3 days ago
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LOS ANGELES Clippers shooting guard Norman Powell recently announced that he would be representing Jamaica in the upcoming FIBA World Cup 2027 Americas pre-qualifiers this summer, and president of the Jamaica Basketball Association Paulton Gordon said his experience will be invaluable to the team.
Powell, who won the NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, has been a key part of the Clippers outfit this season, averaging 21.8 points in over 60 games this term, and Gordon believes his presence can improve the nation’s chances of not just progressing beyond the pre-qualifiers but to the showpiece event itself.
“We are elated that he is able to join team Jamaica. He is the type of player that we are looking for at this level. His experience will be invaluable to us,” he said.
Gordon revealed that Powell has worked behind the scenes with coach Rick Turner for some time to get the necessary documentation and that his citizenship and passport actually came through some time last year but that he was waiting on the right time to announce it.
“I’m super excited to join Team Jamaica,” Powell said in the announcement. “Coach Turner and I have worked on this for a while, and now it’s a reality. I’m ready to grind and need everyone’s support to make it happen.”
Jamaica’s performance on the international basketball stage has been less than impressive. The national team’s only appearance at the FIBA Americas Championship came back in 2013.
Jamaica has been grouped with Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, and the US Virgin Islands in the upcoming pre-qualifying round, and Gordon said the aim is to build a squad that can take them all the way.
“We are also looking to recruit some other players. We have some players in Europe who are looking to join the squad. We have seven to eight NBA players who have expressed interest.
“Powell has established himself in the NBA. Nick Richards (Phoenix Suns) is another person we are looking at. If we can have those two persons we can build around that.
“So we are in a position to ensure that we are successful in the pre-qualifiers, and we can ride that straight into the actual qualifiers in February,” he said.
English (US) ·