![The Lakers' LeBron James was amongst several members of the team with a close relationship with Nipsey Hussle. [Image via NBA/YouTube]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2019/4/2/660x290/b_502x220x82/the-lakers-lebron-james-was-amongst-several-members-of-the-team-with-a-close-relationship-with-nipsey-hussle-image-via-nbayoutube_2239723.jpg "The Lakers' LeBron James was amongst several members of the team with a close relationship with Nipsey Hussle. [Image via NBA/YouTube]")
On Sunday (March 31) evening, news broke that rapper Nipsey Hussle was gunned down in Los Angeles. It immediately brought shock and sadness for many upon hearing of the 33-year-old artist's murder. Many NBA stars were not only fans of Nipsey's music but considered him a friend as well.
Artist. Activist. Angeleno.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 1, 2019
L.A. mourns the loss of one of our own, Nipsey Hussle. pic.twitter.com/7DovnRkayn
LeBron James
King James took to Instagram to share his heartfelt message regarding Nipsey. It included LeBron mentioning how he and Nipsey just recently shared a text conversation. LeBron also said he was planning to get Nipsey to sit courtside at more Lakers' games.
Kyle Kuzma
The Lakers' Kyle Kuzma was another player who formed a friendship with the rapper. He mentioned getting to meet one of his idols and knew him for the past two years. The news of the rapper's death hit Kuz hard.
JaVale McGee
In his Instagram post, McGee shared a photo of the fallen hip-hop star. JaVale captioned it with, "A Legend! RIP! All he did was inspire and lift his people up the right way!"
This season hasn't been a complete loss for JaVale McGee, and he explains why https://t.co/XOVN0Lb7I3 pic.twitter.com/EikLwl8klJ
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 2, 2019
Lance Stephenson
Stephenson was also amongst the Lakers' stars to pay tribute to Nipsey Hussle. He captioned an Instagram photo of Nipsey with "RIP BIG BRO my prayers to his family."
Lance Stephenson cried after Lakers eliminated from playoff contention.https://t.co/fYmfqXXwtC pic.twitter.com/MwM8yGRDWH
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) April 1, 2019
Alex Caruso
One of the newer stars on the Lakers is Alex Caruso. He shared his thoughts on Nipsey Hussle's contributions to the community as part of his tribute message on Twitter.
Nipsey Hussle did a lot for his community & the youth, but I’m realizing now he did so much more than I originally thought.. truly sad such a good person had to be taken RIP
— Alex Caruso (@ACFresh21) April 1, 2019
