Los Angeles Clippers player, Nicolas Batum is inevitably impacted by the terrible fires that have been ravaging the City of Angels for almost a week. He tells how he lived these last very distressing days.
It is Tuesday January 7, 2025. While Nicolas Batum is traveling with the Clippers, the surroundings of Los Angeles begin to be ravaged by flames, notably the Pacific Palisades district which is not very far from the home of the French winger. Obviously, worry quickly affects Batum and his family.
“When I found out, I was on the plane between Minnesota and Denver,” Nico tells Rémi Reverchon. “I wasn’t at home, it was a bit difficult to experience it from a distance. It’s a weird situation to experience live.”
While he has to face the Nuggets in Denver on Wednesday January 8, Batum is logically having trouble getting his head in the match.
“I was on the phone with my family all day. I didn’t sleep the night before. We didn’t know what was happening, if the fire was going to hit our house. I wasn’t really thinking about the match. I put my phone down just three minutes before the match, to make sure everything was okay with my wife and kids. And I checked again at halftime.”
In this climate of “panic” and anxiety, the Clippers – unsurprisingly – did not see the light of day in Denver (126-103 defeat). The main thing is elsewhere.
Returning to Los Angeles after the match, Nicolas Batum and his teammates can reunite with their family, but that does not mean that the concern diminishes.
“You don’t sleep (at night), because you see planes and helicopters above the house, you see the smoke progressing, we talk to the neighbors, you follow things live with the applications. And at night it’s a little scary because you’re afraid to fall asleep. Don’t you dare sleep.”
The latest news is that Nicolas Batum’s home has not been affected and his entire family is safe.
When @nicolas88batum tells us about his week in Los Angeles, in anticipation and fear… ???????????? #nbaextra pic.twitter.com/Qf4CUSIz5U
— Remi Reverchon (@SoFrenchProd) https://twitter.com/SoFrenchProd/status/1878574742245937268?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Almost a week after the start of the fires, the situation remains critical in Los Angeles. Certain fires have certainly been brought under control, but others continue to progress with the return of intense winds at the start of the week.
On a purely basketball level, the Lakers and the Clippers should nevertheless be able to return to the courts this Monday evening, after the matches postponed from this weekend.
Sources texte : NBA Extra, Tomer Azarly
