Wife of Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni rescued by boat from deadly floods

ByCalvin Watkins ESPN logo
Monday, June 27, 2016

HOUSTON -- Laurel D'Antoni, the wife of Houston Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni, was rescued by boat after she was among the residents that were forced to leave their homes in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, due to severe rain storms and flooding last week.

Laurel D'Antoni was packing to move to Houston when the severe storms hit the southern part of West Virginia on Thursday.

"Everybody is fine," Mike D'Antoni told ESPN on Monday. "Our hearts go out to all the people that aren't fine in areas that are devastated. We just want to try to help them and rebuild in any way that we can."

Mike D'Antoni said his wife, along with two cats, got in a boat and left their offseason home at The Greenbrier, an estate in the heart of the Allegheny Mountains. NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West also lives in the community.

Severe storms hit several West Virginia communities last week, causing massive flooding that killed 23 people, destroyed homes and has left many without power.

Mike D'Antoni said his house received minimal damage. He wasn't in West Virginia when the storms started to hit Thursday because he was in Houston working the NBA draft.

"It was very scary," D'Antoni said. "Although I wouldn't have been much help with the two cats. There was some damage, very minimal, water rising and she was caught in it, she couldn't get out and the only way she could leave was by boat. They came out and rescued her and some different people."