Former NBA star JaVale McGee has welcomed American entertainer J Cole’s arrival in the Chinese Basketball Association, hailing the hip-hop star’s efforts to try and bridge the culture gap between the United States and China.

Since landing in China on Thursday after being signed to the Nanjing Monkey Kings, Cole’s commitment to playing in the country’s domestic basketball league as a registered import has turned heads across both the music and basketball worlds, drawing a huge attention toward the otherwise low-profile franchise based in the Jiangsu provincial capital.

The Grammy Award-winning rapper’s countryman McGee, who joined the CBA’s Beijing Ducks in February, said it’s exciting for the Chinese league to bring in an A-list entertainer with the global influence of Cole as a way to achieve more beyond the court.

“I think it's pretty cool, especially for the fans,” McGee, a member of three NBA championship-winning teams, said after helping the Ducks beat the Monkey Kings 106-92 in a regular season game in Beijing on Monday.

“This is entertainment at the end of the day. If that team is trying to entertain their fans, that's a hell of a way to entertain them.

“If one of these other teams signs Drake, or signs one of their favorite rappers, I guarantee they wouldn't be like: ‘No. Why would you do that?’ They would love it, and they would probably fill up the stadium.”

Cole wasn’t on the team that traveled to Beijing from the Jiangsu provincial capital on Monday, due to the fact that he had a medical check scheduled for early on Tuesday morning, according to the Monkey Kings’ general manager Wang Zhen.

The club is sparing no effort in trying to accelerate the paperwork to get Cole eligible to play as soon as possible, Wang added.

“Hopefully, he will be ready for our home game against the Beijing Royal Fighters,” Wang said after Monday’s game.