Footage of rap and hip-hop superstar J. Cole playing street basketball with Hollywood icon Adam Sandler and others has surfaced online.
In a video posted to Instagram by Ira.TheConnect, Cole and Sandler are hooping alongside NBA player Hamidou Diallo, streetball legend George Papoutsis, as well as just normal, everyday people who now have one mean story to tell.
My quick analysis of the footage aligns with what NBA players have said about Sandler's game in the past - he’s looking to make a great pass to set a teammate up, rather than just score himself (that mid-range jumper did look smooth though).
J. Cole seemingly watched from the side during the 2 v 2 pick-up game, with the only footage of him posted being during warm-ups. The dude is technically a professional basketball player so he probably didn’t wanna risk injuring himself.
The ‘A Tale of 2 Citiez’ hitmaker has played in two pro-basketball leagues, suiting up for the Rwanda-based Patriots Basketball Club in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) and the Scarborough Shooting Stars in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
It was 2021 when he made his pro-ball debut for the Patriots. His team beat the Rivers Hoopers in a 23-point blow-out and Cole played 17 minutes, dropping three points with three rebounds and two assists in that time.
That was one of three games he played in the BAL, ending his career there (so far) with per-game averages of 1.7 points on 29% shooting, 1 assist, and 1.7 rebounds.
It ain’t easy playing professional basketball - even the worst NBA players have been documented absolutely dominating streetballers and top high school players. So respect to Cole, but keep on rapping my guy, the people love you for it.
The love was apparent when Drake’s crowd went crazy once the Canadian rapper brought out J.Cole during his Montreal concert - crazy because the dude can rap like few can.
