The tragic news of Nipsey Hussle’s death on Sunday, March 31st sent shock waves of pain, anger, and a sense of numbness through the bodies of everyone, even those who had no personal connection with the Los Angeles artist. The pain could be felt throughout any given Twitter timeline, but one that stood out to me was the NBA community. Nipsey Hussle was a familiar face at NBA games, and his love for his hometown Los Angeles Lakers was evident as he sat court side very often. The relationship between Nipsey and the NBA community runs deep. From his halftime performances at the Staples Center, to joining forces with Russell Westbrook’s foundation at Thanksgiving, to the multitude of relationships he had with NBA stars off the court, Nipsey impact on the culture and the league will never be forgotten. NBA stars took to twitter and to the hardwood to mourn Nipsey Hussle’s death.
The NBA paid respect to rapper Nipsey Hussle ? pic.twitter.com/W5XHd2svEN
— ESPN (@espn) April 1, 2019
“He led by example. He was everything to us.”
–@BaronDavis pays tribute to the late Nipsey Hussle. ? pic.twitter.com/zryNhRvq6g
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 3, 2019
?#JamesHarden on #NipseyHussle ?? “Not only in the NBA community but around the world he was powerful.. Not only myself but a lot of people in the world have been affected by it doesn’t seem real.”#NBA pic.twitter.com/eBL9pBsleF
— Giovanni Garcia (@GioGarciaLA) April 4, 2019
Russell Westbrook dedicated his first game after the passing of Nipsey Hussle to the artist, and boy did Westbrook show out in honor for Nipsey. Westbrook became just the second player in NBA history to record a 20 point-20 rebound-20 assist game, joining Wilt Chamberlain who did it way back in the 1968 season.
Westbrook in his postgame interview: "That wasn't for me…. that was for Nipsey… 20 plus 20 plus 20, they know what means"#NBA #NBATwitter #NipseyHussle pic.twitter.com/X8K8eNjhOp
— The Limitless Range NBA Podcast ? (@1LimitlessRange) April 3, 2019
It is clear the NBA community, just like everyone else, is feeling the pain, confusion and anger of the tragic murder of Los Angeles native and legend Nipsey Hussle.
I like how much time you spent on this site, it’s really polished you just need to secure it and you’ll be golden.
But yeah, Nipsey Hussle’s death was something felt kinda everywhere, I don’t think there was anyone who wasn’t taling about it and there was even a massive funeral that pretty much anyone could go to. A lot of people also found out the amount of work he put back into communities and whatnot so I feel like that’s what really got people about his death. And the amount of work you put into this is nice. It’s not just you saying his death was mourned, you embedded sources with proof and provided additional details and clarifications which is nice.
I don’t follow NBA or MLB but I can appreciate the work you put in.