J. Cole and his status as a Hip-Hop artist cannot be denied, while also demonstrating past athletic ability as well. With his second stint as a professional basketball player now in the rear view, J. Cole gave a statement regarding his leaving the Chinese Basketball Association just one game.
J. Cole was a very brief member of the Nanjing Monkey Kings basketball team, playing in only one game with eight minutes and a full donut across all stat lines. While some outside critics may have taken digs, very few of them have had the shots the North Carolina star has, with the Chinese Basketball Association being his second professional stint.
In a blog post via his Inevitable website, the Dreamville honcho summed up the experience and explained why he left the league.
From Inevitable:
Initially I was scheduled to play in at least 3 games for the Nanjing Monkey Kings of the CBA. The work visa process took way longer than expected, so I was only able to play in one before heading back.
I want to say thank you to the Nanjing club and to the CBA for allowing me to have that incredible experience. Also to my teammates who were mad cool, and who really wanted me to get a bucket! 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! 😩
On top of all that the biggest win is that me and my family got to experience China for the first time. The people were kind, the cities are clean and beautiful. It’s a very peaceful place. The high speed train was crazy. Super convenient. I was able to go from Nanjing to Shanghai in like a hour on the train. Distance wise that would be like going from DC to New York in a hour.
Cole went on to thank fans who came to the arena in his lone game with albums in tow for him to sign. He also promised that if he can stay in basketball shape, he’ll try to play in the Chinese Basketball Association for a longer stint.
J. Cole released his latest studio album, The Fall-Off, back in February.
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Photo: Getty
