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Eduardo Villalpando: 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. 🇯🇲
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Pistons, Mavericks to play in Mexico City
Mexico will get to see NBA stars play in a regular-season game in the 2025-26 season. The league announced on Tuesday that the Dallas Mavericks and the Detroit Pistons will be the teams sharing the court in a game in Mexico City in November. “The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Zignia Live today announced that The NBA Mexico City Game 2025 will feature the Dallas Mavericks and the Detroit Pistons playing a regular-season game hosted by Zignia Live at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City on Saturday, Nov. 1.,” the leagues' statement read (via the NBA's official website).
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Royce O'Neale engaged to actress Paige Hurd
Paige Hurd's new role? Engaged! The Power Book II: Ghost alum, 32, got engaged to Phoenix Suns forward Royce O'Neale, 31, at Viceroy Riviera Maya on Feb. 13 during a romantic getaway to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the couple exclusively confirms to PEOPLE. The pair were enjoying an intimate dinner at the luxury oceanfront resort surrounded by rose petals, soft candlelight and a crackling fireplace. For their final course, they were served a slice of red velvet cake with the question "Will You Marry Me?" written on the plate. "I was feeling nervous because I wasn’t trying to give off any nerve-wracking behavior or give any signs that something was up," O'Neale tells PEOPLE. "I was really excited because I knew Paige wasn’t expecting it and wanted it to be a huge, special surprise."
It is common to see NBA players vacation in the offseason in Mexico, the Caribbean and popular European destinations to unwind. Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is far from common. This past offseason, the 2024 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player decided to rest his body and mind in the Kingdom of Bahrain. “I went there just for privacy, peace of mind,” Brown, 28, told Andscape. “Just also to learn about different places in the world, just exploring, making relationships with their foundations, exploring relationships through the game. You can help develop other areas. “I had never been there before. It’s like a small island, not too far off the coast of the UAE [United Arab Emirates], not too far from Dubai and Qatar. I just enjoyed it. I spent the summer away outside of the U.S. [It was a] Different experience for me. It kind of opens your eyes to different parts of the world.”
Blake Griffin and Ryan Kalil have a new passion project. Griffin, a recently retired former NBA star, and Kalil, a former Pro Bowl NFL center, are leading a group that purchased a majority stake in the Monterrey Fundidores, a team in Mexico’s pro American football league, Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA). Kalil declined to provide financial details but said the group purchased the club for a seven-figure sum.
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