The Los Angeles Lakers announced plans to honor first responders and those affected by the recent Southern California wildfires during Tuesday night’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Crypto.com Arena.
Honoring the resilience of Los Angeles, the game day will feature exclusive pregame activities, giveaways and special recognitions.
First, 60 guests from the first responder community will enjoy a special private shootaround with Lakers Legend Robert Horry on the team’s court at Crypto.com Arena at 1 p.m. before attending the game.
The Lakers are also hosting Altadena’s Aveson Global Leadership Academy high school boys and girls basketball teams, who will enjoy the game from two suites courtesy of AEG and Crypto.com Arena. The seniors from the teams will participate in the Lakers “Hype Kids” line as the teams runs out before tipoff. Additional honorary guests include kids from Odyssey Charter School South, Palisades Recreation Center and Pasadena Rosebud Academy.
The national anthem will be performed by LAFD firefighter and paramedic Dennis R. Rodriguez and LAFD firefighters will present the colors. The Lakers will honor first responders who battled the fires during a halftime recognition as a symbol of gratitude and solidarity.
Finally, fans in attendance will receive a “We love LA” giveaway t-shirt and wristbands. This expands on the Lakers’ ongoing support for community recovery. The Lakers and LAFD recently launched an exclusive co-branded hoodie and t-shirt, available at LakersStore.com and LAFDShop.org with proceeds benefiting the LAFD Foundation.
Lakers coach JJ Redick wants to help rebuild Palisades community
Lakers head coach JJ Redick was among those affected by the devastating wildfires as his home in the Pacific Palisades was burned to the ground. Redick has acclimated himself to the Palisades community since becoming head coach of the Lakers and during this difficult time, he wants to help with the process of rebuilding.
“I don’t want people to feel sorry for me and my family. We’re going to be alright,” Redick said. “There are people that, because of some political issues and some insurance issues, are not going to be alright. And we’re going to do everything we can to help anybody who is down and out because of this.
“The Palisades community has really just been so good to us. I think that’s the part for us that we’re really struggling with is just the loss of community. And I recognize that people make up community, and we’re going to rebuild, and we want to help lead on that. But all the churches, the schools, the library, like, it’s all gone.
“We obviously want to give people hope and we want to give, I don’t want to say a distraction, maybe an escape. We talked about it as a group before practice. It is our responsibility — everybody in this building — to lead on this and to help people.”
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