J. Cole recently released his possibly final album The Fall-Off, and he's now moving onto some of his other passions. He's always been a big basketball fan and hooper, which led him to sign with the Chinese Basketball Association earlier this month. Specifically, Cole signed with the Nanjing Monkey Kings, for which he made his debut in a game against the Guangzhou Loong Lions today (Saturday, April 11).
However, he didn't exactly have an amazing game. The Dreamville rapper reportedly played eight minutes and went zero for five from the three-point line. He did pick up an assist and a rebound, as well as a personal foul. Still, this isn't just part of growing pains, but also a debut game after a long and complex album rollout.
All that's to say it's heartening to see J. Cole continue his hooping aspirations even this late into his career. Hopefully he has some better games from here on out, as his team lost this debut game 81 to 95. But this isn't Cole's first experience playing professional basketball, and the last time around also came amid an album release.
J. Cole's Basketball Career
J. Cole previously played professional basketball in 2022 and in 2021. The Off-Season came out in the latter year. That time, he played in the Basketball Africa League for the Rwanda Patriots and averaged 15 minutes, 1.7 points, and 1.7 rebounds across three games. In 2022, Cole played for the Scarborough Shooting Stars in the Canadian Elite Basketball League, averaging almost ten minutes, 2.4 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists across five games.
Elsewhere, he played high school basketball at Terry Sanford High School in North Carolina, was a walk-on candidate at St. John's University that didn't play, and played in the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game in 2012. It's not a long history, but longer than most rappers for sure.
We will see how Cole shapes up in his next potential games with the Nanjing Monkey Kings. Meanwhile, J. Cole's recent interview with his former court opponent Cam'ron is still making waves. Cam said he never intended to follow through on his lawsuit against Cole in the first place over an unfulfilled collab agreement.
