It’s been a tough week around the NBA. Players were left reeling after the news of another unarmed Black man shot by police officers, such that it prompted a historic and unprecedented walkout that has resulted in NBA owners agreeing to use their considerable power, money, and influence to affect social change.
But after the emotional rollercoaster of the past few days, there was no rest for the weary, as news of Chadwick Boseman’s death from colon cancer rocked the league once again. Boseman was 43 and had been undergoing treatment since 2016, while somehow starring in several major films during that time, including his iconic role as T’Challa in Black Panther, among many others.
Boseman was friends with several stars around the league and was often a fixture at NBA games, perhaps most memorably the 2018 Slam Dunk Contest, during which he loaned his Black Panther mask to Victor Oladipo for one of his dunks — he also judged the 2020 NBA Dunk Contest.
Boseman’s death has hit the league hard, and there was an immediate outpouring of grief on social media to pay respects to one of the most talented and accomplished young actors of his generation.
Smh it’s just to much going on right now……. R.I.H #BlackPanther https://t.co/Vh9WvZz1bP
— Victor Oladipo (@VicOladipo) August 29, 2020
🙏🏿🙏🏿 RIP https://t.co/8dgvrzumiZ
— Mike Conley (@MCONLEY10) August 29, 2020
this year ain’t it at all 👎🏽🚮
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) August 29, 2020
R.I.P 😔💔✊🏾
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) August 29, 2020
2020 ain’t shit.
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) August 29, 2020
Rest in power @chadwickboseman !! Your legacy will live forever. 2020 man, been a tough one 💔
— klay thompson (@KlayThompson) August 29, 2020
✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽 https://t.co/Pafd2yDjEs
— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) August 29, 2020
🙏🏾❤️ pic.twitter.com/SyolW0OSzk
— Baron Davis (@BaronDavis) August 29, 2020
🖕🏾 2020!
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) August 29, 2020
Mannnn no way!!! RIP KING 👑✊🏾😭 https://t.co/q4aue9j2Xw
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) August 29, 2020
Rest in power, Chadwick Boseman. pic.twitter.com/7NN7YeEYeA
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) August 29, 2020
RIP legend ❤️🙏🏽😓 https://t.co/j2yLUjzrVB
— Jayson Tatum (@jaytatum0) August 29, 2020
Shit really made me sad man! Dude made Black Panther while fighting that. Smh you just never know what people are going thru! Give people their flowers while they are here!!!!!
— Bradley Beal (@RealDealBeal23) August 29, 2020
Damn . Rest in paradise. 🙏🏽This year ain’t it https://t.co/cJRXaVEPm8
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) August 29, 2020
My brother, my brother heartbroken 😞 don’t even know what to say 😭 https://t.co/YzUpLTjQDc
— Bismack Biyombo (@bismackbiyombo) August 29, 2020
Loss for words….one of my favorite actors. Praying for his family and loved ones. #RIPKing https://t.co/cwgDIVRmN6
— Harrison Barnes (@hbarnes) August 29, 2020
Unreal https://t.co/rj5FJRsfn7
— Metta World Peace (@MettaWorld37) August 29, 2020
Fighter till the end 🤍 I’m sick https://t.co/pwS6onydNl
— JJJ (@jarenjacksonjr) August 29, 2020
Wakanda Forever!! RIP Black Panther
— Larry Nance Jr (@Larrydn22) August 29, 2020
No way…
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) August 29, 2020
Chadwick Boseman?????????????? It can’t be…
— Kevin Love (@kevinlove) August 29, 2020
When you think this year can’t get worse 😔 R.I.P legend 🙏🏻 https://t.co/9O0hvBS9dF
— Jusuf Nurkić (@bosnianbeast27) August 29, 2020
— SLOWMO (@KyleAnderson5) August 29, 2020
— Brandon Clarke (@brandonclarke23) August 29, 2020
