Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama did their best to cheer up JJ Redick’s sons, Knox and Kai, by gifting them jerseys.
Redick’s family home in the Pacific Palisades was burnt down, along with many other properties by the Los Angeles wildfires. Redick’s family is now living in a hotel.
Both Knox and Kai are huge basketball fans who had a big collection of NBA jerseys, trading cards and autographs. All that memorabilia was lost.
The Los Angeles Lakers had a pair of games postponed, one against the San Antonio Spurs and the other against the Charlotte Hornets, before resuming play on Monday night.
San Antonio won, 126-102. Wembanyama finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks while Paul collected 13 points, 10 assists and four steals.
Paul And Redick’s Long History
Paul has a long shared history with Redick. The two were teammates for four seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers.
During that time, Paul and Redick served as the Clippers’ starting backcourt and went to the conference semifinals twice.
It was Paul who came up with the idea of gifting the jerseys to Redick’s kids, calling Redick the afternoon of the game to let him know of the plan to meet after the game.
“You play a lot of years in this league and some guys are just teammates, but JJ [Redick] is part of my family,” Paul said. “So, him and his wife, those kids, Knox and Kai … I know a lot of people lost family members, homes, stuff like that. It hits different when the people are close to you.”
Return To Action Brings Hope
After being forced into six days off, Redick believed sports could provide a bit of positivity to the Los Angeles area.
“I think a group functions best when you draw strength from each other,” said Redick, whose home was one of the thousands lost to the fires in the past week. “Then it’s our job to go give strength and give hope and give joy. Sports are a lot of things, and sports can certainly provide an escape and a distraction; and hopefully, sports — and tonight — can provide some joy as well.”
The Lakers worked with the NBA and Los Angeles County officials, as well as the Spurs organization, to hold Monday’s game. The franchise announced the game would be dedicated to the Los Angeles community and the first responders who have worked to provide relief from the fires.
Beyond providing some sports to watch, the Lakers combined with all of Los Angeles’ other professional sports teams to pledge more than $8 million toward local relief efforts.
