Worrying Update on National Tragedy Puts Lakers Legend’s Special Day in Question at LA’s Crypto.com Arena

“LA is more than a city, it’s family”. The official Instagram account of the Los Angeles Lakers recently published this caption, alongside a post featuring several team players making the ‘LA’ hand sign. This tribute came amidst one of the most catastrophic events to have been experienced by the Hollywood city. The Southern California Wildfires continue spreading, with the death toll and property damage also increasing day by day.

From JJ Redick to a Lakers Video Producer, the fires have affected several members of the Lakers fraternity. The franchise had to even delay their games amid the same. Now, as the men in Purple and Gold return to the Crypto.com arena, they are looking to kick things off with a bang. Unfortunately, additional complications may threaten that.

LA Sports journalist ‘LoJo Media’ recently revealed that during the upcoming Lakers-Spurs game at Crypto.Com Arena, the home team was set to honor 5x NBA Champion Michael Cooper, who won all his championship titles alongside the Lakers during his 12-year-long NBA career as a player. The legend was inducted into the ‘Hall of Fame’ just back in October. Now, he is set to have his No. 21 Jersey be retired by his former team.

Unfortunately, the ceremony is threatened amidst a recent report by the BBC. The same claimed that fierce winds, which fuelled the infernos around LA, are expected to hit again this week. With fire crews currently looking to control three wildfires, an additional spread can worsen the situation for LA residents!

Back on Tuesday, the Eaton Fire had ignited near a canyon in the national forest lands north of downtown Los Angeles. By Sunday, it had reportedly exploded to 14,117 acres evening. As highlighted by Cal Fire, the fire was 27% contained, but not before 7,800 structures were reportedly likely damaged or destroyed. Fortunately, the Crypto.Com Arena, which is also located in downtown Los Angeles, was not among them.

However, with high winds reportedly set to hit the LA area again, one cannot fully presume things to be safe. Even if the arena will not be affected, worsening situations can affect the commute to the arena. Not only for the players but also for the tens of thousands of fans set to attend the game. Furthermore, one must also consider the optics. Would it be appropriate to have a prestigious ceremony while the home city continues suffering from the spread of wildfire?

Any delay would be considered appropriate, but still unfortunate. After all, this was a day that Michael Cooper would have been looking forward to for 35 years now. Given that the announcement about his jersey retirement was made back in August 2024, the anticipation would have grown. However, given the difficulties that LA is going through, Cooper may certainly understand any further delays.

Once his jersey is retired, Michael Cooper will become the 13 athlete to be given this honor by the LA franchise. The event would allow him to join the ranks of other Los Angeles legends like Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, etc.

As of now, no official updates have come from the Lakers about delaying the games. In fact, from what JJ Redick and Ty Lue had to state a few days ago, their teams are full steam ahead.

LA Coaches JJ Redick and Ty Lue look to upcoming games as “healing process”

JJ Redick was able to engage in a discussion with Jovan Buha and other reporters a few hours ago. Earlier, the Lakers head coach had revealed that he had been personally affected by the fires. He stated, “My family and my wife’s family, my wife’s twin sister, they’ve evacuated”. Now, he wanted to make it clear that despite his loss, he wanted the Lakers to play against the Spurs. After all, his healing process could be adopted by others, too.

“We’re prepared for whatever tomorrow, and obviously, we’re gonna work with the NBA, the Spurs, and the city and do what’s right,” said Redick, according to Buha. “I want to play tomorrow. I want to coach tomorrow. I want these guys to play tomorrow. And if we can play, we’ll play. I do believe that for everybody who this has impacted, there is a grieving process there is a healing process and I can only speak for myself but part of my healing and grieving process is being here with these guys and coaching basketball.”

Meanwhile, the LA Clippers will host the Miami Heat at the brand new, $2 billion Intuit Dome. Located in Inglewood, the arena is as much danger of being affected as the Crypto.com arena. However, Clippers head coach Ty Lue provided reassurances. In a statement, he revealed, “They (NBA) know we’re going through a tough time right now in the state of California and they understand that. Hopefully we can bring some kind of joy with the game coming back tomorrow, try to put some smiles on people’s faces in tough times.”

The presence of a Lakers-Spurs game would also allow Michael Cooper’s jersey retirement ceremony to take place. However, anything can happen in the next couple of hours. Therefore, whether the ceremony will take place or not is something that will only be answered in due course.