NBA fans react after multi-platinum artist J. Cole signs with Nanjing Monkey Kings in China

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Two-time Grammy Award-winner and multi-platinum artist J. Cole is taking his talents to China after signing with the Nanjing Monkey Kings of the CBA. Cole has previously played pro basketball in Africa and Canada, so fans online reacted to the seemingly April Fool’s joke.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, ESPN’s Shams Charania announced that Cole has signed a contract to play for the Monkey Kings in China. He previously committed to playing for the team last year and was just fulfilling a promise he made.

The Monkey Kings are currently sitting 17th in the CBA standings with a record of 11-21. They have 10 games remaining on their season, so it’s unclear how many games Cole will be suiting up for the team. They still have a shot at making the playoffs and earning a Top 12 spot.

NBA fans couldn’t believe the news because it happened toward the end of April Fool’s Day. But the news is legitimate, with J. Cole a real hooper who was played in other basketball leagues before.

Here are some of the comments on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He should focus on his singing career because it’s also in fall

From dropping bars to dropping threes J. Cole really out here living every hype dream at once

Cole’s mixtapes gonna be the new warm-up jams over there, wild times

He was like rap retirement rumors are boring so he chose basketball in China instead 🤣 Nanjing Monkey Kings just became the most talked about team nobody knew last week!

He prolly a better hooper than rapper lmaoooo

From selling out arenas with music to balling in the CBA… Cole World never misses. Monkey Kings about to have the most lyrical point guard in the league. Let’s go!

J. Cole played high school basketball in North Carolina and even tried to be a walk-on for St. John’s University. He focused on his musical career and turned into one of the most popular rappers in the world.

But Cole still loved to hoop, participating in the 2012 NBA Celebrity All-Star Game. He showed his hops during the game, finishing an alley-oop slam. He turned pro nearly a decade later by signing a contract with the Patriots Basketball Club in Rwanda, a team that plays in the Basketball Africa League, in 2021.

Cole registered a total of five points, five rebounds and three assists in three games there. He also played three games for the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League in 2022. He averaged 2.4 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists in four games.

J. Cole praises Steph Curry’s work ethic

In an appearance on the “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast with Carmelo Anthony, J. Cole discussed his admiration for fellow North Carolina native and Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry.

“I stand next to Steph, and I’m like, ‘Damn, this dude my height,'” Cole said. “He’s not little, but he maxed out his ability. If I work harder than everybody else, I can max my abilities out, and then I got a fair shot.”

Curry broke the mold of a typical point guard a few years after getting drafted in 2009. He completely changed the game of basketball, leading the Warriors to four NBA championships.