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Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and guard Chris Paul pose after autographing their jersey with Kai and Knox, the children of Lakers coach JJ Redick. (Kevork Djansezian / Associated Press)
When Anthony Davis described watching the flames approaching his family home, he didn’t sound like a star player on the Lakers.
He sounded like a concerned father.
When JJ Redick recalled Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul of the San Antonio Spurs presenting his sons with autographed game-worn jerseys to rebuild memorabilia collections that were lost in the Palisades fire, he didn’t sound like the coach of one of Los Angeles’ signature franchises.
He sounded like a grateful parent.
The Lakers returned to work on Monday, playing their first home game since wildfires engulfed Southern California.
Read more: Lakers seek relief in return to court, but Spurs offer little solace
The players and coaches didn’t talk about a return to normalcy because they knew there were people for whom life would never be normal again. They knew how powerless they were against this force of nature, Davis speaking about joy that sports can generate, only to add an important qualifier: “Even if it’s temporary.”
They wanted this night to mean something, but what?
“Win, lose, draw, this game is over and everything’s still going on in the world,” Davis said. “Bittersweet in a sense because we still have people who are dealing with real-life situations and we get to go out here and play basketball.”
Davis recounted what it was like first hearing about the Palisades fire when the Lakers were on the road for a game against the Dallas Mavericks.
He said he thought about his wife and children and “you start freaking out.”
Davis said he heard about Redick’s rental home burning down.
“Then my wife started telling me about some of my daughter’s classmates, their families losing homes. And my daughter, where she goes [to] ride horses was gone. And some of my son’s classmates and how their houses are gone. Started getting tough, started getting emotional.”
Davis later saw the Palisades fire close in on his home. He and his family…
[ad_2]Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/hern-ndez-first-home-game-144951744.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2025-01-14 14:49:00
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