OKLAHOMA CITY Not since Wilt Chamberlain did it in 1968 had a player notched 20 points, 20 rebounds and 20 assists in a single game.
And when Russell Westbrook did it in the Oklahoma City Thunders 119-103 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, his thoughts turned immediately to his friend, Nipsey Hussle, the rapper who was killed on Sunday, and whose death rocked Los Angeles and the NBA.
That wasnt for me, man, said Westbrook, who went to high school in Lawndale and college at UCLA. That was for my bro, man. That was for Nipsey. Twenty plus 20 plus 20. They know what that means, man. Thats for my bro. Rest in peace, Nipsey.
Added together, the numbers were significant to Hussle. The Rollin 60s was a notorious Crips gang clique that Hussle joined as a teenager. Last year, Hussle told the Los Angeles Times about the post traumatic stress that came with living in what he called a war zone, where death was so common the residents felt immune to it.
In the decade and a half since then, Hussle became a successful rapper who used his money to invest in the South Los Angeles community where he grew up. Over the years he befriended players all over the NBA.
Weve been talking about it the last couple of days, weve taken it pretty hard, Rajon Rondo said. A lot of guys knew him personally. Condolences to his family. Its sad what happened, obviously. Hes a legend, hes a king to where hes from and around the world. He had a great message, setting a great example for a lot of young people and people where hes from, so, he was a great man.
As word spread on social media of the shooting, several players reacted. LeBron James, whose season ended on Friday after the Lakers played the Charlotte Hornets, was sitting on the teams bench in New Orleans. He posted a message on twitter that included an emoji of two hands praying and Hussles twitter handle.
By the time the Lakers left the arena for the night, Hussle was pronounced dead.
Over the next 24 hours, James sent four more Tweets expressing his devastation at Hussles death.
Lance Stephenson, who said he was close with Hussle, declined to talk about the rapper on Tuesday evening.
Their teammate arent pushing them to talk about anything.
I feel like theyre all just thinking about the time they had with him, and theyre still trying to process it at the same time, said Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who met Hussle a few times through James. That was tough on everybody. That pretty much hurt the whole city.
Said Alex Caruso: Any time you lose somebody that you know thats a friend, especially such a good person, such a good human, its going to take some time. Really just giving those guys all the space they need and being here for them for it.
Westbrook didnt say much after the game about his connection to Hussle. But nothing would stop him from accomplishing that feat Tuesday night.
With 1:04 left in the Thunders Tuesday night game against the Lakers, Westbrook was so tantalizingly close that he wasnt going to let the status of the game dictate whether or not he played. He had 20 points, 21 assists and 18 rebounds at that moment, and when Raymond Felton tried to check in during a timeout, Westbrook waved him off.
He almost grabbed his 19th and 20th on the same possession, but after grabbing his 19th rebound off a missed free throw, Caruso denied Westbrook his 20th.
