Nipsey Hussle loved basketball, and he definitely loved his neighborhood, so some might say a basketball court that bears his image is the perfect way to honor him.
Hussle was shot and killed in South Los Angeles on March 31, and his memorial service was on Thursday. A man named Eric Holder is suspected to be the shooter, and he’s now in police custody. His bond is set at $5 million.
The new court, called “Nipsey Hussle Memorial Basketball Court,” is in the rapper’s neighborhood of Crenshaw Boulevard and 60th street, right outside Crete Academy nonprofit charter school. It sits just four blocks from where Hussle was killed.
The entire court is also covered in blue and has a colossal-sized photo of the rapper in the middle. It’s size is 46 feet wide and 78 feet long.
In video media reports the new space can been from various angles, and there are also shots of someone putting up a new blue backboard.
The mural was spearheaded by Nick Ansom, the CEO of the Venice Basketball League, who recruited local artist Gustavo Zermano to do it. Ansom, originally from France, had talked to Nipsey before his death about working together.
As for Zermano, who’s an admitted West Coast rap fan, he talked about the project and what it means to him.
“When [Ansom] asked me to be a part of this, I felt like I had to contribute something bigger, so that’s when I pitched the whole Nipsey thing, like actually painting him on the court,” he explained. “He was a big part of helping the kids, and when I heard it was at a school that’s when I was like, it’s for real.”
Ansom also spoke of the nearly completed court and its overall significance.
“He spoke through his music, but he also spoke through his actions,” said Ansom. “You have Nipsey looking out toward his neighborhood and saying, ‘I’m still here with you guys.'”
The court, located on 6103 Crenshaw Blvd., will be opened on April 13 after a ribbon-cutting ceremony that is set to start at noon.
