J. Cole is joining the Chinese Basketball Association to hoop it up with CBA team Nanjing Monkey Kings.
On Wednesday (April 1), the Chinese Basketball Association formally announced on their Instagram page that J. Cole has signed with the CBA and will play point guard with the CBA’s Nanjing Monkey Kings. The North Carolina rhymer arrived in China on the same day and got to work.
In the video below, Cole is dropping buckets during his pre-game warmup. Unfortunately, he didn’t play in the team’s game later that night. However, in another video, Cole is seen on the court signing his first autograph as a CBA player.
This marks the third time Cole has participated in professional sports overseas. In 2021, the 41-year-old rapper joined the Rwanda Patriots in the Basketball Africa League. In 2022, Cole played for the Scarborough Shooting Stars in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
J. Cole joining the CBA doesn’t mean he’s done with rap. In July, the Grammy-nominated artist will embark on his The Fall-Off World Tour in support of his latest album, The Fall-Off. The trek kicks off July in Charlotte, N.C., and will hit major cities like Miami, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and more. The tour will conclude its North American run in Cole’s hometown of Fayetteville, N.C., on Sept. 23.
