James Harden was close friends with Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was killed outside his Marathon Clothing Company store in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Hussle's murder shook Harden enough that he took a day off from practice Monday to mourn the loss of his friend. He posted a message on Instagram - "One of the worst days of my f---ing life!!!!" - but he hadn't spoken publicly about Hussle until his postgame interview Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
"He was powerful, not just to a certain dynamic or to a certain city, but just to the world," Harden said of his friend after the Rockets beat the Clippers 135-103.