Drake Salutes J. Cole After Making His Canadian Elite Basketball Debut

Drake shows J. Cole some support after he made his professional basketball debut in Canada.

J. Cole proves once again that he is a man of many talents. In this case, we’re talking about his second love, basketball. The “Power Trip” rapper recently made his debut in the Canadian Elite Basketball League for the Scarborough Shooting Stars.

Cole first game was yesterday, May 26, and the Shooting Stars lost the opener in the Royal City to the Guelph Nighthawks by 89-80. The Charlotte was on the court for about 15 minutes and made a meaningful contribution with three points, one rebound, and one assist.

In the end, J. Cole finished with one of four from the field, which lit up the crowd. All of his shots were from beyond the three-point arc.

Of course, Canada’s most famous rapper, Drake, ensured that he took in the match, especially since he and Nicholas “Niko” Carino are close friends. Carino is a part-owner of the expansion franchise.

“It’s real @scarboroughshootingstars. My brother just checked in,” Drake posted on Instagram.

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In another post during the warm-ups, he said, “Cole World. Legendary Sh*t. First game on now.”

It’s no wonder Drake is so invested in Cole’s career, considering he had a helping hand in making Cole’s debut possible. Carino and Cole actually met at Drake’s birthday party last year in Los Angeles. It’s based on that meeting that they discussed the “Apparently” rapper joining the Shooting Stars.

“You know, Dreamville and OVO are family,” Carino said at that time. “Drake had a birthday party in L.A. last year. The conversation was, ‘I heard you have your team.’ It organically grew from there.”

Cole will get a next chance to show off his skills this Sunday, May 29, when the Shooting Stars take on the Alliance.