Why J. Cole Had to Leave CBA 1 Game After Debut, Watch Highlights & Check His Final Box Score Stats

J. Cole's return to professional basketball lasted just one game.

The rap star issued a statement on Tuesday announcing he was originally scheduled to play three games for the Nanjing Monkey Kings of the Chinese Basketball Association, but the work visa process "took way longer than expected" and ended his tenure quicker than anticipated:

"What's the word! My apologies for the delay in the posts. I meant to put up the other interviews on here but had too much going on. I recorded Nadeska, Cam, Lost in Vegas, and then Melo all within one week and had to immediately head to Hong Kong to wait for a visa so I could play basketball in mainland China.

"Initially I was scheduled to play in at least 3 games for the Nanjing Monkey Kings of the CBA. The work visa process took way longer than expected, so I was only able to play in one before heading back.

"I want to say thank you to the Nanjing club and to the CBA for allowing me to have that incredible experience. Also to my teammates who were mad cool, and who really wanted me to get a bucket! I got to play 8 minutes in one of the top leagues in the world, got a few good looks but wasn't able to hit one. A couple more games and maybe those shots would have started to fall! Either way I'm fulfilled and grateful! S--, I feel like I dropped 20 !!! 😂 And my knees felt like I played 40 minutes! 😩"

Cole originally signed his contract with Nanjing on April 1 and committed to playing a few games with the team. He debuted on Saturday, going scoreless on five field-goal attempts with one assist and one rebound in eight minutes off the bench.

The Monkey Kings lost 95-81 to the Long-Lions. Even though Cole could only play one game in this stint with the club, he did leave open the possibility of a return next season after his tour wraps up.

"I told the team that if I could stay in shape I would be down to play for a longer amount of games next year after I'm done with tour," Cole wrote.

The two-time Grammy winner is set to begin The Fall-Off Tour this summer. He is touring in support of The Fall-Off album that released on Feb. 6.

Cole's brief stint with the Monkey Kings was his return to professional basketball after four years. He previously played for Patriots Basketball Club in the Basketball Africa League in 2021 and the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League in 2022.