J. Cole has a sort of eccentric tradition. Whenever he releases an album, he likes to sign to a professional basketball team in a foreign country and really, really embarrass himself.
In 2021, at the same time as he released his LP The Off-Season, Cole played three games for the Africa Basketball League's Rwanda Patriots, scoring a grand total of three points. He also played four games for the Canadian Elite Basketball League's Scarborough Shooting Stars in 2022 and hit a few buckets, but that wasn't album-related. Earlier this year, Cole finally dropped his long-promised double album The Fall-Off, and he announced that he'd signed to the Chinese Basketball Association's Nanjing Monkey Kings. Sadly, though, Cole's career as a Monkey King was cut short after a single underwhelming game.
On Saturday, Cole played his first and only game with the Nanjing Monkey Kings. In that came, an 81-95 loss to the Guangzhou Loong Lions, Cole played eight minutes and scored zero points, though he did notch a rebound and an assist. He missed five shots, and those shots were ugly.
J. Cole’s ?? CBA run comes to an early end.
— CGTN Sports Scene (@CGTNSportsScene) April 13, 2026
Out due to visa/work issues — expressed gratitude and apologies to the team and fans ?
Lone appearance with Nanjing: 8 minutes, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 0-5 FG.#JCole pic.twitter.com/d4X6Gc0pCW
On his website, J. Cole writes that he was signed to play at least three games for the Monkey Kings but that his run was shortened because of visa issues: "The work visa process took way longer than expected, so I was only able to play in one before heading back." He thanks his teammates, who he says "really wanted me to get a bucket!" As far as his own play went, Cole says:
I got to play 8 minutes in one of the top leagues in the world, got a few good looks but wasn't able to hit one. A couple more games and maybe those shots would have started to fall! Either way I'm fulfilled and grateful! Shit, I feel like I dropped 20 !!! And my knees felt like I played 40 minutes!
Cole says that he and his family loved their time in China, and he was impressed by the high-speed rail and by the number of fans he has in China. Cole, now 41, played ball in high school but not college. He's probably better than you or me or most of the people we know. He's just not good enough to sign with a professional team for non-publicity stunt reasons. Read his account of his time in the CBA here.
