“Every Black Boy wanna be Pippen, but they only got 12 slots on the Pistons.”
When J. Cole rapped that line on his song “Friends” from the KOD album, it’s not necessarily the bar that stands out the most from the project.
That didn’t stop the Detroit Pistons from bringing it up out the blue on a Monday evening.
Whether it was a well-played PR move by the Pistons’ social media team or a serious offer, the organization invited J. Cole for a tryout. Multiple reports have circulated that the Grammy-nominated rapper is seriously training and practicing in hopes of landing an NBA contract.
.@JColeNC we see you out here. You said they only got 12 slots on the Pistons.
Hit us up for that tryout. This is for all the dreamers @bleacherreport #Dreamville https://t.co/6K24xaI28b pic.twitter.com/GYuG5LvqDE
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) August 4, 2020
At first thought, it sounds crazy. After all, Cole is a 35-year-old rapper.
However, it may not sound as crazy as one may think.
Cole was a basketball standout while playing at Terry Sanford High School. The North Carolina native also tried out for the basketball team while at St. John’s during his freshman and sophomore year. Ultimately, Cole decided to pursue a career in music, and it’s safe to say that it was an incredible choice.
So what could J. Cole in a Detroit Pistons jersey mean?
He’d be following in the footsteps of legendary Louisiana rapper Master P. During the 1998 and 1999 NBA pre-seasons, Master P, legally known as Percy Miller, had NBA contracts with the Charlotte Hornets and the Toronto Raptors respectively. However, he did not play with either franchise past the pre-season.
The second thing that makes J. Cole in a Pistons’ jersey intriguing is the state of the franchise. The team dealing franchise staple Andre Drummond to the Cleveland Cavaliers signaled that a team rebuild would be on the horizon. Add in the fact that fan attendance at Pistons’ home games the past several seasons has suffered, and now an out of the box idea seems appetizing. If anything, bringing Cole to the Pistons would bring a new set of fans to Little Caesars Arena.
In all seriousness, the Pistons’ social media team could be seizing the moment and having some fun. With 2020 being such an unpredictable year, basketball fans in Detroit might embrace the idea of a “Cole World.”
Follow Kory Woods on Twitter @KoryEWoods
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