Watch J. Cole's CBA Debut, Check His Full Box Score Stats and Reaction to Playing in China in Video

J. Cole's four-year sabbatical from professional basketball ended on Saturday when he made his Chinese Basketball Association debut with the Nanjing Monkey Kings.

The rap superstar went scoreless on 0-of-5 shooting with one assist and one rebound in eight minutes off the bench in the Monkey Kings' 95-81 loss to the Long-Lions.

Prior to making his debut for the team, Cole expressed his excitement to be back on the court and praised the "very peaceful" atmosphere in China.

Cole officially signed his deal with Nanjing on April 1. He mentioned the previous week in an interview with Cam'Ron that he was looking to get back on the court in a formal setting while he was still capable of doing so.

"I'm looking at the clock like, boy, I'm getting older," Cole said. "This might be my last shot. I'm going to keep my word to them and show up and play a couple of games. … I'm going to go out there and have fun with it."

Cole, who turned 41 on Jan. 28, previously played professional basketball in 2021 with Patriots Basketball Club in the Basketball Africa League. He had a four-game stint in the Canadian Elite Basketball League with the Scarborough Shooting Stars in 2022.

Nanjing has five games remaining in the regular season. Its next game is on Monday against the Jilin Northeast Tigers.