I was so excited to see J. Cole try playing professional basketball in China with the Nanjing Monkey Kings, but it looks like that experiment is already over! He just joined the team, and now he’s already had to stop playing for them. It’s a shame, but hopefully, he had a good experience!
J. Cole is a famous, Grammy-winning rapper, but he’s also always loved playing basketball and has considered pursuing it professionally on several occasions.
Cole recently joined a Chinese football team, but is already leaving after just one game. He signed with Nanjing earlier this month and played on Saturday, but is now departing due to problems with his Visa.
J. Cole struggles to make basketball career work again
The rapper released a statement Tuesday night explaining his sudden decision to leave and the reasons behind it.
I was originally supposed to play in at least three games with the Nanjing Monkey Kings in China. However, getting my work visa took much longer than anticipated, so I only ended up playing in one game before I had to return home.
Man, I just want to give a huge shout-out to the Nanjing club and the CBA for letting me live out a dream! My teammates were awesome, seriously, they were all rooting for me to score. It was incredible getting to play eight minutes in a league that’s considered one of the best in the world. I even got a couple of decent shots up, but unfortunately, none of them fell. Still, it was an amazing experience!
If we’d played a couple more games, my shots probably would have started going in! But even so, I feel happy and thankful for the experience.
J. Cole had to cut his time with the Chinese Basketball League short because of problems getting his visa. He was supposed to play at least three games for the Nanjing Monkey Kings, but the visa process took much longer than anticipated. He only managed to play in one game before returning home.
— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) April 14, 2026
This marks Cole’s third attempt at a professional basketball career. He previously played for the Rwanda Patriots in the Basketball Africa League in 2021, averaging five points, five rebounds, and three assists over three games. However, he had to leave due to family obligations.
He also played for Scarborough Shooting Stars in the Canadian Elite Basketball League in 2022.
Read More
- Solo Leveling’s New Manhwa Chapter Revives a Forgotten LGBTQ Story After 2 Years
- The Boys Season 5 Spoilers: Every Major Character Death If the Show Follows the Comics
- Gold Rate Forecast
- All Itzaland Animal Locations in Infinity Nikki
- How to Get to the Undercoast in Esoteric Ebb
- Mewgenics vinyl limited editions now available to pre-order
- Smarter, Faster Networks: Optimizing Early-Exit Architectures for Edge AI
- Shiba Inu reappointed as “inspector” dog by Japanese police
- YouTuber Karl Jobst sues Billy Mitchell for defamation
- TikToker’s viral search for soulmate “Mike” takes brutal turn after his wife responds
2026-04-15 13:19