Rapper J. Cole is reportedly training to play in the NBA, and he's deadly serious about making it in the big league
- Rapper J. Cole is seriously training to play in the NBA, according to Master P, the former rapper turned basketball star.
- "I talked to J. Cole, he was like, 'You know, big dog you did it. What do you think I would have to do to make it happen?'" P, real name Percy Robert Miller, told TMZ.
- "I believe in him and I believe that he's a youngster that has a lot of desire," Miller added.
- Cole, 35, recently featured in a commercial for PUMA, narrated by Miller, which strongly hinted at his desire to make it in the NBA.
Rapper J. Cole is seriously training to play in the NBA.
That's according to Master P, the former rapper turned basketball star, who told TMZ he spoke to Cole about swapping the music industry for a career on the court.
"When I talked to J. Cole, he was like, 'You know, big dog you did it. What do you think I would have to do to make it happen?'" P, real name Percy Robert Miller, said.
Miller had contracts with both the Charlotte Hornets and the Toronto Raptors in the late 1990s, however never made an appearance in the NBA.
"I said to get one of these NBA jerseys, it's not gonna be easy," he continued. "It's gonna be a lot of hate, it's gonna be a lot of people not believing in you but you know J. Cole, he got the right size, he in the gym!"
"But, what I told him [is] this a different time we're in. They're going to pick you apart! You're gonna have to be able to hit every shot. You're gonna have to go somewhere where the team really believe in you and the players believe in you."
Rumors of Cole launching a basketball career were sparked last week when the 35-year-old revealed a short commercial he shot with PUMA, narrated by Miller, which strongly hinted at his desire to make it in the NBA.
In the advert, Cole is seen practicing with a partner in near empty gym while Miller says: "You can't be serious? I know you ain't 'bout to do what I think you 'about to try to do."
Cole played basketball at high school, and later tried out for St. John's University, New York, where he studied communication and business, before ultimately choosing to focus on music, according to The Source.
"I believe in him and I believe that he's a youngster that has a lot of desire," Miller added in his interview with TMZ.
"They've been putting their whole life into this. So, you're gonna have to prove you're worthy of being on that court."
Cole has had five number-one albums on the Billboard 200, the most recent of which, KOD, sold over 1.1 million copies in the United States alone.
Cole's sixth studio album, The Fall Off, is set to release some time in 2020, according to NME.
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