Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has given up on France and chosen to defend the colors of the United States for the 2024 Olympic Games basketball tournament in Paris, his NBA club said Thursday, October 5 on X (formerly Twitter ).
“On the roof of the world,” the club wrote in its message, accompanied by a photo of the player with the caption “Engaged to Team USA.” Embiid, 29, who has three nationalities – Cameroonian, French and American – has not, however, officially confirmed his choice, reported earlier Thursday by the American sports channel ESPN.
The player, awarded the title of MVP (for most valuable player), confirmed his decision early Thursday to Team USA executive director Grant Hill, again according to ESPN. During the day of discussions with the media on Monday, he admitted to being faced with “a difficult choice”, even though he had been keeping the suspense going for several months.
“I was born in Cameroon, I always wanted to represent my country. But the goal is also to play in the Olympic Games,” explained the player, while Cameroon will play a qualifying tournament for the Olympics without being sure of participating, unlike France or the United States. According to L'Equipe and RMC Sport, the 29-year-old had nevertheless requested French nationality in 2022, notably with the aim of playing alongside the Blues.
Dream Team
In opting for Team USA, Embiid joins a list of NBA superstars who have signaled their intention to compete in the Olympics, as the Americans attempt to recover from their World Cup fiasco against Germany FIBA, in August. This failure was experienced as a humiliation across the Atlantic. France was eliminated in the first round of the competition. French leaders, who had been courting the Yaoundé-born kingpin for two years, declared after the fiasco that they wanted to “quickly resolve” the Embiid file.
Among the stars tipped to lead the Americans to Paris are former MVPs: LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. They recently said they want to be part of the U.S. team that will attempt to win a fifth straight Olympic gold medal.
In addition to these stars, other major NBA players, such as Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, Jaylen Brown and Donovan Mitchell, have said they are ready to join an Olympic selection next year, giving rise to the dream of a new Dream Team, like that of the Barcelona Games in 1992, grouped around Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.
Enough to draw a frightening selection, starters and replacements combined, especially with Joel Embiid in his ranks in the crucial pivot position.
