The Los Angeles Lakers‘ game against the Charlotte Hornets, which was supposed to be played Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena, was postponed due to wildfires that continue to wreak havoc across the L.A. area. One of the hundreds of thousands impacted by the disaster was Lakers coach JJ Redick, whose family had to evacuate.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Redick confirmed that the house his family had been renting burned down — one of 10,000 structures that has been destroyed to date. In a lengthy media session, Redick reflected on the heartbreaking events, which have already claimed 10 lives.
“I was not prepared for what I saw,” Redick said of returning to the neighborhood where his family was living. “It’s complete devastation and destruction. I had to go kind of a different way to the house, but I went through most of the village and it’s all gone. I don’t think you can ever prepare yourself for something like that.
“Our home is gone. Look, we were renting for the year to try to figure out where we wanted to be long-term. Everything we owned that was of any importance us, almost 20 years together as a couple, 10 years of parenting, was in that house. There’s certain things that you can’t replace, that will never be replaced. It’s weird shit, like my son did an art project last year at St. Ann’s in Brooklyn, it was a charcoal pencil painting of a lighthouse that we had framed above the stairs. You can’t ever replace stuff like that. Memories, 18 years together now Chelsea and I, there were certain things that were in that house that you can’t replace. The material stuff is whatever.”
Redick said that he has been “overwhelmed” by the support he has received from his friends and people in the NBA, and emphasized that his family is “committed” to leading the reconstruction efforts whenever they begin. “If there’s anything we can do to help and lead, we will,” he said. Though he has only been in charge of the Lakers and living in the area for a few months, they are “as committed as ever” to Los Angeles because the community has been “so good” to them.
“I think what has happened over the last 72 hours, from me being up there and from having a number of people that had homes in the Palisades that are also staying at the hotel. You really get a sense of the communal destruction,” Redick said. “That’s the part for su that we’re really struggling with, just the loss of community. I realize that people make up community and we’re gonna rebuild and we want to help lead on that. But all the churches, the schools, the library, it’s all gone. I think the thing that hit home for us the most on Tuesday night, the rec center caught on fire.”
“I don’t want people to feel sorry for me and my family. We’re gonna be alright. There’s people that because of some political issues and insurance issues are not gonna be alright, and we’re gonna do everything we can to help anybody who’s down and out because of this.”
The Lakers are scheduled to return to the court on Saturday at home against the San Antonio Spurs, and Redick said he’s hoping the game will be played. The NBA has not yet made an announcement regarding that matchup or a make-up date for Thursday’s postponed game.
“I want to play tomorrow,” Redick said. “I want to coach tomorrow. I want these guys to play tomorrow. And if we can play, we’ll play.”
