TUALATIN - The greatest No. 25 in Portland Trail Blazers history left us Wednesday night, Jerome Kersey succumbing to a blood clot that traveled into his lung, and when news reached Steve Blake, the sadness went a little deeper, and had a little more meaning.

Blake, the Trail Blazers top reserve, felt a special connection with Kersey that none of us can imagine.

Blake, you see, wears the No. 25 that Kersey made so famous in Rip City.

"It was always an honor to wear that number, knowing what he meant to the organization and the fans here,'' Blake said.

So while the rest of us woke up today hoping it was all a dream, and wondering how anyone could possibly honor a man so willing to sacrifice his body on the court and so quick to open his heart off it, Blake took action.

When he arrived at the Trail Blazers facility on Thursday morning, he stopped at the office of assistant general manager Bill Branch and made a request.

If he could have any say in it, Blake wanted to make sure No. 25 in Portland was preserved and honored. He wanted to change his number.

"To honor him,'' Blake said. "To honor his jersey.''

As Blake went off to practice, wearing his No. 25, Branch started making phone calls. The league office was consulted. The equipment team put on alert.

By the time practice had ended, the word had come in: The NBA is allowing Blake to switch jerseys. Starting with Friday's game in Utah, Blake will now wear No. 5.

"I just wanted to do that for him,'' Blake said. "Hopefully the fans will understand it.''

There's a lot that goes into being a good teammate: Sacrifice. Selflessness. Hard work. Putting others before you.

And that's exactly what Blake is doing here, and what he embodies as a player.

He was at a small group Bible study in Sherwood when he first heard the news of Kersey's passing.

"Hit me pretty hard, like everyone else,'' Blake said.

He had grown to know Kersey well over his two previous tenures with the Blazers, and now in his third stint in Portland the friendship only grew.

"I knew him pretty well - from previous times I was here - and after games you would see him, and I've been at appearances with him, hung out with him on the golf course. He was a guy everyone loved to be around.''

When he returned from Bible study, he said he spent much of the night awake wondering how he could honor the man linked to him by number.

"It was something I thought about, something I prayed about,'' Blake said.

When he awoke, everything had crystalized.

No. 25 would be worn no longer.

"This morning I just felt like it's something that should be done,'' Blake said. "I know he is going to be dearly missed, but I hope this can honor him.''

--Jason Quick | jquick@oregonian.com | @jwquick