Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick was among those who lost their house in the Pacific Palisades Fires. The Palisades Fires, one of several fires burning across Los Angeles County, has burned over 20,000 acres and destroyed thousands of homes and buildings.
Redick and the Lakers were on the road when the Palisades Fires broke out on Tuesday. Redick shared that his wife, Chelsea, immediately went home to pick up their nanny and then their kids from school to evacuate the fires. Since the Lakers returned from their road trip, Redick has gotten to see the tragic destruction to the place his family has called home since moving to Los Angeles.
"Headed up to the Palisades," Redick recalled Friday. "I had to see it for myself, and I was not prepared for what I saw. It's complete devastation and destruction. I had to go a different way to the house, and 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."
Lakers coach JJ Redick with a lot of perspective on losing his rental home in Pacific Palisades and supporting his neighbors pic.twitter.com/1RvQSCbYMD
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 10, 2025
"Everything we own that was of any importance to us—almost 20 years together as a couple and 10 years of parenting—was in that house. There's certain things you can't replace, that will never be replaced."
Among those irreplaceable items was a charcoal painting of a lighthouse by Redick's son, and other priceless memories from his marriage and children. The family has also been devastated by the loss of the Palisades community, particularly the recreation center, where Redick was set to help coach his sons in their winter basketball league.
JJ Redick and his wife have been teaching their two boys to “Value people over things” amidst the loss of their home/material items.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) January 10, 2025
They’d been super excited about their dad being set to help coach their youth hoops team, which was to begin the day after the fires started. pic.twitter.com/VUd4pqzeQt
"I get back to the hotel, my wife and I are emotional," Redick said, I'm not sure I've wept or wailed like that in several years ... the Palisades community has really been so good to us.”
Redick called the Lakers organization "incredible" for supporting him and his family as they've lost their home. Among the players supporting their coach was guard Austin Reaves, who was seen embracing Redick at Friday's practice.
Austin Reaves left his media availability and immediately embraced JJ Redick before he addressed media. #Lakeshow pic.twitter.com/8BL3haHr40
— LoJo Media (@LoJoMedia) January 10, 2025
"Reaching out to show, not just me, but this team loves him and cares about him and his family," Redick told the media.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves on supporting JJ Redick amid the Pacific Palisades wildfire pic.twitter.com/gmOJZeVI7E
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 10, 2025
The Lakers next game is scheduled against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday at home. Their Thursday matchup against the Charlotte Hornets was postponed due to the fires.
"We’re prepared for whatever tomorrow," Redick said. "We obviously are going to work with the NBA, the Spurs, the city and do what’s right. I want to play tomorrow, I want to coach tomorrow"
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as JJ Redick Tears Up While Sharing Raw Emotions of Losing Home in Palisades Fire.
