J. Cole proves his basketball skills in Rwanda Patriots BBC debut. The rapper scored three points for the winning team on Saturday.
On Saturday, May 15, rapper, J. Cole made his professional basketball debut for the Rwanda Patriots BBC of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
The Patriots BBC ended up winning 83-60 against the Nigerian Rivers Hoopers, with Cole contributing three points to the game.
Earlier this year, the 36-year-old signed with the Rwanda Patriots BBC to play in the 2021 BAL inaugural season.
Originally scheduled to take place in March 2020, the BAL tournament was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament will be held completely in Kigali, Rwanda, and will run until May 30.
Cole is not the first to cross between basketball and rap. In 1993, Shaq released an album, You Can’t Stop the Reign, which eventually went platinum. The late Kobe Bryant released a 1999 single, “Kobe”, featuring the one and only Tyra Banks.
Cole has hinted before—and not so subtly— at his desire to play basketball professionally. Last year, he published an article in The Players’ Tribune which reflected upon his difficult decision of sacrificing playing basketball for rap in his youth.
Moreover, in February 2020 he signed a multiyear deal with PUMA, and debuted his first sneaker, the PUMA RS-Dreamer.
To promote the sneaker, PUMA collaborated with Cole to create the short film The Dreamer which recounts Cole’s continuing love of basketball despite his success as a musician.
But the attraction goes both ways. In August 2020, Cole caught the eye of the Detroit Pistons, who invited the rapper to try out for their team after a video of his basketball workout was posted on Twitter.
.@JColeNC we see you out here. You said they only got 12 slots on the Pistons.
Hit us up for that tryout. This is for all the dreamers @bleacherreport #Dreamville https://t.co/6K24xaI28b pic.twitter.com/GYuG5LvqDE
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) August 4, 2020
The BAL game on Saturday was broadcast on national television in the United States. Cole sported jersey No. 15, which he reportedly wore whilst playing basketball for his high school.
yoo @Dreamville where can we cop Cole’s Patriots jersey?
— ROY RUTTO-san (@roykruttooo) May 17, 2021
It’s certainly been a big week for the rapper/basketball player. The BAL game came only six days after the release of his sixth studio album titled, oddly enough, The Off-Season, which has already claimed 12 out of the top 13 places on the Global Apple Music Charts.
