J. Cole is embarking on a new phase in his career. The 41-year-old rapper and producer recently signed a contract with the Chinese Basketball Association, where he will play for the Nanjing Monkey Kings. This wouldn’t be the first time J. Cole has played professional basketball. He also regularly features references to the sport in his music.
J. Cole signed a professional basketball contract with the Nanjing Monkey Kings
The artist committed to playing a few games for the Nanjing Monkey Kings last year. It led to a contract being signed with the Chinese Basketball Association in order to join the team, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
The CBA, which was founded in 1995, is the top men’s professional basketball league in China. It currently includes 20 teams, according to Complex. The CBA has signed former NBA All-Star players like Stephon Marbury, Tracy McGrady, Steve Francis and Kenyon Martin.
Cole has played professional basketball twice before. In 2021, he played for the Rwanda Patriots in the Basketball Africa League, where he recorded five points, three assists and five rebounds across three games, according to USA Today. Cole also played with Scarborough Shooting Stars in the Canadian Elite Basketball League in 2022. There, he averaged 2.4 points and 0.6 rebounds per game. The artist also played high school basketball in North Carolina.
J. Cole has made several parallels between music and basketball
His 2011 album was titled Cole World: The Sideline Story, while another project released in 2021 was titled The Off-Season.
“The Off-Season symbolizes the work that it takes to get to the highest height. The Off-Season represents the many hours and months and years it took to get to top form,” he said in an interview with Slam magazine at the time.
“Just like in basketball, what you see him do in the court, that shit was worked on in the summertime. So for an athlete, if they take their career seriously and if they really got high goals and want to chase them, the offseason is where the magic really happens, where the ugly shit really happens, where the pain happens, the pushing yourself to uncomfortable limits,” Cole added.
The artist told the news outlet that a basketball workout is part of his daily routine alongside making music and spending time with his family. He noted similarities in both his approach to music and basketball. Both disciplines require intentional training and time spent developing skills.
“The main parallel that I always draw between music and basketball is like, Yo, it’s just a matter of hours. The difference between the pro guy that sits on the bench and the superstar, it’s just a matter of intentional hours,” Cole said. “They’re both really good, but that final foot of separation comes in the amount of hours that were put in. I think in order for any of those guys to be great, like LeBron, Steph, Damian Lillard, Kyrie, KD, there has to be an insane work ethic.”
He also noted his interest in pursuing basketball with intention.
“If the highest height that I can climb is rec league in North Carolina or in New York, where I’m averaging 20 points a game, like, All right, that’s the highest height I can climb. But I’ve got to max out! I got to get the most out of my body,” Cole added.