Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick is certainly familiar with the city of L.A. and what it means to be a part of that community. He played for the L.A. Clippers for four of his 15 NBA seasons. However, in the last few weeks, he’s gotten an extra up-close look at the connection the Lakers have with the city.
As wildfires devastated multiple L.A. communities — including Redick’s own Pacific Palisades — he saw the way the people rallied together, not only within his town and within the Lakers organization, but throughout the entire sprawling metropolis.
With the Lakers back in action earlier this week, Redick got to see the way the Lakers fandom banded together in what could only be described as the hardest of times for the city. And he was able to reflect on the special bond that the Lakers franchise has with the community of Los Angeles.
“Sports really work well when the team, the organization, has a connection to the city, and the fans feel a connection to the team. And then it just flows in some sort of eternal circle. The Lakers have that with the city of Los Angeles,” Redick said before the team’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.
“Having played here before, lived here, I’m well aware of that relationship. Part of the reason I wanted to coach here was to participate in that. Like I said the other day, we’re managing it and going through it and we’re gonna have good days and bad days as a family. But we’re gonna be fine. My focus and Chelsea’s focus over the last few days has been trying to figure out where we can give that strength back and obviously the Lakers are doing that as well. Really grateful for all the first responders, particularly the firefighters that put their lives on the line over the last week. I don’t want to get political on this, but we’re really facing an uphill battle with the both the weather and the resources available.”
Beyond just the Lakers, Redick himself has felt the love and support of the entire community. Not only in the wake of their family losing their home, but also in the way that they’ve spoken up about being leaders in the rebuilding effort.
“I’ve been overwhelmed with the amount of support and love and generosity that people have shown to my family and really all families that have been affected by this. We’ve witnessed it, we’ve been a part of it,” Redick said.
“My wife posted something on Instagram this morning on his private account and it was beautifully written and it really just captured kind of what we’re feeling, what a lot of families across L.A. are feeling right now. I think a number of people that I know sent me a comment or sent me a link and said ‘Good on you,’ or whatever. The thing that I think was meaningful to me was the people that live in the Palisades and reached out and just said ‘Hey, thanks for articulating what makes this place so magical.’”
Los Angeles is such a unique city in the way that it’s separated geographically, economically and in several other ways. But in hard times like this, seeing all of those separations melt away in favor of rebuilding the community is a remarkable thing.
As Redick says, it’s part of why he wanted to coach the Lakers and one of the main things he noticed during his time with the Clippers.
Spurs gift jerseys to JJ Redick’s sons
The Lakers had back-to-back games postponed due to the fires but returned to the court on Monday night to take on the San Antonio Spurs led by phenom Victor Wembanyama and veteran Chris Paul. The Lakers were unable to get the win, but Paul and Wembanyama provided a beautiful moment for the Redick family afterwards as they gifted their game jerseys to Redick’s sons Knox and Kai.
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