J. Cole retires from Africa League due to family obligation

The professional basketball career for rapper J. Cole has unfortunately come to a close due to a family obligation. 

For rapper J. Cole, his professional basketball career appears to have already come to an end. Cole made headlines recently after joining the Rwanda Patriots BBC of the Basketball Africa League. He had appeared in three games.

However, according to ESPN’s Marc J. Spears, Cole has left Rwanda and returned to the United States due to a family obligation. Just like that, Cole’s days hooping in Africa are now over.

J. Cole has left Rwanda after three games in the Basketball Africa League

Cole indeed played in three contests, recording 5 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 45 total minutes of action. While Cole brought in plenty of publicity for the league, multiple players voiced their displeasure with the superstar musician suiting up. Some felt like Cole was taking a roster spot from someone who actually deserved to play.

Despite that, Cole arrived to Rwanda and gave his all from start to finish, even if his time in the league was incredibly short-lived. Per Spears, Cole was expected to participate in up to six games for the Patriots BBC. Instead, he managed only the three.

A Grammy-winning rapper, Cole has been a huge fan of basketball ever since he grew up in North Carolina. He said in multiple songs that he dreamed of playing for the Tar Heels in college. That didn’t happen, but his passion for the sport never wavered.

He got his shot to try and put on a show in Rwanda but failed to live up to the hype. Now, he’s back in the USA and tending to a family matter. It’s unclear at this time what those obligations are.