LOS ANGELES – While Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the LA Clippers won an important game against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, the focus could never fully be about basketball. Many, especially those in the NBA community, were disturbed by the rioters who marched to Capitol Hill to wreak havoc and destruction as they complained about a fraudulent election.

Violent, armed rioters were allowed by police to entire the House Chambers, where they stole items, disheveled offices, and caused waves of damage in the name of their president, who will be leaving the White House in 13 days. No National Guard was called upon and police didn't begin to aggressively respond until far later in the day.

Meanwhile, millions around the country that protested the killings of unarmed Black men and women during the summer were met with swift responses from the National Guard and local law enforcement, each armed with riot gear to combat protestors. NBA players were among those involved in the summer protest. Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, Sixers forward Tobias Harris, Pacers' guard Malcolm Brodgon, Celtics guards Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, Hawks guard Trae Young, Blazers center Enes Kanter, and Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson were not only all attendees, but also vocal leaders in the support of Black lives.

So while the Clippers' win over the Warriors was fun, basketball couldn't take centerstage for more than a few hours. In his postgame press conference, Paul George said seeing what happened in the United States was no surprise to him.

“I mean it comes as no surprise,” George admitted. “It’s two different worlds we live in and that was clear as day. The respect for colored people is — there is none. It’s just the times we live in. it’s very unfortunate. We just see people’s colors. It just goes to show why voting is so important. At the end of the day Trump is who we elected and who we put in office and you see what his belief is and you see what kind of person he is. That’s what it comes down to.

“He rallied his people and his people rallied behind him and just the society being, nothing was done about how they approached their protest. We tried to protest with peace and you know, we are looked down upon and we’re this and we’re that but we see how they protest. It’s unfortunate, but you know it’s an ongoing dialogue and ongoing conversations we’ve got to have with all races.”

Before coming out onto the court, the Tyronn Lue's Clippers and Steve Kerr's Warriors met to discuss how to respond to the recent events. With pressure to make a decision just minutes before the game, Marcus Morris said it was tough to get out there to play and even considered sitting out the game in response.

George would've been in full agreement.

“I would have been all for the league just shutting down,” Paul George added.” I think this was something that definitely should have been addressed. But there’s a middle line to it, there’s a fine line to it because it does give some positivity with people being able to watch games and basketball going on to change what people are feeling and thinking and ultimately what’s on TV. It’s bittersweet, but I definitely would have been all for if the league shut down today to kind of just bring light to what’s really going on in the world.”

Teams around the league elected to honor the fallen victims by taking knees and forcing local officials to take action.

The events of the last day were so historic, they even got Clippers' star Kawhi Leonard to speak out about them.

“No, not really,” Kawhi Leonard said when asked if the game was hard to concentrate on. “We got a job to do, I watched it this morning. It was crazy that you got that going on. You just see the privilege, the privilege in America. It's sad to see, because if any of us was out there, I think we would've been tear-gassed, maced, probably gunshots, you know? So, yeah. That's my thoughts on it.”

Ty Lue and Steve Kerr both hinted that this likely won't be something that the Clippers, Warriors, and the NBA can simply move on from overnight. But for now, the message about privilege has once again been made clear.