J Cole has a deep-rooted passion for sports, particularly basketball. He was a hooper at his high school in North Carolina and he follows the NBA closely. But this decade, the superstar has been able to take his skills to the professional level overseas. In fact, in just a couple of days, the 41-year-old will be making his third debut in a foreign country.
Per Kurrco, J Cole is going to play for the Nanjing Monkey Kings, a team in the Chinese Basketball Association, on Saturday, April 11. He's actually been in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China for several days now, getting reps in with his teammates.
For those wondering, the season is coming to a close in China. The regular season for the 2025-2026 campaign ends on April 24. So, J. Cole will only have a few games to showcase his skills. But he, as well as the Monkey Kings organization, are on the same page.
Per ESPN's NBA insider, Shams Charania, this sort of deal was in the works for some time. But even though it will be a short stint, J Cole expressed deep gratitude for this opportunity. "I'm getting older... They gave me an opportunity to come play on the court professionally... [it's] a blessing for me."
J Cole The Fall-Off World Tour
As we alluded to earlier, this will be his third time playing on a professional squad. His first run occurred in 2021 with the Rwanda Patriots of the Basketball Africa League. Then, a year later, the Scarborough Shooting Stars in the Canadian Elite Basketball League gave him a chance to play.
With the Nanjing Monkey Kings letting him play presumably until the end of the season, this will give Cole plenty of time to prep for other things. One of which is his gargantuan world tour for The Fall-Off.
The hitmaker and Grammy winner will be on the road from July all the way until December. It's roughly 70 shows in length and he will be visiting countries like Canada, South America, Australia, the UK, Norway, France, and more.
