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Watch J. Cole Score His First Bucket as a Professional Basketball Player

Nick Hall, | News

Just days after releasing his long-awaited new album The Off-Season, rapper J. Cole has made history. The 36-year-old artist, otherwise known as Jermaine Lamar Cole made his debut for the Rwanda Patriots BBC in the Basketball Africa League and he kicked off his professional campaign in style.

J cole basketball 1

Image: Slam

In his first club game on Sunday, Cole got the crowd involved by warming up to his own music, which is perhaps the biggest flex ever seen in professional sports. Hitting bucket after bucket before the game began, Cole looked at ease on the court and his early play-style, while clunky, served him well.

The rapper finished with three points, three rebounds and two assists in just under 18 minutes of action, with his first points coming on a putback layup off of a miss by Steve Hagumintwari in the final minute of the first quarter.

While it wasn’t the biggest game from Cole, it certainly lived up to the hype, and most importantly, confirmed fan suspicions. The rapper was a standout basketball player in high school, having a short stint at St. John’s as a walk-on, which led many to believe he could be one of the best celebrity hoopers out there. Last year, Cole even released a basketball shoe in collaboration with Puma, helping to get the ball rolling, and now is living out his dream.

The good news is Cole kicked off his professional career with a W, as the Patriots dominated Nigerian side River Hoopers in an 83-60 blowout win. But even that didn’t stop ESPN from doing him dirty with the post-game graphic. Cole is set to play at least two more games in the Basketball Africa League. Expect big things.

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Nick Hall

Nick Hall is the Editor-in-Chief of Man of Many and an accomplished journalist. He completed a Bachelor of Creative Industries at the Queensland University of Technology, with a double major in Journalism and Music. Prior to working at Man of Many, Nick spent two years as a journalist with Inside Franchise Business, focusing on small business, finance and legal reporting. In 2021, Nick was named B&T's Best of the Best Journalist of the Year. With an extensive background in the media industry, Nick specialises in feature writing, fashion, lifestyle and entertainment content. A qualified barber and men's stylist, Nick also holds a Cert III in Barbering from the Queensland Hairdressing Academy.

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