Miami Heat guard Norman Powell reportedly will debut for the Jamaican national team in August.
Jamaica will face Mexico, Barbados and Costa Rica in the FIBA World Cup 2027 Americas pre-qualifiers this summer.
Norman Powell will make his debut for the Jamaican National Team during next month’s FIBA window in Mexico, a league source tells me.
Jamaica will face Mexico, Barbados, and Costa Rica in World Cup Qualifiers. Suns big man Nick Richards will also join the squad. 🇯🇲
https://twitter.com/eduardo_vhmx/status/1949649360691621974?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1949649360691621974%7Ctwgr%5E9caf4f2bfa4d146f89132a4aa081153730319199%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fheatnation.com%2Fteam-news%2Freport-norman-powell-will-debut-for-jamaican-national-team-next-month%2F
Even though he was born in California, Powell has Jamaican heritage, making this a great opportunity for the Heat guard to thrive on the international stage.
Powell, 32, was traded to Miami in a three-team deal involving the Los Angeles Clippers (his former team) and the Utah Jazz this offseason.
In the 2024-25 season, Powell averaged a career-high 21.8 points per game while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from 3-point range.
A 2019 NBA champion with the Toronto Raptors, Powell has been in the mix for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award in recent seasons, finishing fourth in the voting in the 2023-24 season and 2022-23 campaign.
There’s a chance that Jamaica could have a roster filled with NBA players, including Powell, as Justin Champagnie (Washington Wizards), Julian Champagnie (San Antonio Spurs), Josh Minott (Boston Celtics), Amen Thompson (Houston Rockets) and Ausar Thompson (Detroit Pistons) could all end up representing the nation.
Both of the Thompson twins have said that Jamaica could be an option for their future in international play.
CONFIRMED: Amen & Ausar Thompson say Jamaica is a legitimate option for their international future. https://t.co/rHRuFcKJ5I pic.twitter.com/tLf9Ij5Pv6
https://twitter.com/DannyBeegie/status/1926671131479564477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1926671131479564477%7Ctwgr%5E9caf4f2bfa4d146f89132a4aa081153730319199%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fheatnation.com%2Fteam-news%2Freport-norman-powell-will-debut-for-jamaican-national-team-next-month%2F
As for Powell, he’ll look to thrive in the FIBA World Cup 2027 Americas pre-qualifiers as he prepares for the 2025-26 NBA season.
The Heat are hoping that Powell can help them improve upon their record from the 2024-25 season when they finished with the 10th-best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference. Miami ended up making the playoffs by way of the play-in, but it was bounced in the first round by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Powell should provide the Heat with another proven scoring option next to Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. Plus, the veteran guard has experience playing a featured role off the bench from his time in Los Angeles.
The 2025-26 season is the final season on Powell’s contract, so he has a major incentive to have a big year for Miami before he hits the free agent market next offseason.
