Nanjing, China – Grammy-winning rapper J. Cole is expected to make his debut in professional Chinese basketball after officially signing with the Nanjing Monkey Kings.
The 41-year-old musician will play a home game on Thursday in east China’s Jiangsu province against the Ningbo Rockets.
Announcing in a promotional flyer posted to Weibo that “tonight… the ace player joins the game”, the Monkey Kings also posted a video of Cole practicing.
Earlier, the organization posted a video to China’s version of TikTok, Douyin, showing the team’s general manager meeting the superstar at the airport and describing him as Nanjing’s “new foreign player”.
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J. Cole, whose full name is Jermaine Lamarr Cole, posted a shout out to fans on his own Douyin account, asking: “China, what’s the word?”
China’s state news agency Xinhua reported Cole had previously promised to play some games for Nanjing, though it remains unclear how many he has signed on for.
The No Role Modelz artist became a part-owner of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets in 2023 after basketball legend Michael Jordan sold his majority stake in the club.
He has also made appearances on the court during the Basketball Africa League in 2021 and a year later in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
