<\/p>\n
Imagine making your pro basketball debut at 36. Now imagine making that debut after not having played a meaningful basketball game in more than a decade.<\/p>\n
Rapper J.Cole did exactly that when he stepped onto the court with Basketball Africa League\u2019s Rwanda Patriots earlier this month. Cole, who is playing under his real name Jermaine Cole, did play in high school, and nearly made his college team as a walk-on. But he hasn\u2019t played competitively since, and he made his debut at an age when most players are winding down their careers — or already retired.<\/p>\n
Cole\u2019s debut wasn\u2019t jaw-dropping, but by most accounts<\/strong><\/a>, he held his own: three points, three rebounds, and two assists in 17 minutes. And the Basketball Africa League might not be the G League — in fact, this is BAL\u2019s inaugural season — but it was co-founded by the NBA and FIBA. The competition is legitimate.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to view all this as a promotional stunt. Not only does the BAL get media attention during its first-ever season, but Cole just dropped a record — the cover of which has him standing in front of a flaming basketball net<\/strong><\/a>, no less.<\/p>\n But the reality is that all of this could backfire. Already, people are taking delight in watching Cole fail: he put up 0 points in his second game with the Patriots, and it prompted some sports blogs to highlight his misses<\/strong><\/a>. And as a guy who consistently name-drops NBA players, you can bet that Cole doesn\u2019t want to be known as the guy who couldn\u2019t make a 3.<\/p>\n