King James extended support amid the South Californian crisis. The extreme Santa Ana winds, reaching up to 100 mph, have left the people unsettled in the Southland, as multiple wildfires spread across the region. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar, who had traveled to Texas for a regular season match-up against the Mavericks last night, sent a heartfelt note for SoCal. Importantly, LeBron James‘ message came hours after his coach JJ Redick revealed chilling details about his family’s evacuation in the Palisades and a crucial update on their return flight.

James took to his X handle and wrote, “Praying for everyone in Southern California!! !” with a horde of praying emojis. Importantly, this wasn’t a courtesy post, especially after staying in closed quarters with a member of an affected family. Ahead of tonight’s game, JJ said, “I just want to acknowledge and send thoughts and prayers to everyone in the Palisades right now… That’s where I live.” 

Praying for everyone in Southern California!! !
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 8, 2025

JJ Redick also added, “Our family, my wife’s family, my wife’s twin sister, they’ve evacuated. I know a lot of people are freaking out right now, including my family. From the sound of things, with the winds coming [Tuesday night], I know a lot of people are scared.” However, after the game, the star coach didn’t have the same optimistic tone. It could be mostly because of the frustrating loss against the short-handed Mavs.

Nevertheless, when a reporter asked if the team had given any update on his return flight, especially after he mentioned his family’s situation, Redick said, “I haven’t been updated on anything. I haven’t even looked at my phone yet so sorry.” Moreover, TNT reported that there would be a delay in the Lakers’ flight to LA, but it will surely take off on Tuesday night despite the smoke-filled sky in California.

Before LeBron James & JJ Redick, Steve Kerr dropped an update on his mother

California has four NBA teams: the LA Lakers, the LA Clippers, the Sacramento Kings, and the Warriors. The blaze began around 10:30 AM on Tuesday, and quickly engulfed the Los Angeles hillside on its way, where plenty of celebrities live, including JJ Redick’s family. While around 30,000 people were evacuated, the wildfire had affected around 13,000 structures.

One of them was Steve Kerr’s 90-year-old mom, Ann, who was safely evacuated. Speaking of the situation, the Warriors coach said, “I want to send my thoughts and condolences to everybody in Los Angeles dealing with the fires… Everything I’m seeing and reading is just terrifying what’s happening down there. So, just want to send thoughts to everyone who’s going through the devastation of the fire.”

Unfortunately, both Kerr and Redick didn’t have the expected results tonight, losing embarrassingly. Speaking of it, Kerr added, “Obviously the game is secondary to that and to many things in life. Perspective is important.” Undoubtedly, the South Californian wildfire issue is a much bigger issue than a regular season game result. We at Essentially Sports extend our thoughts to the families affected by the fire.