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J. Cole makes professional hoops debut in Basketball Africa League

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In the past couple weeks, it’s really been a Cole World! 

On Sunday, rapper J. Cole made his professional basketball debut in the Basketball Africa League. Coming off the bench for the Patriot’s B.B.C (a club based out of Rwanda), Cole had 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in an 83-60 win over Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers.

Earlier this month, it was announced that the Dreamville Records founder had signed a contract to play 3-6 games with the Patriots B.B.C., making good on his “dream” to play basketball professionally. In spite of the pedestrian stat line, Cole looked rather impressive considering his age (36) and the fact that he didn’t look out of place playing against quality competition. 

His first basket came on a putback with about 30 seconds to go in the first quarter, and he would then follow that up with a technical free-throw in the second quarter.

The Basketball Africa League is a 12-team league featuring teams from African countries such as Rwanda, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, and Tunisia. in 2019, the NBA partnered with FIBA (International Basketball Federation) to promote the 12 best African basketball clubs to be featured in the B.A.L. According to the league website, it is the NBA’s first “collaboration at operating a league outside of North America.”

Last Friday, Cole followed up his hoops debut by releasing his sixth studio album The Off-Season; the album’s title a clever nod to the game of basketball. His next game is scheduled for May 19th at 8 am EST. 

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