J. Cole Signs Deal to Play With Chinese Basketball Association’s Nanjing Monkey Kings

J. Cole’s keeping his hoop dreams alive. The Dreamville rapper has signed a contract to play in the Chinese Basketball Association this season with the Nanjing Monkey Kings, according to ESPN‘s Shams Charania.

Charania reports that Cole committed to play “a few games” for the Monkey Kings last year, and his deal is essentially him fulfilling that promise.

Billboard has reached out to Cole’s reps for comment.

It’s not J. Cole’s first stint in professional hoops. Back in 2021, he suited up for the Rwanda Patriots in the Basketball Africa League and then headed north to play for the Scarborough Shooting Stars in 2022 in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.

Cole played high school basketball at Terry Sanford High School in Fayetteville, N.C., and he joins a roster that includes former American college players such as Brady Manek (University of North Carolina), Jaylen Hands (UCLA), Richard Solomon (California) and Parker Jackson-Cartwright (Arizona).

Footage of Cole attending the Monkey Kings’ game on Thursday went viral. While Cole didn’t play in the game as he gets familiar with his surroundings, he interacted with plenty of fans and a clip emerged of him signing a 2014 Forest Hills Drive 10th anniversary vinyl.

“China, what’s the world. This is J. Cole, Cole World. I’m excited to be in the vicinity,” Cole said in his first post on the Chinese social media platform Douyin.

Team general manager Zhen Wang posted a clip picking up Cole from the airport and explained why he wanted to bring the superstar rapper into the fold. Essentially, they had dinner together in the U.S. at some point last year, and Cole professed his hopes to continue chasing his dreams in basketball.

“[J. Cole] coming to China can really raise the CBA’s profile on a global scale,” Wang said. “Since he’s the minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets, we’re hoping that through his position, he can maybe help more of our domestic players get opportunities to train and play in the U.S.”

The 41-year-old’s next opportunity to suit up and make his debut comes on Saturday (April 4), when the Monkey Kings take on the Jiangsu Dragons.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.