Rapper J Cole signs with Chinese basketball team, his third stint as a professional hoopster

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Hip-hop star J. Cole is taking his basketball dreams overseas — again.

News that two-time Grammy winner has signed with the Nanjing Monkey Kings in China’s basketball league, as reported by ESPN on Wednesday, initially seemed like a joke.

This is serious. Cole’s manager and close business associate, Ibrahim Hamad, shared the ESPN report on X, emphasizing that Cole is still deeply passionate about basketball, even at the age of 41.

Social media posts, including some shared by Hamad, show rapper J. Cole at a Monkey Kings game. He was seen wearing the team’s uniform and practicing with the players, though reports say he didn’t actually play. One video captures Cole signing an album for a thrilled fan.

Music

J. Cole publicly apologized to Kendrick Lamar at his Dreamville Festival on Sunday for his diss track, ‘7 Minute Drill,’ admitting the previous two days had been difficult for him.

Cole shared a video on Douyin, a popular Chinese social media platform, announcing his arrival in China and expressing his enthusiasm.

Jermaine Lamarr Cole, a hugely successful musician, was also a talented basketball player. He played in high school at Terry Sanford in North Carolina and even tried out for the team at St. John’s University, where he was attending on an academic scholarship. Throughout his career, he’s frequently included basketball themes in his music, concerts, and album artwork.

Cole is starting his third season as a professional basketball player. Previously, in 2021, he played for the Patriots Basketball Club in Rwanda’s Basketball Africa League, appearing in three games. During those games, the 6-foot-3 guard averaged 1.7 points and 1.7 rebounds while playing around 15 minutes per game.

The next year, he played in five games with the Scarborough Shooting Stars in Canada’s top basketball league. He averaged 2.4 points per game, playing around 10 minutes, and collected less than one rebound or assist each game.

Sports

J. Cole, the hugely successful rapper, first gained attention with mixtapes centered around basketball. He’s now releasing a new album, “The Off-Season,” which continues that theme.

In a recent interview on “Talk with Flee,” Cole discussed his deep love for basketball with Cam’ron, even admitting he’s never been a star player. He described playing professionally abroad as a way to fulfill a long-held dream.

Cole wondered if he could make it as a professional athlete. He overheard teams and leagues discussing him, suggesting they saw him as someone who could bring attention to their league, even if his skills weren’t top-tier.

Cole mentioned the upcoming opportunity to play for Nanjing.

Cole recently admitted he’s aware of his age and feels a sense of urgency. With his new album, ‘The Fall-Off,’ released on February 6th and a tour starting July 10th, he feels this might be his last chance to perform. He plans to honor his fans by playing shows, even though working on the album has left him less fit. He wants to go out and enjoy the experience.

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2026-04-02 23:01