It’s been 5 years since the star rapper Nipsey Hussle lost his life tragically outside his clothing store. The then-33-year-old rapper had made himself a successful career in West Coast hip-hop and also made a lot of friends from the NBA world. Everything was going right until a gunman pulled the trigger against him in 2019. NBA superstars like LeBron James, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook, struck by the spine-chilling murder of their friend, still haven’t gotten over his demise. Five years later, these stars came together to celebrate the rapper once again.

Today, the 15th of August marked Nipsey Hussle A. K. A. Ermias Asghedom’s 38th birth anniversary. And, remembering him, King James shared Nipsey’s picture on his Instagram stories and wrote, “Happy Angel Day Hussle!! LLNH (Long live Nipsey Hussle),” with a blue heart.

LeBron James has remained vocal about Nipsey’s murder, which had a delayed trial in the court of law. Speaking of the star, only days after the murder, James said, “It’s so unfortunate when you look at a guy who believed in what he believed in, talked about how he wanted to give back to his own community, actually gave back to his community, and actually stayed in his community.” Moreover, James considered the murder as one of the unfortunate events in “American history”.

Russell Westbrook and James Harden send their prayers to Rapper Nipsey

Former teammates James Harden and Russell Westbrook also had maintained a close relationship with the Grammy-nominated rapper. The duo spoke about the rapper in a 2020 interview together. Today, they have again come together to celebrate Nipsey’s birth anniversary.

However, The Beard has an even deeper connection with him as they were from the same locality and attended the same middle school. Today, on his late friend’s birth anniversary, the superstar guard certainly didn’t have a message as he just shared a picture of them on his IG stories. Unlike the last time, when he shared a three-word emotional message of “I miss bro,” via his X handle.

On the other hand, Russell Westbrook had an interesting way to remember the star rapper. The former MVP took to his IG stories and rapped Nipsey’s 2013 famous song ‘Been From The Gang’ inside a car. Along with that, he also added a caption that read, “N I P CDAY’. 

Unlike Harden, Westbrook got introduced to Nipsey later in his career, but hit it off well from the word ‘go’. Speaking of his demise, Russ said, “James was one of the first calls I made. There was no hesitation about it because we understand his impact, what he was doing, and why. We understand who he was. It wasn’t no fluff. Now the rest of the world understands,” in the 2020 interview.

Apart from the superstars, Nipsey Hussle has maintained a tight friendship with Isaiah Thomas since 2008. The star guard frequently visited the rapper’s shows during his college and slowly developed a friendship. Even Hussle felt Thomas and he had a mirroring success in their respective fields. Today, the 35-year-old guard cherished his friendship with a post on X handle. Thomas shared a few pictures of them and wrote, “Happy birthday to the (GOAT emoji) @NipseyHussle.”

What to know about the Nipsey Hussle murder case?

Five years ago, on March 31, 2019, Mr. Holder, who is argued to be from the same gang as Nipsey Hussle, gunned down the rapper outside his clothing store. Deputy District Attorney John McKinney stated that Holder shot Hussle more than 10 times and also kicked him on the head before fleeing the spot. Moreover, this incident also left two bystanders injured.

Two days after the incident, Mr. Holder confessed to the murder at a mental health facility and immediately he was charged with a first-degree murder. According to the Associated Press, the process turned into a “long-delayed murder trial,” as they reported the crucial details of the case in 2022.

According to McKinney, Nipsey and Holder had a “cool conversation” before the murder took place. Later Holder returned with a semiautomatic gun and a revolver. The District Attorney added that Holder killed the rapper, accusing him of “snitching” law enforcement. Moreover, he added that the murderer had “no doubt” before killing, which certainly locked him up with first-degree murder. After four years of trial, the judge sentenced Mr. Holder to a 60-year life in prison. Fans across the country consistently sent their love and support to the Nipsey family and his two kids throughout the stressful period.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.