Joel Embiid recently turned a lot of heads by making an announcement that he will be representing Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics. As many members of the basketball community should be aware, the 2023 FIBA World Cup was conducted recently.
To the surprise of many fans across the world, Team USA ended up losing to Germany in the semi-finals. Additionally, they lost to Team Canada in the match for third place and completed the FIBA World Cup at the 4th position.
Considering that the majority of NBA players are from the United States, along with the fact that Team USA is used to dominating the field of basketball, LeBron James and Stephen Curry already announced their desire to play for Team USA in the upcoming Olympics.
Although many assumed that Embiid would play for another nation, he has made his decision to join Team USA. With that being said, let us take a better look at the situation and have a better understanding of his motives.
Why does Joel Embiid want to represent Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
NBA fans who have been following the 76ers star from his early days will know that Embiid is from Cameroon, a country in Africa. Moreover, he acquired citizenship in France to compete in the European basketball leagues. On top of that he also recently became a citizen of the United States.
Many fans believed that Embiid would play for either Cameroon or France. However, he proved them all wrong by making it clear that he wanted to represent Team USA in the upcoming Olympics. Senior NBA writer Ramona Shelburne was one of the first to break this news to the public.
Joel Embiid, the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player, has committed to play for Team USA at the Paris 2024 Olympics, sources told ESPN on Thursday.
Embiid informed Team USA executive director Grant Hill of his decision on Thursday morning, sources said, just days after the two… pic.twitter.com/W2dfW71aMs
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) October 5, 2023
She explained that Joel Embiid has decided to play for Team USA to help them “return to the top of the international basketball world after it failed to medal at the World Championships in Manila this summer.”
Upon hearing this news, fans instantly called out Embiid for pulling a “Kevin Durant” and joining the team which gives him the best chance to win an NBA championship. On the other hand, the more patriotic fans in the United States were happy to hear that their team was adding yet another talented player to the roster.
One of the largest points that fans used to defend the recent failure of Team USA was that the United States sent their C team as opposed to the main forces. Now that Embiid is expected to play along with others like LeBron James and Stephen Curry, Team USA is favored and expected to win the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
