Jack Cooley is living his best life.
Whether it is staring at Notre Dame, playing in Turkey, Spain, Germany, Italy, Utah or Sacramento, Cooley has become a basketball cult hero.
“I played summer league for seven years, I’ve done all of these little things and I think just the point of never trying to make it look like a lie, like I’m bigger than anyone else,” Cooley said while decked out in Sacramento Kings gear on the latest edition of the Purple Talk podcast. “I’m just some dude who tries his face off every single time I go out there. Everybody really appreciates that and I think respects that.”
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Cooley embraces the role of the lovable underdog and the fans adore him, especially in Sacramento where he still engages with locals on social media and even has joined a few to play video games online.
Despite playing just seven games in a Kings uniform after signing as a two-way player during the 2017-18 season, Cooley is beloved.
The 6-foot-9 banger currently is enjoying the white sandy beaches of Okinawa, Japan. Before the season was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, Cooley was leading the Japanese Basketball league in rebounds and was in the top 10 in scoring as well.
It doesn’t matter where Cooley goes, he is a magnet for fans, even halfway around the world from where his basketball journey began in Illinois.
NBA
“The beaches and the parks aren’t closed, so I’m working out and I have my headphones in and I’m looking at the ocean and I’m doing it,” Cooley explained. “I turn around and there’s like 10 or 15 people that are fans of the team just watching. They were properly spaced next to each other, they were like six feet apart.”
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Cooley has been on an amazing ride since leaving Notre Dame following the 2012-13 season. He’s played a total of 174 minutes over 23 NBA games in his career, but an orange round ball has taken him all over the globe.
Like the rest of the world, the coronavirus has had a dramatic impact on his life. Cooley planned on getting married this summer to his fiancé, Alexandra Cirone. She currently is with him in Japan, but due to the pandemic, they are postponing the big day until the summer of 2021.
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While they have to put their wedding plans on hold, they are living a dream lifestyle and just going where the game takes them.
“Everywhere we’ve been is such a cool experience and he’s always loved every team he’s played for and everyone is so nice,” Cirone said.
At 29 years old, Cooley has plenty of basketball left in the tank. While he hasn’t had a conventional career, he seems to have embraced the adventure and will continue down this path as long as possible.
“I get paid to play basketball and I’m going to keep doing this as long as people keep paying me,” Cooley said. “It’s a game and I’ll always love it. I’ll keep doing it until I don’t love it and I don’t ever see that happening.”