The land is lifeless now—brown, burnt, and broken. But once, it was everything. JJ Redick’s sanctuary. A place that once held warmth, laughter, and memories now lies in ruins. Shards of glass crunch under his feet. Ashes swirl in the wind. The homes of his friends and family were nothing more than ruins. The Palisades, once a paradise on the shores of the Pacific, had turned into hell. The wildfire spared nothing. Not the walls that held his dreams. Not the streets that carried his footsteps. The scars run deep, but the pain runs deeper. As JJ stares at the wreckage, the weight of loss is unbearable. Tears come, unbidden.
Well, JJ Redick had found his forever home with mountains, ocean, and a community that felt like family. Every sunset walk to the bluffs brought peace and belonging. Then the fire came and took everything. The fire destroyed his house and turned his memories to ash. Now, he stands in the wreckage, the weight of loss crushing him. But as the waves crash and the wind roars, he knows he will rebuild.
JJ Redick sets his heart ablaze with a $50 million plan to help Palisades come back on track
On Tuesday, the 40-year-old Los Angeles Lakers head coach took a walk through the destruction. His favorite in sight, he felt at home even though there was nothing left of it. The mountains pierced the cloudless Dodger-blue sky while the wind howled and the waves below rose and shattered against the shore. “God,” he said. “This is insane.”
Redick was once again witnessing the aftermath of nature’s rage. But if you visited him here, , the first stop was always the bluffs. The second was the heart of their world, the Palisades Recreation Center. This was more than a park. It was where Redick coached kids and met the love of his life, his wife, Chelsea. Meanwhile, the rookie coach started saying something to the LA Times but couldn’t finish the sentence. In a failed attempt to hide his tears, JJ stopped a few times on the track.
“The personal loss is one thing, and that’s hard, but it’s just the loss of an entire community,” Redick said amidst his tears. “It’s the hardest part to process, and I’ve talked with the mayor about this as well. Part of the urgency to start this and get it going, and her agreeing to fast-track everything, is that there needs to be some level of optimism and hope.”
JJ Redick returned to the Palisades to see the devastation from the fires and to talk about his $50 million plan to help the rebuild – starting with the rec center near his home and sprawling across the city, to make those communal spaces whole again. https://t.co/FtiTdJGYox pic.twitter.com/UncxRMNZpb
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) March 30, 2025
His $50 million vision begins here. First, the rec center near his home. Then, the city beyond. Brick by brick, space by space, he plans to bring back what the fire stole. These places weren’t just buildings. They were the soul of the community. Now, he is determined to make them whole again. At the same time, he expressed a desire. However, it’s not for his benefit but for the sake of Palisades, the place he called home with so much love and pride. “I would love to be a Lakers coach for the next 15 to 20 years. If I’m not the Lakers coach, I’m in it for the long haul in LA. This, for me, is important.”
Redick’s emotions seem valid as the memories of the horrifying day live in his mind as if everything happened yesterday. JJ Redick had prepped, set his phone to silent, and shut his eyes. But sleep never came. Instead, he woke to dozens of missed calls from Chelsea. She had seen the fire, grabbed what she could, and raced to their children. That night, Redick coached in Dallas while his home burned, the flames on every screen more urgent than the game itself.
This brings us to Jeanie Buss and the Lakers squad, who stood by the head coach’s side in his toughest times. Despite her fears for the worst, Buss kept her calm and made sure Redick had everything he needed in the moments of urgency.
JJ Redick’s personal loss left the Lakers boss worrying for the hard days
Leaving Brooklyn was a leap of faith. JJ Redick’s wife gave up her career. His kids left their school. They started over in LA, ready to build a new life. But just as they found their footing, disaster hit. And it hit hard. Most would have seen it as a reason to leave. But what Redick and his family did next showed exactly why Jeanie Buss trusted him for this job. She, of course, feared that her recruit would find his way out amidst the devastation, but JJ wasn’t the one to leave without a fight. And now, he’s fighting the odds and dreaming of rebuilding.
“He had to move his family from Brooklyn, and his wife and two young kids. I’m not sure they were really excited about moving because he took the job,” Buss explained. Redick rented a house in the Palisades, and within months of moving to LA, he lost it to the wildfires. “I was worried that his wife was going to say, ‘Okay, I’m out, I’m done, this was not meant to be,’” Jeanie Buss further said.
JJ Redick lost everything, but he refuses to walk away. The fire tested his spirit, but it didn’t break him. With an 8-figure plan, he’s rebuilding not just homes but also hope. The Lakers stood by him, and now, he stands for the Palisades. This isn’t the end. It’s the start of something greater.
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