The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers both had games scheduled for Saturday, but they were postponed due to the wildfires still affecting Los Angeles.
The NBA announced the postponements on Friday night, noting that the decision was made to “ensure that no resources are diverted from wildfire response efforts.” The league also announced that it and the National Basketball Players Association would donate $1 million to the American Red Cross, World Central Kitchen and other organizations to help with disaster relief.
The Lakers were scheduled to face the San Antonio Spurs at Crypto.com Arena, while the Clippers were set to play the Charlotte Hornets at the Intuit Dome.
Both teams still have home games scheduled for Monday.
The wildfires have already had significant consequences for both organizations. The Lakers also postponed a game scheduled for Thursday, and head coach JJ Redick was one of several people to lose a home in the Pacific Palisades fire. Redick mentioned Friday that several other members of the organization also lost their homes.
The Clippers played another away game against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, but without star Kawhi Leonard. The former All-Star walked away from the team after the fires affected his family.
As of Friday afternoon, numerous wildfires were still burning in the Los Angeles area. The Palisades fire that devastated the Pacific Palisades neighborhood and the Eaton fire that hit Altadena remain the largest in the region, and neither is more than 10% contained. They have already claimed thousands of buildings each.
It is unclear how long it will take to bring each fire under control, as Los Angeles is expected to continue to receive the high winds that caused the fires.
The fallout from the fires has affected more than just the NBA in the sports world. The NFL has chosen to move a wild-card playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings scheduled for Monday to the Arizona Cardinals’ State Farm Stadium. The United States women’s national soccer team also moved its training camp to Florida.
