Speaking for the first time since the Southern California wildfires forced him and his family to evacuate their home last week, LeBron James shared that the fires, which have burned through 60 square miles and killed at least 25 people, have affected him mentally.
“I have a couple of dear friends that have lost their homes in the Palisades,” James said after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 117-108 win over the Miami Heat. “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.”
His team has also struggled to maintain the momentum they had just a couple of weeks ago, when they won 8 out of 11 games and strengthened their roster by trading for Dorian Finney-Smith, a sought-after 3-and-D wing.
The Lakers had lost three straight games and were down by 12 at halftime against the Heat when James checked his phone in the locker room. A family friend had sent him a video of a young girl sitting courtside in a replica James No. 23 jersey. She was moved to tears when James waved at her during the first quarter.
“Thank goodness that I actually looked at my phone at halftime, or I wouldn’t have even seen the reaction when I waved to her in the first half,” James said after the game. “I waved to her, and then I got back to play. So, to have that type of connection with someone, where they can have that type of reaction, I think that’s what it’s all about.
And I’ve always tried to be a role model and someone that kids can look up to. … Try to make them proud and want to come see me play or if they’re not able to see me play, hopefully some of the things that I do off the floor continue to inspire them.”
That moment seemed to lift James’ spirits. He scored 15 of his 22 points after halftime, including seven straight in the fourth quarter, helping to extend the Lakers’ lead from two points with 3:51 left to nine points with 1:52 remaining. The Lakers held on to beat Miami.
“His comfort level closing the basketball game is obviously very high,” said Lakers coach JJ Redick, one of James’ friends who lost his home in the Pacific Palisades.
On Monday, the Lakers had lost 126-102 after a six-day break caused by the fires, with the team being outscored by 33 points in the second half against the San Antonio Spurs. At shootaround before the Heat game, Redick challenged the entire team to step up their leadership. The Lakers responded with a strong team effort, with James being one of six players to score 14 points or more in the win.
James said the Lakers’ performance against Miami, and future games like it, is something he hopes will help Los Angeles feel some positivity during tough times.
“I hope that by us going out on the floor and us playing the way we played tonight — 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.
“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.”
After the game, James went over to the girl sitting courtside before she and her family left the arena. He gave her one of his I Promise wristbands and knelt down beside her to take a photo.
“I think it will be something that hopefully she will never forget,” James said. “I’m happy to be a part of her life now and that small little moment, but such a bigger moment. And hopefully she brags about it in school.”
