NASSAU (Bahamas) - Bahamas shocked the basketball world last summer when they defeated Argentina twice at the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament 2023 Argentina to reach their first-ever FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The country has only played at the FIBA AmeriCup once - in 1995 - but the islanders are dreaming of the Paris Olympics.
The Roster
Bahamas may be ranked 57th in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike but the Caribbean nation cannot be underestimated with the high level talent they have on the squad with four NBA players.
The biggest name is former number one overall draft pick Deandre Ayton, who put up 15.5 points and 13.8 rebounds in the OPQT Argentina. The Portland Trail Blazers big man is an unstoppable force at both ends of the court and will be a challenge for every center in Valencia.
Ayton really doesn't even need to put the ball in the basket for this team as head coach Chris Demarco has him surrounded by a group of great scoring options. Buddy Hield can absolutely light it up from anywhere on the court while Kai Jones did not play at the OPQT but combined for combined for 36 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks, to go with just 2 turnovers in 68 minutes of two games in the FIBA AmeriCup 2025 Qualifiers.
And of course, no one can forget Eric Gordon, who poured in an OPQT-high 20.3 points per game while shooting a blistering 65.0 percent from long range.
Still, Bahamas have even more players who can produce when called upon. There is long-time nation team veteran Mychel Thompson - son of former NBA great Mychal Thompson and brother of NBA star Klay Thompson who came to visit the team at practice - as well as Travis Munnings, Lourawls Nairn, David Nesbitt, Tavario Miller, Jaraun Burrows and Dominik Bridgewater.
The Question
Bahamas went from a program struggling to qualify for any events to a team that travels to Spain with a legitimate chance of making the Olympics. All the progress went so fast, can the team immediately actually take the next step?
That is the question. There is no doubt that Bahamas have the talent. Not many teams in any of the OQTs can say they have four NBA players. But can Bahamas continue their magic?
The Hope
The hope is to reach the Olympics and it is also realistic. Just consider that Bahamas defeated world superpower Argentina twice in the OPQT in Argentina - and it was an Argentina team that had major star power in the squad. And the Bahamas should be even stronger with the addition of Kai Jones who wasn't at the pre-qualifying event.
The Fear
What the Caribbean fans fear most is that Bahamas actually crash back to Earth and crumble amid growing expectations. The NBA stars don't gel as they did in Argentina and all want to be the alpha who carries the team to the Olympics.
And in the end, it's not really a team but a collection of very good players.
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