Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick describes anguish of losing home in Palisades fire: ‘I was not prepared’
Reports that JJ Redick’s home has been lost to the ongoing Pacific Palisades wildfires are true, the Los Angeles Lakers head coach confirmed Friday, admitting he “hasn’t cried or cried like that in years.”
The first-year head coach opened up about the devastation to reporters on Friday.
“I wasn’t prepared for what I saw,” Redick said. “It’s total devastation and destruction. I had to take a different way to the house, but I went through most of the village and everything is gone. I don’t think you can ever prepare for something like that. Our house is gone.”
Redick said the rented house burned down Tuesday while the Lakers were on the road in Dallas. Redick’s wife, Chelsea, and their two sons were safely out of the neighborhood, but Redick drove into Pacific Palisades on Wednesday to see the impact of the fire.
As he explained, the family lost not only a home, but decades of cherished memories.
“Everything we owned that was of any importance to us in the almost 20 years we were together and 10 years of parenthood was in that house,” Redick said. “There are certain things you can’t replace, that will never be replaced.
JJ Redick confirmed reports that he and his family lost their rental home in Pacific Palisades
In this aerial view taken from a helicopter, homes burn on the Pacific Coast Highway during the Palisades fire in Malibu on Thursday. Redick and his family rented a house in the area
‘The material is whatever. My family and I were dealing with the seamy side, the individual side of losing your home, and you never want to wish that on anyone. It’s a terrible feeling to lose your home.’
Redick grew emotional at times as he reflected on the fate of a neighborhood his family had embraced since Redick became head coach of the Lakers last summer. A recreation center where Redick spent time with his sons and prepared to coach them in a basketball league is completely gone, along with almost everything else.
The Redick family rented the house in Pacific Palisades while they decided where to settle permanently in Los Angeles.
Redick is back at work with the Lakers, who are not 100 percent sure they will play the visiting San Antonio Spurs as scheduled on Saturday night.
The Lakers’ home game against Charlotte on Thursday was postponed, as was a home game in the same downtown area between the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and Calgary on Wednesday.
While the Kings have left town for a long road trip, the Lakers were about to open a five-game homestand with their visit from the Hornets. They host San Antonio on Saturday and Monday, followed by visits from Miami on Wednesday and Brooklyn on January 17.
Redick and Lakers guard Austin Reaves both said the team hopes to play for the chance to provide distraction and fun to an exhausted city.
“It’s sad because this is my fourth year here, and LA has shown me nothing but love since day one,” Reaves said.
“I told my people a few months ago that I see myself living here forever after basketball just because I like it so much. When I see the pictures, see the videos, it’s just sad. People having to leave their homes, the Palisades burning to the ground, it’s just a tragedy. It’s a sad time, but I know we’ll get through it because LA is such a great place.”
A firefighter inspects a burned home after the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles on Friday
The NFL has already moved the Los Angeles Rams’ wild-card playoff game against Minnesota to Glendale, Arizona, making the decision four full days before Monday night’s game. The Los Angeles Chargers play in Houston on Saturday after practicing in the smoky haze earlier this week.
The Los Angeles Clippers will also enter a homestand in Inglewood, a short walk from the Rams’ SoFi Stadium. They will host the Hornets on Saturday, Miami on Monday and Brooklyn on Wednesday.
Lakers star Anthony Davis has donated $20,000 to a team employee’s GoFundMe page after his family home was destroyed by the Southern California wildfires.
Team videographer Rohan Ali started the donation page On Thursday evening, his parents, Gayle and Rasheed Ali, lost their home to the fire in Eaton.
Within 19 hours of creating the page with a goal of $80,000, the total had risen to more than $49,000 by Friday afternoon.
Davis’ donation itself netted a fourth of the goal, while teammate Jarred Vanderbilt also pitched in $4,000.