J. Cole has a new album dropping on Friday, but that is not the only big news for the rap artist this week.
According to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, J. Cole — whose full name is Jermaine Lamarr Cole — is expected to play for the Rwanda Patriots in the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League.
His signing with the team is expected to become official on Thursday.
The 36-year-old arrived in Rwanda two days ago and is quarantining so he can debut with the team on Sunday against the Nigeria River Hoopers, which will also be the first-ever game in the new 12-team league. He is expected to play in a total of three to six games, per Shams Charania.
Cole was a pretty good basketball player as a teenager, starring at Sanford High School in North Carolina and made the team at St. John’s University in New York as a walk-on but never played a game for the Division I team — opting to leave and pursue his music career.
Cole famously made an appearance at the 2019 NBA Slam Dunk Contest when former Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr., who is friends with Cole, jumped over the rapper — who was seated in a chair and lobbed the ball up to Smith — to complete a mesmerizing dunk.
The rapper then tried to throw down a dunk himself but missed, much to the entertainment of Bucks star Giannis Antetokuonmpo and other NBA All-Stars in attendance.
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