The ongoing Los Angeles wildfires have killed at least 27 people, according to reports, while tens of thousands have been ordered to evacuate.
Among the most famous people who’s been impacted by the devastation is Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
The four-time MVP opened up to reporters following the team’s victory against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, revealing that he and his family were forced to evacuate their home last week. James and his family — including 20-year-old son and rookie teammate Bronny — live in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer owns a $23 million mansion in the area, which was placed under an evacuation order last Tuesday night.
The Lakers were visiting the Dallas Mavericks that night, meaning the players weren’t home when the wildfires swept through Pacific Palisades and other areas of the “City of Angels.”
Los Angeles head coach J.J. Redick’s family was also evacuated last week, and he revealed that while nobody was injured, their home was lost in the blaze.
The Lakers had home contests against the Charlotte Hornets and San Antonio Spurs postponed on Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, respectively, before returning to action at the Crypto.com Arena on Monday vs. the Spurs. The game vs. the Hornets has been rescheduled to Feb. 19, while the date for the Lakers-Spurs makeup hasn’t been announced yet.
James Says He’s Been ‘Completely Off’ During Difficult Time
Though James and his family weren’t injured during the wildfires, he told reporters that the situation has taken a toll on him mentally.
“I have a couple of dear friends that have lost their homes in the Palisades,” James said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Obviously, my heart goes out to all of the families, all across not only the Palisades, but all across L.A. County and all the surrounding areas because of the fire. … It’s been a lot of emotions. Kind of been off. Personally, I’ve been off. … I’ve just been completely off for obvious reasons, but hopefully things are contained or continue to be contained. And hopefully, at some point, we can start to push forward and move forward and put it behind us and rebuild our city, rebuild this beautiful city.”
The 40-year-old is hoping that his team can turn the devastating circumstances into a positive.
“I hope that by us going out on the floor and us playing the way we played (on Wednesday) — not the way we played against San Antonio — but the way we played tonight and hopefully the next few months or whatever it is, years, until the city is back up, that we as a Lakers franchise and the players that are playing for the Lakers give a sense of hope and pride and excitement,” James said, according to McMenamin’s report. “Sports has always given people an opportunity to kind of just like temporarily forget about whatever they may have been going through. And us being such a big part of the L.A. community — along with a lot of other sports teams, but we know how important the Lakers is to the community — hopefully we can provide that to a lot of families.”
James added that he’s “been in a hotel since pretty much when we got back from Dallas.”
“So, just figuring it out. But staying strong for one another. Obviously, that’s most important,” he said, according to a report by Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports.
King James and Family Were Also Evacuated During 2019 Brush Fires
This isn’t the first time that James and his family have been impacted by fires in Los Angeles.
Early in James’ second season with the Lakers in October 2019, they were forced out of their home in the middle of the night when brush fires hit the area.
“Had to emergency evacuate my house and I’ve been driving around with my family trying to get rooms. No luck so far!” James tweeted at the time. About an hour later, James tweeted that he had “finally found a place to accommodate us! Crazy night man!” He subsequently posted this request to Los Angeles residents: “Pretty please get to safety ASAP.”
The Lakers ended up winning their 17th championship that season in October 2020 in the “Bubble,” after the COVID-19 pandemic caused a four-plus month break in the campaign.
Los Angeles is sixth in the Western Conference at 21-17, meaning it would be the final team to qualify for the first round of the playoffs and avoid the Play-In Tournament if the season ended on Friday. James and company host the Brooklyn Nets (14-27) at 10:30 p.m. ET on Friday.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post LeBron James Reveals Impact of Los Angeles Wildfires on His Family appeared first on Heavy Sports.