LeBron James had to evacuate his Brentwood home as a result of the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, he told reporters Wednesday night after the Lakers beat the Heat.
Speaking to the media for the first time since the fires ravaged Pasadena and the Palisades, among other L.A. neighborhoods, James acknowledged the mental toll the situation has taken on him.
“Personally, I’ve been off,” James said. “Personally, my family, we’ve been evacuated since Thursday night, so I’ve 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.”
James, who had 22 points in the win, said his house is still standing and hasn’t been damaged. He hopes his wife, three kids, and mother can return to it soon.
It’s not James’s first experience with California’s wildfires. In 2019, early into his second season with the Lakers, James and his family had to evacuate in the middle of the night due to brush fires near the Getty Center, just north of his Brentwood neighborhood.
“We had that experience and was able to lean on that a little bit,” James said. “The difference between ’19 and today, the one in ’19 was in the middle of the night so we had to get going right away. We had a little bit more time before we had to evacuate, so we were able to get some things, get some belongings or whatever the case may be, get some things that meant things to us.”
James said he knows a lot of people who have been impacted by the fires, which include his coach, JJ Redick and Warriors coach Steve Kerr, whose childhood home in the Palisades area burned down. Kerr coached James at the 2024 Paris Games for Team USA.
The fires prompted the NBA to cancel two Lakers games last week—Thursday’s game against the Hornets and Saturday against the Spurs. The Lakers, along with the other 11 professional sports teams in the city, have pledged to donate a combined $8 million to fire relief efforts.
“Our friends that lost their homes, just being there for them,” James said. “It’s very challenging, especially when you got kids and you lose your home and all their belongings and my friends got wives—it’s a lot to try to wrap your head around it. I’m very happy that my family is safe.”
