- Nina Earl is a therapist and entrepreneur who played collegiate basketball for the Bruins after securing a sports scholarship to UCLA, yet she stopped playing basketball after college
- She met her husband Russell Westbrook, a fellow basketball player in college and NBA forward back at UCLA
- Earl divides her time between her three children, businesses and her philanthropy work especially on Russel’s Why Not? program
Nina Earl is well known as the wife of Russel Westbrook, the NBA forward for former teams like the Oklahoma City Thunders, Washington Wizards, and Houston Rockets. On her part, Nina also played basketball for the Bruins women’s team at UCLA before later switching careers to become a therapist and entrepreneur.
36 year-old Nina played basketball as a forward. However, her love and investment in the game did not come between her and her studies then. This made Nina concentrate more on pursuing a career as a therapist while running her businesses and charity.
Earl and her husband share similar love for basketball as her husband is an American professional basketball player. Yet, her husband invested his life into the game. Here is everything we know about the former basketball player turned therapist and entrepreneur.
Who is Nina Earl?
She is a California native born Nina Ann-Marie Earl in Pomona, on the 16th day of January 1989. Nina grew up in a close-knit family. Her father, Michael Earl was a puppeteer, voice actor, songwriter, and singer while her mother is only known as Jennifer Lyons.
Ann-Marie was the only girl among her parent’s 4 children. She grew up with three brothers named Michael Jr., Jonathan, and Benjamin. Earl is also cousin to Kenny Easley associated with ‘Pro Football Hall of Fame’.
She attended Diamond Ranch High School, Pomona, California. While still in High school, she showed great athleticism and attracted a scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles. Nina found a balance between her academics and sports while she was at UCLA. She majored in Psychology and had a minor in English.
Nina also ran 4 by 4 relay races apart from playing for the women’s basketball team.
Nina Earl was a Talented Basketball Player
Even though the Pomona-born never invested her future into playing professional basketball, she is unarguably a skilled player and athlete. Nina pushed her high school team into many titles and recognitions. At her forward position on the Diamond Ranch high school team, she started about 27 games as a freshman. By the time she finished high school, she had 2,291 points, 906 rebounds, 298 assists, and 544 steals.
By the time she entered her sophomore year, Nina had made 15 points in one of the seasons which had also prompted her to develop her game. She improved to making about 20.6 points and had 9.8 rebounds. The athlete started against some top college teams which include the CSUF, Oregon, and USC.
In her junior year at UCLA she attracted the attention of many with her impeccable skills leading to her taking the UCLA Bruins team to the championship of the California Interscholastic Federation 3AA. Her high power play made many regards her as the fastest member of the team.
Earl began by starting off 15 out of 31 games in her senior year, the basketball player was acknowledged for taking her team to the CIF title in 2007. She also scored a total of 35 games in a game, alone.
Her college years playing for the Bruins is remarkable looking at the 124 games she played scoring 675 points and making at least 2.3 rebounds in each game. This made her a formidable force on the team.
The former forward has on beyond sports and currently pursuing non-sports-related activities.
Nina Earl And Russel Westbrook Are Still Married
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The former player is not far from her past as she is still linked to one of the NBA’s greatest forwards, Russell Westbrook. They have a love story that dates back as far back as their college days when they were still trying to pursue a career. They first met while in college as they both played for the college team at UCLA. Nina was an active member of the Bruins Women’s team while Westbrook played for the male team.
They became college sweethearts from then and eventually took the relationship forward. By 2013, their relationship was a serious item that Russel openly praised her in an interview with ESPN.
With nothing holding the college sweethearts back, Russel proposed to Nina on September 4th, 2014 with an engagement ring worth $700, 000. They shared the pictures of their engagement on the social media platform, Instagram.
Their wedding took place almost a year later on August 29th, 2015 at the Beverly Hill hotel. The dream wedding was a high-brow affair and was attended by top basketball players and celebrities. Players such as Kevin Durant and James Harden, and the queen of R&B, Keri Hilson attended the wedding. The couple was given a surprise performance by the singer, Miguel.
To cap the day, the bride, Nina wore two wedding dresses; one from Vera Wang and the other from Monique Lhuillier.
The college sweethearts are still married after all these years of being together.
Some Other Interesting Facts about the Former Basketball Star, Nina Earl
She Has Three Children with Russel Westbrook
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Her marriage to the NBA point guard is blessed with three children. Their first child is a boy named Noah and he was born in May 2017. A year later, they welcomed twin daughters named Jordyn and Skye born on the 17th of November 2018.
While they had high expectations for the birth of their twins, it came with so many challenges for the couple. The complications made the pregnancy high risk. The experience left an impression on her to speak up for other mothers that are faced with maternal issues. She supported the March for Dimes to raise awareness and support for black maternal health issues.
Despite the complications and the challenges she experienced, Nina and her husband were excited about the addition. For now, the children have not shown signs of pursuing any career as they are still in school. However, Nina shares pictures of her children engaging in fun activities.
2. Nina Earl Left Basketball to Concentrate on Family
As a basketball forward, Earl was so good that she won quite a number of titles and honors with her team. Moreso, Nina was able to play all positions on the floor making her a versatile player and an important part of the team. She was mentioned in featured publications of ‘Street & Smith’s as well as in ‘Rise’.
She was also named Most Valuable Player thrice in three leagues. Nina also has ‘CIF Player of the Year’ and ‘Cal-Hi Sports all-state titles. At the moment, Nina is busy with her work and raising her children.
3. She is an Entrepreneur and Therapist
Nina had a successful college career playing basketball but later dropped sports to take up another of her passions which she earned a University certificate. She is a therapist and promotes her work through the brand called Bene. Bene is a Latin word for ‘wellness which is a Latin word for ‘Wellness’.
As a graduate of Psychology who also mastered Clinical Psychology, she specializes in family therapy. Her services include marriage and family therapy for couples and families.
The therapist is also an entrepreneur with other side businesses. She owns a boutique, The Little Ark in Oklahoma City that specializes in baby items and gift products for mothers. In addition to this, she offers baby classes for new parents as well as health-related courses.
4. The former Athlete Turned Businesswoman is a Philanthropist
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Nina is a philanthropist who is invested in helping people. Notably, she and her husband collaborate to run some projects together. She is involved in several charities including Russell Westbrook’s ‘Why Not’ founded in 2012. The aim of the foundation was to be a magnet school for underserved youths in the region.
With the foundation, she helps vulnerable and underprivileged children. She also organizes Thanksgiving events where she gets to provide meals to children who are needy.
READ ALSO: Yekaterina Lisina; 10 Interesting Facts About The Russian Model and Basketballer
5. Her Husband is a Two Time Gold Medalist
Although the point guard is celebrated for his feats on the court, it is his international career that garnered him a medal. Westbrook is a two-time medalist. He won his first medal for the US at the 2010 FIBA World championships held in Istanbul.
He got his next medal with the US team at the 2012 Olympic games held in London after ousting Argentina to become the first on the ranking.
6. Nina Earl Clapped Back at Stephen A. Smith after accusing her Husband of Underplaying
The three-point shooter is yet to win an NBA championship. As a result, he has been taunted by media pundits such as Stephen A.Smith. In 2021, the TV personality openly accused Westbrook of underplaying after a game. Even though Westbrook’s performance at the said 2021 game earned him applause for breaking the NBA’s triple-double record, Stephen was not impressed.
Stephen undermined the player’s achievement leading to a heated response from Nina. She defended her husband in a series of Instagram messages. According to her, her husband, who is also the Laker’s point guard is worth more than any championship.
She also revealed how her family has received death-threatening messages that may have been fueled by Stephen’s outburst.
7. Nina Shares in Russel Westbrook’s Net Worth
Nina is a businesswoman, a therapist as well as a hands-on mom. Even at that, she has not revealed her net worth. Yet the trained psychologist apparently shares in her husband’s wealth. Her husband who once played for the Oklahoma City Thunder has a net worth of $170 million.
He made his net worth from his career as a basketball player, endorsement deals, and businesses. According to Forbes, Nina’s husband owns 10 car dealerships in Los Angeles while he has an endorsement deal with Jordan shoes. He got his first signature shoe in 2018.
Therefore, more than their love, she also shares in her husband’s huge net worth. Earl’s husband is an 8-time NBA star and a 2-time NBA All-star Game Most Valuable Player. Notably, her husband is using some of his net worth to build schools in his hometown as well as to support different charities.
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