦塞尔说，“每当妈妈看到机会，她都会确保我们家会这样做。回馈社会的精神从我小时候起就已深入我心。”
回馈社会也早已是马刺队的传统，这是瓦塞尔作为一名新秀在格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 手下打球时就立即学到的东西。
“篮球之外，总有更重要的事情。你永远不知道自己会给别人留下怎样的印记，所以走出去，去回馈社会。”波波维奇曾这样告诉瓦塞尔。
瓦塞尔说，这位NBA历史胜场数最多的教练向来言行一致。
“波波教练总是在回馈社会。”瓦塞尔说，“即使我们是背靠背比赛或者经历了漫长的一天，这都无关紧要。他总是充满热忱，总想帮助别人。他不仅把这种精神灌输给了我，说实话，也灌输给了每一个人。我见过其他人也在做类似的事情，比如德阿龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 和HB（哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes)）。他们都有自己的慈善项目。作为球队的老将或领袖，当我们这样做时，我想年轻球员们看到后也会跟着做。”
马刺队现任主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 回忆说，当瓦塞尔作为2020年NBA选秀的第11顺位新秀，在佛罗里达州立大学出色地效力了两个赛季后初到圣安东尼奥时，还只是个“孩子”。约翰逊说，见证瓦塞尔作为球员和个人的成熟是一种乐趣。
“在球场上，很容易看到他的身体完成了蜕变，球技也日益精进。”约翰逊说，“他成熟了，在场下也经历了类似的成长轨迹。作为他刚来时的发展教练，看到他牵头做的一些（慈善）事情真的很酷。他一直是我们球队的表率，与我们的社区紧密相连，但在过去一两年里，他在与社区互动和回馈社会方面，无疑展现出了更多的主人翁精神，渴望留下自己的印记和风格。”
“看到这些真是太棒了。这充分说明了德文的为人。这也充分说明了这座城市、这个社区和我们这个组织的特质，因为你可以回顾从大卫·罗宾逊 (David Robinson) 到现在的历史，看看无数其他人在这里所做的一切以及他们是如何成长的。当你抛开比赛的胜负和所有战术层面的东西时，你会为能成为这个组织的一员而感到荣幸。”
马刺队总经理布莱恩·莱特 (Brian Wright) 表示，看着瓦塞尔和其他球员“经历人生的不同阶段”并成长为人，是他工作中最酷的部分之一。
“当你看着这些年轻人成长时，你会发现成长不仅仅体现在篮球场上，也体现在场下，他们会找到自己热衷的事情、感兴趣的领域，以及社区里他们想要了解、想要帮助并参与其中的地方。”莱特说，“我想你现在正从他身上看到这一点，看到他的成熟，以及他如何继续在圣安东尼奥打下根基、深深扎根，并尽其所能地帮助社区。”
从瓦塞尔的角度来看，他本赛季至今以及过去几年在场下所做的一切，都源于《圣经》中的教诲：“被赐予更多，也被要求更多。”
“我很幸运能有今天的成就，”他说，“我想继续回馈社会。”
December 17, 2025, San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell greets children during a Christmas toy drive at the Calderon Boys & Girls Club in San Antonio, Texas Wednesday, December 17, 2025. (Photo by Reginald Thomas II/San Antonio Spurs)
October 20, 2025, San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell gives out shoes to the women’s basketball team at Wagner High School in San Antonio, Texas Monday, October 20, 2025. (Photo by Reginald Thomas II/San Antonio Spurs)
November 19, 2025, San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell and his mother Cynthia serve children at the Eastside Boys & Girls Club in San Antonio, Texas Wednesday, November 19, 2025. (Photo by Reginald Thomas II/San Antonio Spurs)
December 17, 2025, San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell talks to children during a Christmas toy drive at the Calderon Boys & Girls Club in San Antonio, Texas Wednesday, December 17, 2025. (Photo by Reginald Thomas II/San Antonio Spurs)
December 17, 2025, San Antonio, TX: Children fill their bags with toys during a Christmas toy drive at the Calderon Boys & Girls Club in San Antonio, Texas Wednesday, December 17, 2025. (Photo by Reginald Thomas II/San Antonio Spurs)
December 17, 2025, San Antonio, TX: Andrew Vassell, Cynthia Vassell and San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell pose for a photo with staff during a Christmas toy drive at the Calderon Boys & Girls Club in San Antonio, Texas Wednesday, December 17, 2025. (Photo by Reginald Thomas II/San Antonio Spurs)
December 17, 2025, San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell poses for a photo with a gift from the children during a Christmas toy drive at the Calderon Boys & Girls Club in San Antonio, Texas Wednesday, December 17, 2025. (Photo by Reginald Thomas II/San Antonio Spurs)
December 17, 2025, San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell rides a bike during a Christmas toy drive at the Calderon Boys & Girls Club in San Antonio, Texas Wednesday, December 17, 2025. (Photo by Reginald Thomas II/San Antonio Spurs)
October 20, 2025, San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell gives out shoes to the men’s basketball team at Wagner High School in San Antonio, Texas Monday, October 20, 2025. (Photo by Reginald Thomas II/San Antonio Spurs)
October 20, 2025, San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell gives out shoes to the women’s basketball team at Wagner High School in San Antonio, Texas Monday, October 20, 2025. (Photo by Reginald Thomas II/San Antonio Spurs)
November 19, 2025, San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell talks to children as they eat at the Eastside Boys & Girls Club in San Antonio, Texas Wednesday, November 19, 2025. (Photo by Reginald Thomas II/San Antonio Spurs)
San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) drives on Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George (18) during the first half of an NBA game in San Antonio, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. San Antonio beat Washington 119-94.
San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) shoots over Memphis Grizzlies wing Vince Williams Jr. (5) during the first half of an NBA game in San Antonio, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. San Antonio beat Memphis 126-119.
San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) passes the ball around Memphis Grizzlies wing Cedric Coward (23) during the second half of an NBA game in San Antonio, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. San Antonio beat Memphis 126-119.
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：Spurs' Devin Vassell deepens San Antonio roots in season of giving
Spurs’ Devin Vassell deepens San Antonio roots in season of giving
December 17, 2025, San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell talks to children during a Christmas toy drive at the Calderon Boys & Girls Club in San Antonio, Texas Wednesday, December 17, 2025. (Photo by Reginald Thomas II/San Antonio Spurs)
Children for centuries have wondered how Santa Claus is able to make his global gift deliveries in a single night.
While Spurs forward Devin Vassell had more than a few hours to perform an impressive amount of charitable work this holiday season, it does seem that just like the jolly old elf, he’s been everywhere — at least in Bexar County — spreading cheer in an area he’s grown to love.
“San Antonio, the community, have been great for me, and my big thing is to give back,” Vassell said. “Each year here, I’ve been blessed and more fortunate, so I want to keep giving back, especially when it’s holiday times when it might feel a little bit more special. But I want to keep giving back whenever, truthfully.”
Vassell’s community work this season began in August when he held a free basketball camp at Wagner for students from kindergarten though 12th grade. Two months later, he returned to the high school in conjunction with Spurs Give, the franchise’s charitable arm, to deliver new pairs of Nike shoes and Spurs T-shirts to the Thunderbirds boys and girls basketball teams.
In November, Vassell made a $12,000 donation to the San Antonio Food Bank that the National Basketball Players Association matched for a $24,000 gift the nonprofit used to provide more than 160,000 meals to its clients.
The sizeable check meant a lot to the Food Bank because it came at a time when hunger across the nation spiked due to demand sparked by the federal government shutdown and the more than $1 billion in federal funding cuts and pauses the Trump administration made in the spring as part of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency attempt to downsize government.
“Just trying to help out whoever I can,” Vassell said of aiding the Food Bank, something he first started doing in 2021 by championing a vital peanut butter drive. “And I know with the Food Bank, they do a tremendous job to the dollar for how many meals it can serve. So just trying to find the most productive way to give back.”
Vassell, 25, continued to do more good work in November by purchasing $50 gift cards for 150 kids at the East Side branch of the Boys & Girls Club, where he also served dinner to the children. In December, he popped up on the West Side, where he partnered with Raising Cane’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods to help the Calderon Boys & Girls Club by providing toys to even more kids as part of the NBA’s “Season of Giving”, a five-week community-outreach program running from mid-November through December.
The Calderon clubhouse is in one of the city’s lowest-income ZIP codes.
December 17, 2025, San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell helps a young girl ride her bike during a Christmas toy drive at the Calderon Boys & Girls Club in San Antonio, Texas Wednesday, December 17, 2025. (Photo by Reginald Thomas II/San Antonio Spurs)
“This last event we did we were able to impact people who really, really needed it, people who may not be able to have a Christmas,” said Vassell, who entered Tuesday night’s home game against Oklahoma City averaging 15.7 points and shooting nearly 40% from 3-point range, a career high. “We helped them get certain Christmas presents they wanted, helping them out with bikes and H-E-B gift cards and other things. I know it’ll help them a lot.”
The abundance of charitable work Vassell has performed reflects the Georgia native’s desire to deepen his roots in his new hometown. The second-longest tenured current Spur (sixth season) behind Keldon Johnson (seventh campaign) received a five-year, $146 million extension in October 2023 that will keep him under team control through the 2027-28 season.
“I spend so much time here even in the summer,” Vassell said of San Antonio. “I do my traveling and stuff, but for the most part, I’m always in San Antonio. The community has truly embraced me, and it feels like home, truthfully. So whatever I can do to help San Antonio, I’m going to do because our home games are always electric, and whenever we’re out in public, people are always coming up and talking to you, and it’s always been good.”
Vassell’s good deeds are also a way for him to honor his parents. He said Andrew and Cynthia Vassell, who accompanied him to the Calderon Boys & Girls Club, taught him to help others, especially those in need.
“Growing up, my mom and dad had me in the church, and we always gave back, going to homeless shelters or wherever people needed help,” Vassell said. “Whenever my mom saw an opportunity, she would make sure our family would do that. Giving back was instilled in me as a young kid.”
Giving back has also long been a Spurs tradition, something Vassell learned right away as a rookie playing for Gregg Popovich.
“It’s always bigger than basketball, and you never know the imprint you’re leaving on somebody, so go out and give back,” Popovich told Vassell.
The NBA’s all-time winningest coach practiced what he preached, Vassell said.
“Pop always gave back,” Vassell said. “Even if we had a back-to-back or long days, it didn’t matter. He always had a full heart and always wanted to help people. He instilled that not only into me, but truthfully everybody. I’ve seen other people giving away like (De’Aaron) Fox and HB (Harrison Barnes. They do their own stuff. And as the vets or leaders of the team doing that, I think the young guys will see it and they’ll do it too.”
The Spurs’ current coach, Mitch Johnson, remembers how Vassell was just a “kid” when he first came to San Antonio as the 11th overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft after starring at Florida State for two seasons. Johnson said watching Vassell mature both as a player and person has been a joy.
“It’s easy to see on the court how his body has transformed and his game has evolved,” Johnson said. "He’s matured, and there’s been a similar path off the court. And as his development coach when he first got here, it’s been really cool to see some of the (charitable) things he has spearheaded. He’s always been at the forefront of our team and very tied into our community, but the last year or two, he’s definitely taken ownership in that regard in wanting to have his own imprint and personality on interacting with the community and giving back.
“And it’s great to see. It says a lot about Devin. It says a lot about this city and this community and our organization because you could go back to David Robinson up until now and see what countless others have done and how they grew here. It’s one of those things you feel honored to be a part of with this organization when you get away from the wins and losses and trying to figure out all the X’s and O’s stuff.”
Spurs general manager Brian Wright said watching Vassell and other players “go through the stages of life” and mature as people is one of the “coolest parts” of his job.
“When you watch these guys grow up, part of that is not just on the basketball court, it’s off the court, too, and finding things they’re passionate about and areas of interest and places in the community that they want to learn about and want to help and be a part of,” Wright said. “And I think you’re seeing that with him now, that maturation and how he continues to lay a foundation and roots in San Antonio and how he can help the community in any way he can.”
From Vassell’s perspective, what he’s done off the court so far this season — and in years past — is all about the Bible passage that teaches “to whom much is given, much will be required.”
“I’m blessed to be in the position I am,” he said, “and I want to keep giving back.”
By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News