Amen and Ausar Thompson appear destined to be two of the brightest stars in the NBA for the next decade-plus, considering how much upside they have shown in their first two years in the NBA. But interestingly, neither one of them will be using their talents to represent Team USA in the Olympic Games moving forward.
The Thompson brothers were raised in San Leandro, California. But their father, Troy Thompson, retained his Jamaican citizenship after moving to the United States.
With this in mind, both Amen and Ausar will take full advantage of the letter of the law in Jamaica, which allows anyone with parents who are Jamaican to naturally have Jamaican citizenship of their own.
According to Daniel Blake of the Jamaican Observer, the Thompson brothers will use their Jamaican citizenship to participate for Jamaica, not the United States, in the Olympic Games and FIBA events moving forward.
Amen and Ausar Thompson plan to represent Jamaica in future FIBA and Olympic competitions, per @DannyBeegie.
So dope. 🇯🇲 pic.twitter.com/WlR9pv64ol
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 25, 2025
On paper, this is a pretty significant blow for the United States for years to come, as Amen Thompson in particular has shown some serious flashes of superstar upside this past season. January was a particularly impressive month for Amen, who averaged 18.7 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game.
As for why the Thompson brothers would want to stray away from representing Team USA, it is something that we have seen from other NBA stars in recent memory. Notably, Karl-Anthony Towns has opted to represent the Dominican Republic in the FIBA World Cup in recent years.
Maybe the Thompson brothers will be able to make their name on the Jamaican National Team moving forward. But on paper, they have their work cut out for them to get Jamaica back to a spot where they can even qualify for the Olympics, a feat that they haven’t done since the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
