Former Miami Heat star Chris Bosh denied Friday that he or his family was home when the devastating Palisades Fire began in the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles in January 2025.
Bosh, 42, has not been accused of any crime, yet defense lawyers for the man charged with igniting the blaze want jurors to hear that alleged evidence at his $11 million mansion points to someone having launched a firework.
Bosh and his wife, Adrienne, posted the statement on Instagram, saying the family was not in Pacific Palisades on New Year’s Eve 2024 or New Year’s Day 2025.
“We were at our residence in Austin, Texas,” the statement read, as quoted by TMZ.
The couple added that, to their knowledge, the Palisades property sat empty and was not rented out or used by guests during that stretch. They also said they gave authorities security footage and other relevant information.
Palisades Fire Suspect’s Claim Targets Bosh’s Home
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, is accused of starting the Lachman Fire on Jan. 1, 2025, by using a lighter on vegetation near a hiking trail. Investigators say crews knocked it down, but it smoldered for days before reigniting on Jan. 7 as the Palisades Fire, which killed 12.
Rinderknecht has pleaded not guilty. His first trial ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked 10-2 in favor of acquittal, and a retrial began this month with revised charges.
Defense attorney Steve Haney wants retired Cal Fire investigator Michael T. Cole to testify. Cole spent 18 years in the arson unit and studied the driveway and rear patio of a redacted address in 2025. Haney wrote that Cole would identify a specific mark and the burn and smoke streaks around it as “physical evidence of a launched firework,” as quoted by the California Post, which identified the house as Bosh’s.
Prosecutors want Cole disqualified, arguing his opinion relies solely on six drone photographs of a brownish driveway stain taken in February 2025 or 2026, with no close-up inspection or testing. They wrote that Cole has “zero qualifications, training, or experience” for the conclusion, according to the Post.
Friday’s post was Bosh’s first public word on the matter. His representatives did not immediately respond to requests after the filings surfaced Thursday, according to OutKick, and no attorney for Bosh has spoken publicly.
The Mediterranean-style mansion, about 10,755 square feet with six bedrooms, is a property the couple bought in December 2012 for about $9.4 million. The house survived undamaged, according to the Post, which published photos of it standing afterward. Reports said it was being rented when the fires began, an allegation Bosh’s statement disputes.
Chris Bosh’s Miami Heat Career and Health Battle
Christopher Wesson Bosh, born March 24, 1984, in Dallas, starred at Georgia Tech before the Toronto Raptors drafted him fourth overall in 2003. He left for Miami in 2010, teaming with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
With the Heat, Bosh reached four straight NBA Finals and won titles in 2012 over Oklahoma City and 2013 over San Antonio. He averaged 19.2 points across 893 games, plus 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists, and was an 11-time All-Star and 2008 Olympic gold medalist.
In February 2015, a clot in his lung ended his season. A second clot, this one in his leg, sidelined him for the final 29 games of 2015-16, and his final game came on Feb. 9, 2016.
Bosh failed a team physical before the 2016-17 season, and the Heat waived him in 2017. He announced his retirement in 2019, when Miami raised his No. 1 jersey on March 26. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame elected him in his first year of eligibility in 2021.
Bosh disclosed in August that another pulmonary embolism hospitalized him in January. His advice for Victor Wembanyama, who also battled clots, was simple. “Take your medicine,” Bosh said, according to HoopsHype.
Two-Time NBA Champion Chris Bosh Breaks Silence on Los Angeles Fire Allegation