J. Cole just touched down for his Chinese Basketball League debut — and trust, he didn’t just show up to hoop.
He pulled up in a pair of unreleased signature sneakers that nobody has seen before. Five years in the making, and sneakerheads online are already losing their minds trying to zoom in on every detail.
The shoebox even has a typo — and Cole being Cole, he’s fixing that before the official drop. No release date yet, but fans are hoping he doesn’t keep us waiting too long.
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He’s calling them the Indie 5000s, and the leather suede combo is looking clean.
However, word is that J. Cole is leaving the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) after just one game with the Nanjing Monkey Kings due to visa issues and scheduling conflicts with his upcoming music tour.
The 41-year-old artist played only eight minutes in his debut, recording 0 points (0-5 FG), one rebound, and one assist, but expressed gratitude for the experience.
J. Cole made a statement about it:
“Initially, I was scheduled to play in at least 3 games for the Nanjing Monkey Kings of the CBA. The work visa process took way longer than expected, so I was only able to play in one before heading home.
I want to say thank you to the Nanjing club and to the CBA for allowing me to have that incredible experience. Also, to my teammates who were mad cool, and who really wanted me to get a bucket!
I got to play 8 minutes in one of the top leagues in the world, got a few good looks, but wasn’t able to hit one. A couple more games and maybe those shots would have started to fall! Either way, I’m fulfilled and grateful. Shit, I feel like I dropped 20! And my knees felt like I played 40 mins!
On top of all that, the biggest win is that my family and I got to experience China for the first time. The people were kind, and the cities are clean and beautiful. It’s a very peaceful place.
The high-speed train was crazy. Super convenient. I was able to go from Nanjing to Shanghai in like an hour on the train. Distance-wise, that would be like going from DC to New York in an hour.
I also didn’t realize there were so many people in China that rocked with my music! Thank you to everybody who showed up and brought an album to sign. I was blown away. I felt the energy in the game that y’all wanted me to hit those shots too! Appreciate it!
I told the team that if I could stay in shape, I would be down to play for a longer amount of games next year after I’m done with the tour. Am I with? We’ll see. DREAMER.”
