J. Cole Becomes The First Rapper To Grace The Cover Of ‘NBA 2K’

September 1, 2022 by Tsai-Ann Hill in Sports with 0 Comments

J. Cole on the cover of NBA 2K23

J. Cole Becomes The First Rapper To Grace The Cover Of ‘NBA 2K’

J. Cole is now the first rapper to be placed on the cover of NBA’s 2K series, which will be available for gaming systems on Friday (Sept. 9)

On Thursday (Sept. 1) it was announced that the NBA 2K23 DREAMER Edition will feature the Dreamville boss, J. Cole on its cover. J. Cole, born Jermaine Lamarr Cole took to Twitter to share the historic cover in which he appears to be sitting on a wooden basketball court surrounded by clouds. In a caption, the 37-year-old said:

“This sh*t crazy. NBA 2k23 cover. DREAMER @NBA2K”

Along with being on the cover of the popular basketball game, it has been reported that the “Can’t Get Enough” rapper will play a lead role in the MyCAREER story mode. According to a press release, this will represent “the largest and most involved storyline in franchise history.” Bas and Elite, Dreamville artists, will also be included in the storyline. In a statement Cole said:

“NBA 2K has long been a place to discover new musical talent through their game and continues to be a gold standard for showcasing all things basketball culture.”

The German native continued:

“It’s been an amazing journey to not only appear on a cover of this year’s game, but to be part of the MyCAREER storyline, soundtrack and bring the DREAMER brand into NBA 2K.

He added:

“There’s also more to come, so watch out for all things Dreamville and DREAMER brand drops during Seasons and for Bas and Elite in this year’s MyCAREER story.”

As previously reported, last year Cole withdrew from the Basketball Africa League due to a “family obligation.” His contract stated that he was mandated to play three to six games. He completed three preliminary games, scoring five points, three assists, and five rebounds in the 45-minute games. Terrell Stoglin, Morocco AS Sale guard, said publicly that he wasn’t a fan of the rapper joining the league. Terrell Stoglin thought it was “disrespectful” to those who put in work for years attempting to make it.

Cole never gave up on his hoop dreams and went on to sign a contract with Canadian Elite Basketball League, playing for the Scarborough Shooting Stars. According to sources, this will be Cole’s second consecutive year playing professional basketball. In a tweet, sports reporter Shams Charania, 28, said:

“J. Cole is signing contract with the Scarborough Shooting Stars (@sss_cebl) in the Canadian Elite Basketball League, the rap star’s second consecutive year playing professionally. CEBL training camp began this week, with season opener on May 26.”