Kai Cenat has taken a break from video-game marathons to pursue a career in professional basketball. On Sept. 28, the popular content creator — signed to Nike — debuted in the Little Basketball Association. Cenat, a 5-foot-4, 22-year-old, plays in the league with children.
In a 53-44 win for his New York Sky over the Dallas Giants, Cenat finished with 8 points and 20 rebounds.
“His performance was amazing,” Tylilshow, a fellow content creator and friend of Cenat’s, told rolling out after the game, “because he’s not a basketball player, and 20 rebounds for someone who’s not a basketball player? I think that’s good.”
More Locked In Than Ever😤 pic.twitter.com/fdIo9fsorL
— AMP KAI (@KaiCenat) September 29, 2024
Cenat brought out the stars, including Scotty ATL, Dennis Smith Jr., Ekane, Brooklyn and Deshae Frost and Sharife Cooper. Smith told sideline reporter Autumn Johnson his little cousin was playing on Cenat’s team.
“He’s got the one-man fastbreak down, for sure,” Cooper told rolling out. “Other than that, I don’t know, we’ve got some work to do. That’s my man, though.”
Halo, @2chainz’s son, played in the previous game tonight. pic.twitter.com/NGajO4eXNR
— Rashad Milligan (@RashadMilligan) September 28, 2024
The LBA, a league featuring 2 Chainz’s son Halo, continues for five days through Oct. 2.
“I think he did well,” Punga, another content creator and friend of Cenat, told rolling out. “He’s just got to ease up on the fouls. He had four fouls in the first half. I don’t know how, but tomorrow? He’s going to have a better game. They came out with the dub today, and I just have to put some more motivation into my mans. He’s going to do well.”
Cenat was frustrated at halftime with his performance.
“I feel like everybody that’s playing right now, they’re all acting soft,” Cenat told Johnson at halftime. “They know every time I’m getting the ball, I’m supposed to take it to the rack. Every time I touch somebody? They fall on the ground. Just play basketball. [The fact that I only have] two points is crazy. You feel me? Me and my teammates started off a little rough, but now we’re going to put that behind us and go into the next half.”
Regardless of how funny it was to watch Cenat — a full-grown adult — compete in a league with grade-school boys, the young athletes are extremely talented. The kids were effortlessly knocking down three-pointers and showed great handles in fast-paced transition offenses. Many lead passes were caught by intended receivers, and the young players also often finished baskets through contact. If there’s humor in Cenat — a content creator who’s never played organized basketball — competing against a league of children, it’s important to include the context of the children being perhaps the most talented among their age group.
“He did well,” Joey Stallings, who led the Sky with 25 points, said of Cenat. “He’s just got to work on his shot.”
Cenat has previously played against kids, like in February when he was preparing for the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.
HoopMixtape 2.0 pic.twitter.com/jR9IqLI23o
— AMP KAI (@KaiCenat) February 14, 2024
Before the game, Cenat walked through the tunnel with Steph Curry.
It’s Time. pic.twitter.com/pVL6rzhqFz
— AMP KAI (@KaiCenat) February 16, 2024
In limited playing time, Cenat only scored four points in the celebrity game, and he publicly called out his coach Shannon Sharpe after the matchup. Cenat vowed to his followers he would work twice as hard all year to return to next year’s celebrity game and put on a better performance for all of his supporters.
After taking a couple of days away from streaming to prepare for his basketball chapter, Cenat is now the No. 3 most-subscribed user on Twitch, the streaming platform that specializes in gaming. Previous method streams Cenat has done include being locked up in jail for a week straight, babysitting child rapper Lil RT, and his sleepover streams with Lil Yachty’s Concrete Boys, comedians Kevin Hart and Druski and Offset.
