LeBron James has spoken for the first time since the Southern California wildfires which have devastated the city of Los Angeles.
The LA Lakers’ star and his family was forced out of his home last week due to the fires, which have 60 square miles and claimed the lives of 25 people.
“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. [I’ve] 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 Lakers side has not looked the same since the blaze took over, losing their previous three games having previously won eight of 11 prior to that.
LA looked to be heading for a fourth straight defeat after trailing Heat by 12 at half-time before James inspired a comeback in the second half.
The 40-year-old scored 15 of his 22 points after the break – including seven straight in the fourth quarter to stretch LA’s lead from two with 3:51 remaining to nine with 1:52 to go – and the Lakers held on to beat Miami.
LeBron caught up with @Lakersreporter to discuss tonight’s victory and the impact he has on the younger generation, especially during a time of hardship in LA. pic.twitter.com/MratYfipCU
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 16, 2025
“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,” James added.
“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.
“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.”
