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J. Cole Was A Walking Bucket During A Recent Black Ops Basketball Session

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J. Cole is a dual-threat. The Dreamville founder has expertly balanced his hoop dreams and rap dominance over the years, but Cole was all ball and commanded the floor in one of Chris Brickley’s Black Ops Basketball sessions during New York Fashion Week earlier this month. Brickley, a sought-after basketball trainer, posted Cole’s highlight reel to Instagram.

“J a bucket,” Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield praised in the comments. “In the Kobe’s too!!” added Minnesota Timberwolves big man Eric Paschall. (Cole was crossing dudes up in the Nike Kobe 8 “What The Kobe” sneakers, for reference.)

NBA players aren’t just fans of Cole; they’re peers. The North Carolina-bred icon played professionally for the Rwanda Patriots in the Basketball Africa League for three games in 2021 before suiting up for the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League for a similarly short stint earlier this year. The 37-year-old left the team in early June to go on tour.

To start September, Cole was revealed as the first-ever rapper to grace the cover of NBA 2K, starring on the cover of NBA 2K23‘s “Dreamer Edition.”

“Three and a half years ago, when he dunked during one of the breaks of the All-Star Weekend Saturday Night, J. Cole, said, ‘Ronnie, I’d love to be in MyCareer and help think about the ideation around that,’” 2K digital marking director Ronnie Singh told Complex in an interview published earlier this month, explaining the origin of Cole’s 2K23 involvement. “I worked with our team on bringing this to life, but it was very fitting to work with him. When we put out that tease [of the 2K23 cover], everybody thought it was going to be another basketball player.”

There’s a strong argument to be made that it was a basketball player.

J. Cole Gives A ‘Shout-Out the People of Scarborough’ As He Departs The Shooting Stars To Go On Tour

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Last month, it was announced that J. Cole was signing with a professional basketball team for the second time in a year. After his stint with the Rwanda Patriots last summer, Cole decided to take his talents to Canada as he signed with the Scarborough Shooting Stars. Cole played five games with the team, which is a part of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, and during his time with them, he was able to serve as contributing player off the bench as he knocked down a few threes while earning some steals and rebounds in the process.

Despite this, Cole’s time with the Shooting Stars might have just come to an end. After the team’s 99-81 win on Wednesday, in which Cole scored a career-high of six points, the rapper announced that he would be stepping away from the team for an unknown amount of time to fulfill his tour duties. “I was telling the guys in there like, ‘I’m going for these shows, I’m not sure if I’ll be back,’” Cole said in an interview that was shared on the team’s Instagram account. “But just in case, I had to let them know how incredible this was. The players, the coaching staff, the organization, the league, it’s a crazy thing when you see it on paper, when you see what’s actually happening, and they made me feel so welcome.”

Cole also took a moment to show love to the people of Scarborough for the love they showed him over the last few weeks. “I gotta shout-out the people of Scarborough because coming from America, I didn’t really know,” he said. “So I’ve learned so much that the people there feel seen with this basketball team and this league highlighting them.”

He continued, “The people there feel seen and I’m assuming that was not always the cause, so I’m proud to be able to add something to Canada and to this talent that’s in Canada. Those guys are incredible so to be able to get some extra eyes on them is a pleasure.”

You can watch the full interview above.

J. Cole Celebrates Setting A Career-High In Scoring During A Recent Scarborough Shooting Stars Game

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J. Cole is finding his rhythm during his second gig in a professional basketball league. Last month, the Dreamville rapper signed a contract with the Scarborough Shooting Stars as a part of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. This came after he briefly signed with the Rwanda Patriots as a part of the Basketball Africa League during the summer of 2021. Cole’s time with the Shooting Stars has been going well, and earlier this week, Cole had the best came of his career in a 99-81 win against the Newfoundland Growlers.

In the game, which took place on Tuesday, Cole stepped in and knocked down two 3-point shots for a career-high of six points during 19 minutes of play during the game. Cole also snagged two rebounds and logged one steal in the win. Afterward, Cole took to Instagram to celebrate his game. “Shattered my previous career high,” he wrote in an Instagram caption with laughing and praying hands emojis.

Cole’s success with the Shooting Stars has come mostly from behind the three-point line. In his debut with the team, Cole scored his first basket from behind the arc. The June 7 game for the Shooting Stars made for their second win of the season bringing their win-loss record 2-3 on the season.

You can view highlights from Cole’s game and see his comment in the post above.

Fat Joe Remains Skeptical Of J. Cole’s Basketball Skills Despite His Canadian Team Contract

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On his weekly Instagram Live stream, The Fat Joe Show, the “Lean Back” rapper shares his unfiltered thoughts on all sorts of topics, from the controversy surrounding Joe Rogan to why no one wants to see Busta Rhymes in a Verzuz hits battle. Given his status as a veteran of the rap game — his debut album Represent was released nearly 30 years ago, in 1993 — his opinions hold weight, even when his expertise isn’t always obvious. For instance, in his latest episode, he has some critiques for J. Cole’s new pro hoops career.

Although it may not seem like it, Joe’s just as heavy in the New York streetball circuit. And while ESPN’s recent And 1 mixtape documentary showed that pro ball and streetball are two very different games, Joe’s success at world-famous tournaments like Rucker Park’s gives him a certain amount of credence. “Now, is J. Cole really good?” he wonders “They say he is nice. Are you sure they say he is nice? Because this is a classic story…” He then compares Cole’s exploits and the praise he’s received from playing in the Basketball Africa League and Canadian Elite Basketball League to another rapper-turned-hooper whose success has been exaggerated in later years.

“Master P didn’t score one point at the Rucker,” he recalls. “Master P keeps showing these videos of him going to the league. I respect Master P at the highest level, but that is not true. It’s emphatically non-cipher. He came to the Rucker and stunk it up. Didn’t score one point. I don’t know how he’s going to the league.” So while Drake, Rick Ross, and others have supported Cole’s hoop dreams, it seems he has at least one peer who remains skeptical — and probably with good reason, considering the Scarborough Shooting Stars’ losing record and Jermaine’s ho-hum stat lines so far.

J. Cole Knocked Down A Three-Point Shot In His Debut With The Scarborough Shooting Stars

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When J. Cole departed from the Rwanda Patriots of the Basketball Africa League last summer, it was unknown whether or not the rapper-slash-aspiring professional athlete would give the pro leagues a second try. Cole has always expressed his love for basketball, so much so that the Detroit Pistons once told him to reach out for a tryout with the team. However, with his day-to-day responsibilities as a rapper and label owner, Cole doesn’t have the freest schedule to pursue his ball dreams — or does he? Last week, Cole signed a contract with the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, and today, he made his debut with the team.

Cole’s time on the court with the Shooting Stars was a brief one, as he checked in for 15 game minutes. Despite this, he was able to find the bottom of the net as he scored three points during the night thanks to a three-point shot that he knocked down from the right corner. In total, he went one-for-four from the field, grabbed a rebound, and had an assist to complete his first night with the Shooting Stars. Unfortunately, the Shooting Stars were unable to get a win as they fell to the Guelph Nighthawks 89-80.

During the game, Cole received some love from Drake who shouted out the fellow rapper in an Instagram post. “It’s real @scarboroughshootingstars,” he wrote with a picture of Cole on his TV screen. “My brother just checked in.”

You can check out a video of Cole’s first points with the Shooting Stars above.