April 15, 2026
An issue with his visa forced him to return to the States
After resuming his professional basketball career by signing with the Chinese Basketball Association, hip-hop recording artist J. Cole announced that he would no longer play in the league after appearing in one game.
The Born Sinner lyricist wrote to his fans on his personal blog, The Algorithm, and explained why his sports stint had swiftly ended. He said he had visa issues that curtailed his time with the Nanjing Monkey Kings. He did get the chance to play in one game before he had to leave China. Cole was initially scheduled to play in at least three games for the basketball team.
He acknowledged that he played for eight minutes but was unable to make a shot.
“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.”
In the blog post, he expressed amazement that the basketball fans came to the game with his album so he could sign it for them.
“I also didn’t realize there were so many people in China that rocked with my music! Thank you to everybody who showed up and brought an album to sign. I was blown away.”
This was Cole’s third time playing professional basketball in another country.
Cole, who played on his high school team in North Carolina, played in the Basketball Africa League in 2021 for the Rwanda Patriots. The next year, the 2014 Forest Hills Drive rapper signed to play for the Scarborough Shooting Stars in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
The artist recently released his latest album, The Fall-Off, on his label, Dreamville, distributed by Interscope Records, Feb. 26.
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