St. John Bosco defeated St. Bernard 60-47 to win a CIF-SS boys Open Division playoff basketball game. - Source: Getty

"It wasn't just for me": Tajh Ariza, Trevor Ariza's son talks about the importance of his NIL deal with L.A. rapper Nipsey Hussle's brand

Modified Nov 19, 2024 18:23 GMT

Tajh Ariza, son of former NBA champion Trevor Ariza, signed a major NIL deal with late rapper Nipsey Hussle’s The Marathon Clothing on Tuesday. The five-star small forward then appeared on "The Youngins Podcast" to talk about the deal.

In the collaboration between Ariza and The Marathon Clothing, he did not just place his image on a T-shirt but also included some of his teammates. This led host Jordan Richard to ask him why he chose to include his teammates.

"It was about at the start, it wasn't really just for me, like, it wasn't even for me," Tajh Ariza explained. "It was really just for my team and for, you know, for the Westchester program. So that's really all it meant, like, just making sure everybody straight." (11:16-11:29)

He also opened up on why he chose the late rapper's brand.

"That's what's crazy. It's big, like, me and my mom, like, we always just listen to Nipsey," he said. "She ran a marathon, so she used to be a runner or she getting back into it now, so it's just like full circle." (5:31-5:43)

His partnership with The Marathon Clothing also marked the brand's first major NIL partnership.

Tajh Ariza talks about why he transferred to dad's alma mater Westchester High School

During that same podcast interview, host Jordan Richard also brought up the topic of him transferring to Westchester High School in California, where his dad also used to play.

"It was just, you know, like Coach Tony left, Tony Bland, so he went to go with UW (University of Washington), so it just like I don't really want to waste no time and figuring cuz we didn't even know who really was coaching next," he said. "So why not go right there, and especially cuz you know my pops went there, so it's just like homecoming." (15:23-15:26)

Tajh Ariza used to play for St. Bernard but left after coach Tony Bland left. Bland now coaches Washington where Ariza has an offer to go to. But it faces stiff competition from the likes of USC, UCLA, UNLV and Kansas to get his commitment.