In the same month last year, thousands of LA residents’ lives and memories were turned to ashes. The engulfing wildfire burned through acres of land. That included the home of Lakers head coach JJ Redick. The former Clippers sharpshooter returned to the house his family instantly fell in love with to see it reduced to ash. A year later, he’s moved with purpose.

But looking back at those memories still stirs up emotions.

His wife, Chelsea, wrote a touching message on her Instagram one year after the horrifying incident. Redick, although off social media, logged back in just to see the message his wife had penned down, and reacted.

“I cried,” Redick told ESPN.

It was difficult to process for Redick in the middle of a coach’s meeting. He tried to understand just why. The reason behind his emotion wasn’t primarily the loss of their precious house.

“I actually realized — this is going to sound weird — where a lot of my anger was. My anger was that my family and I only got to live there for five months. And it was like, I wish we could have experienced that, and I wish my kids could have experienced that, and Chelsea could have experienced that for a lifetime,” the Lakers head coach explained.

JJ Redick recounts his family feeling “magical” in their house. Within an instance, that was all lost.

Belongings, cherished collectibles, and those feelings were all gone. However, Redick channeled grief into intent.

He and Chelsea started the LA Sports Strong foundation to rebuild the Pacific Palisades community, even making a significant contribution.

Now, Redick wants to start with the rec center, terming it to be the heartbeat of the community. He envisions permits to be approved by February, and has even raised $25 million of the $47 million target to complete construction.

All of this is to bring the community that lost everything back together. It’s no less than what the NBA did for JJ Redick and his family.

How NBA stars helped JJ Redick and his kids

Nobody understood JJ Redick’s loss more than the NBA community.

Notably, his two boys, Knox and Kai, had a collection of jerseys they held dear. The wildfires took them all away. The first person to act with kindness was Austin Reaves.

He left a signed jersey for both. That act was followed by Luka Doncic and LeBron James. And then, more players began to participate.

The Spurs’ Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama each gave signed jerseys to Kai and Knox, who were in attendance to watch the Spurs vs Lakers. As word got out, Stephen Curry sent a few jerseys, and so did then Duke phenom Cooper Flagg.

They weren’t meant to replace the previous collection, but gave the boys a foundation to start again.

JJ Redick was incredibly appreciative of these gestures. With that same vigor, he has committed to helping redevelop the Palisades community. The rec center is just the beginning.

The Redicks’ aim through their foundation is to create a ripple. They hope the Pacific Palisades park project “will lead the way for Los Angeles’ recovery and set a new standard for cities nationwide.”

In the face of tragedy, JJ Redick is pushing to get back what countless people lost through a committed effort.