Miami Heat Players Share Support for Los Angeles After Fires

Several Miami Heat players, including those with extensive California ties, publicly supported Los Angeles on Monday as wildfires ravaged the area.

The Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst fires have burned nearly 40,000 acres in Los Angeles County as of Monday afternoon. At least 24 people have died, and another 23 are missing.

Heat guard Josh Christopher, a Carson native, grew up riding the Pacific Coast Highway and admiring the nearby houses. 

“To see them all burned down is awful,” Christopher said Monday. “I send condolences to all the people who’ve lost ones, those that have lost their houses; I feel for them.”

Christopher said his grandmother lives in Los Angeles and is safe.

“It’s just important that we hug our loved ones because you never know,” Christopher said.

Veteran big man Kevin Love called the fires “tough to put into words.” Love grew up in Santa Monica and played collegiately at UCLA.

“We just pray for those people,” Love said. “Try to help out wherever we can, provide resources … Everything’s hurting for everyone.”

Jaime Jaquez Jr. called the fires “frustrating” and thanked the firefighters. 

Christopher wants to try focusing on the positives where he can.

“It’s good to see L.A. come together and just to show love and be there to support and help,” Christopher explained, “and that’s what this is all about at the end of the day.

“When things get hard, just have each other’s backs, and that’s what L.A.’s always been about,” Christopher added. 

LOVE HONORS FATHER

Love went back to his roots this weekend.

Love arrived at Saturday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers wearing an Oregon Ducks jacket. His father, Stan Love, is an Oregon Hall of Famer and a former All-Pac-8 power forward.

The elder Love later played five NBA seasons, averaging 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds.

Unfortunately for Love, he didn’t see the court in Miami’s 119-98 victory over the Trail Blazers. Love, who averages 5.9 points and 4.5 rebounds, hasn’t played since Dec. 29.

The gesture is nonetheless a sweet one, especially as the 36-year-old nears the end of his playing career. There’ll only be so many more opportunities for Love to celebrate his family and honor those who paved the way for him to become an All-NBA forward.

JOVIĆ FINDING SHOOTING STROKE

Miami Heat forward Nikola Jović has found his shooting stroke at the perfect time.

Jović tallied a season-high 21 points on eight of 12 shooting Saturday night. He added eight rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block in Miami’s third straight win. 

Jović made four of seven threes off the bench. Miami outscored Portland by 20 points with the third-year forward on the floor. 

“We have great players [and] it’s easy to play around them,” Jović told reporters. “As long as you’re in the right spot at the right moment … I feel like we can always play good basketball.”

StatMuse reported Jović is the youngest player in Heat history with such a stat line.

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Jake Elman works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat on SI. He can be reached at [email protected] or follow him on X @JakeElman97.