What happened to J. Cole? Why did J. Cole leave Basketball Africa League?

Rapper J. Cole’s basketball career has come to an end for now. On Wednesday, it was revealed that J. Cole met his contractual obligations with the Rwanda Patriots BBC in the inaugural Basketball Africa League (BAL) and left Rwanda with immediate effect. However, fans on social media were curious to know about the what happened to J. Cole and why did J. Cole leave Basketball Africa League as he was initially eager to pursue his career in professional basketball.

What happened to J. Cole? Basketball Africa League 2021 preview

Earlier this month, J. Cole signed a deal to play in the inaugural Basketball Africa League with Rwanda's Patriots BBC. The rapper was expected to play between three to six games for the African side during the course of the season. However, upon completing the J. Cole Rwanda Patriots BBC contract on Wednesday, he immediately left the African continent to return home ahead of the team's quarter-finals on Thursday. 

The BAL is a partnership between FIBA and the NBA, marking the NBA's first collaboration to operate a league outside of North America. The inaugural season will feature a total of 26 games, beginning first with an 18-game group phase for each of the league's 12 teams. The top eight teams from the group phase will qualify for the playoffs, which will be single elimination in all three rounds. The first BAL finals will be held on Sunday, May 30. 

Why did J. Cole leave Basketball Africa League?

Earlier on Thursday, reports from ESPN revealed that rapper J. Cole was departing Rwanda due to a “family obligation,” but did not elaborate on the circumstances. Representatives for the Rwanda Patriots did not immediately respond for comment on the rapper’s departure. Although J. Cole’s presence on the inaugural roster garnered mass media attention for the league, not all players were happy about his short-term residence.

AS Sale guard Terrell Stoglin spoke to the media on Wednesday and said, “For a guy who has so much money and has another career to just come here and average, like, one point a game and still get glorified is very disrespectful to the game.” He added, “It’s disrespectful to the ones who sacrificed their whole lives for this.”

J. Cole stats in Basketball Africa League 2021

J. Cole scored five points and provided three assists and five rebounds during his 45 minutes of playing time across three games. It now remains to be seen whether he will opt to continue playing professional basketball. 

Image Credits - J. Cole YouTube