Countless lives upended. And one brutal truth: recovering from California’s wildfire nightmare isn’t an easy task. January 2025 was a dark period for America’s Golden State. As the Palisades and Eaton wildfires scorched nearly 40,000 acres and destroyed tens of thousands of homes, the damage climbed past $50 billion. The fires erased neighborhoods, poisoned the earth, and left families with nothing but ashes. Recently, Robert Horry put the perspective into place for the whole world.

While the world might have moved on once the disaster disappeared from the news, Cali is still recovering. On an episode of Big Shot Bob, Robert Horry started by sharing the details of renovations underway in his house. “You know, we had to we had to gut one house and then we got a new roof over here.” It tells us how the fast winds took the roof out of Horry’s home. However, after sharing everything, he had nothing but gratitude to express in the end. “But hey, at least I’m thankful. You know, a lot of guys lost their whole house. I just lost roof.”

Rob Jenners then shifted the conversation towards a bigger picture. He asked, “How what is the situation like out there by the way? Like is are they are things going back up? Are they fixing things? or is it still just kind of…”. It was actually heartbreaking to watch, Robert Horry was nodding in disagreement all the while Rob was narrating the question. Horry responded, “They’re still testing the soil and stuff because a lot of the soil is contaminated.”

 After sharing a few more details of the process, he gave a final verdict. “So, it’s a it’s going to be a long process, man. Probably about a five year process.” A five-year-long setback is huge. For a city that was in its prime, flourishing with people living peaceful lives, this disaster was nothing less than “hellfire”. Robert Horry even wanted to create awareness related to the deeper aspects of this process.

He said “It’s it’s a lot of stuff they got to do that people don’t even think about. You think, oh, I burn my house down. Okay, just dig out. Yeah, rebuild. put some put a slab down and rebuild.” But Robert Horry wants to clarify that it’s not just about fixing a roof or rebuilding a house from scratch. It’s about toxic ash in the ground, endless dump trucks, broken spirits, and a city trying to breathe again. Our heart goes out to California, may the state recover stronger than ever.

Robert Horry’s unlikely lifeline

Robert Horry’s revelation about turning to his estranged brother during his lowest moment cuts deeper than any championship story. On another episode of his Big Shot Bob Podcast, when asked if he ever sought advice from fellow players during his NBA career, his response was honest: “Fk no.” But then, his tone shifted as he shared a rare moment of vulnerability. “I went through a spell one time where I was just playing bad and I reached out to my brother. My brother doesn’t even know this story.” 

The weight of admitting that must be huge. Here’s a seven-time champ, a clutch legend, confessing he didn’t lean on teammates, coaches, or even his wife. Instead, he called the one person he knew wouldn’t sugarcoat it. “I couldn’t call my best friend, I didn’t call my wife… I called my brother because he was the one that was just going to give it to me straight.” The advice Horry got was as raw as it gets. “Man, you don’t look happy.” That single observation cracked everything open for Horry, forcing him to confront his mindset.

“I say, ‘Man, I’m doing something that a zillion people would love to do and I’m letting this affect me mentally.’” Then came the no-nonsense advice from his brother. “Man, just go out and play and say fk it.” No motivational fluff, just a blunt reset button from someone who owed him nothing. Horry’s reflection on the exchange hits even harder. “When you got a dude that don’t really give a fk about you in the sense that… he give it to you real.” He highlighted how detachment sometimes results in the purest truth.

The impact of that 15-minute call was transformative. Horry reclaimed his joy for the game. “I’m just going to enjoy it. I’m going to have fun, I’m going to play hard. If we win, we win. We lose, so be it.” The simplicity of the advice didn’t justify its power. “It was a simple, maybe 15-minute conversation… but it was key things he said that inspired me.” For a player known for icy veins in big moments, this unfiltered pep talk from an unlikely source became the ultimate clutch performance, off the court.