Former college basketball star Austin Daye is paying tribute to the late Nipsey Hussle ... by honoring the rap legend with a massive back tattoo.
The 32-year-old pro hooper -- a massive Nip fan -- revealed the new ink on Monday ... which also features an image of Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali.
Daye hit up tattoo artist Juan D Castanu0303o for the job ... and we're assuming it took hours to finish the piece, which also features a "The Marathon Continues" flag.
Of course, the TMC slogan was Nip's motto .