As Jamaica’s basketball team seeks to qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, the recruitment of more NBA stars could be on the horizon for the national team.

Jamaica Basketball Association (JABA) President Paulton Gordon told the Jamaica Observer that talks are ongoing with Toronto Raptors All-Star Scottie Barnes, Detroit Pistons centre Isaiah Stewart and San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell.

This comes just weeks after the Observer revealed that twin brothers Amen Thompson of Houston Rockets and Ausar of Detroit Pistons — their father Troy is Jamaican — started the process of acquiring their Jamaican passport.

Los Angeles Clippers star Norman Powell and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Josh Mignott have already committed to playing for the country and now hold Jamaican passports.

The 23-year-old Barnes, drafted by the Raptors in 2021, is regarded as one of the top players in the NBA, after being named to the All-Star team last year and won the Rookie of the Year award in 2022. He has averaged close to 20 points per game with eight rebounds and six assists over the last two seasons.

Stewart, 24, has gained attention for his defensive and physical style of play with the Pistons, contributing to the team’s play-off appearance this season which ended a six-year post-season drought. He is ranked among the top rim protectors, finishing in the top 12 for blocks with a total of 101.

Vassell, 24, the 2020 first-round pick for the Spurs, has quickly become one of the team’s best offensive players, averaging over 18 points a game over the last three seasons. During that time, he’s registered seven 30-point games including scoring 36 against the Lebron James-led Los Angeles Lakers.

All three players qualify to play for Jamaica through their respective fathers. Gordon told the Observer that JABA is ramping up negotiations to get them and other prospects to commit their international future to Jamaica.

“Troy [Thompson] is working on our behalf in terms of getting Isaiah to come and do the process so we’re optimistic that’s going to happen. Devin Vassell, who plays for the Spurs, we’re in dialogue with his agent about doing a camp, so we’ll have a deeper discussion next month when he comes down,” he said.

“Scottie Barnes, one of our Florida partners has had dialogue with [him] last week. Scottie Barnes has identified other Raptors who have Jamaican connections so the momentum is there, we want to capitalise, we want to talk to all of them.”

Securing their commitment would be just one step toward them representing Jamaica, as the world governing body, FIBA, has the final say. Players who did not obtain a Jamaican passport before the age of 16 are classified as naturalised and may be ineligible.

However, Gordon is hoping that they’ll overcome the hurdles if and when the time comes.

“The FIBA rule is a little bit unique, some people say crazy. They want all our players to have their actual Jamaican passport before age 16. There’s some leeway, however, and there are opportunities to appeal based on your connection your company and development process so we’ll have to file some of those cases one by one,” he said.

Although the citizenship and approval process may be lengthy, Gordon stills wants the NBA players to contribute to the programme.

“The American-based players, in the NBA, understand now that the movement in Jamaica as it relates to basketball is real [and] are coming forward to say we want to help which we consider important. We think we can get a lot of grassroots development and scholarships out of this and even if they ultimately don’t play for Jamaica, they connection with Jamaica will be very important,” he said.

He added: “If you’re not currently able to play for Jamaica, there are elements of the programme that you can contribute to in terms of the growth. For example, the training camp in July, August, we want some of the NBA players who are connected to Jamaica to come and scrimmage against the team to prepare them for the qualifiers so the opportunities are there.”

Jamaica begin their quest to qualify for the 2027 FIBA World Cup when they take part in the Americas Pre-Qualifiers from August 8 to 10. The squad will be finalised following the completion of an open try-out from July 5 to 6 and a training camp, from July 28 to August 5.

Norman Powell (Photo: AFP)