Last month, it was announced that J. Cole was signing with a professional basketball team for the second time in a year. After his stint with the Rwanda Patriots last summer, Cole decided to take his talents to Canada as he signed with the Scarborough Shooting Stars. Cole played five games with the team, which is a part of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, and during his time with them, he was able to serve as contributing player off the bench as he knocked down a few threes while earning some steals and rebounds in the process.
Despite this, Cole’s time with the Shooting Stars might have just come to an end. After the team’s 99-81 win on Wednesday, in which Cole scored a career-high of six points, the rapper announced that he would be stepping away from the team for an unknown amount of time to fulfill his tour duties. “I was telling the guys in there like, ‘I’m going for these shows, I’m not sure if I’ll be back,’” Cole said in an interview that was shared on the team’s Instagram account. “But just in case, I had to let them know how incredible this was. The players, the coaching staff, the organization, the league, it’s a crazy thing when you see it on paper, when you see what’s actually happening, and they made me feel so welcome.”
Cole also took a moment to show love to the people of Scarborough for the love they showed him over the last few weeks. “I gotta shout-out the people of Scarborough because coming from America, I didn’t really know,” he said. “So I’ve learned so much that the people there feel seen with this basketball team and this league highlighting them.”
He continued, “The people there feel seen and I’m assuming that was not always the cause, so I’m proud to be able to add something to Canada and to this talent that’s in Canada. Those guys are incredible so to be able to get some extra eyes on them is a pleasure.”
You can watch the full interview above.