The Los Angeles Lakers and head coach JJ Redick have had a heavy heart this past week as wildfires have raged in the city the past few days.
The fires occurred this past Tuesday, starting with the Pacific Palisades and later into Eaton Canyon that’s affected the northeastern portion of Los Angeles. The Palisades Fire in particular has caused massive destruction in its wake and continues to rage on.
Unfortunately, the Palisades Fire burned down numerous homes and businesses including Redick’s own place of residence. Due to the unhealthy conditions and the status of the fire, the NBA decided to postpone the team’s game against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday though a rescheduled date has yet to be confirmed.
Despite the ongoing fire situation, the Lakers returned to practice at their El Segundo facility where Redick addressed what happened and how it’s affected him and his family.
Here is some of JJ Redick talking about what he and his family have been going through, how difficult it has been and the support they’ve received: pic.twitter.com/DoOlEQhJIa
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) January 10, 2025
“Just to tell you guys,, my wife got out really early. She was actually on the other side, close to like mid-city and came out outside and saw the fire. She was with some people and they were headed to the airport and she’s just like, ‘I got to go.’ And, you know, she went home, grabbed our nanny. This was all going on pregame, you know, Tuesday. And I was scrambling to find a hotel that had room for them. And so she got out of there, got the kids from school. They’re safe. It’s all that mattered. Didn’t spend anytime on Twitter for a long time, Tuesday and Tuesday night, you know, just to get updates I was on there a lot and kind of following along with everything that was happening.”
The fires have been truly devastating for all those affected, though Redick was encouraged by the outpouring of support he and his family received since.
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and love that I’ve felt that my family has felt from friends, family, people around the NBA, people in Los Angeles. I think, people in the Palisades community in our kids school community who also have lost homes, like we’ve obviously all leaned on each other. You know, I can say this like, for our family, we’re as committed as ever to Los Angeles.
“We recognize, like it’s not just our community that has been impacted by this. There’s people in Malibu, there’s people in Brentwood, there’s people up in the valley, there’s people in Pasadena… it’s all over LA. And if there’s anything we can do to help and lead, we will. And we’re still gonna try to, you know, we’re still figuring that out. It’s still pretty fresh, but, we’re committed to helping other people as much as we can. And we’re going to do that. And we recognize that it’s going to be a long process.”
As firefighters and first responders work tirelessly to contain the ongoing wildfires, it’s a relief to hear that Redick and his loved ones are safe and sound.
What to do if you have tickets for Lakers’ postponed game against Hornets
For fans that bought tickets for the Hornets game, the Lakers announced they would be honored once the game is officially rescheduled.
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