As someone born in Cameroon and in possession of both American and French citizenship, Joel Embiid had his choice of the litter in regard to which country he’d like to represent at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, writes Robert O’Connell for The Wall Street Journal.
Embiid ultimately announced that he would be joining Team USA for next year’s Olympic games.
“I want my son to be proud that he’s American… and I’m American now,” he said.
Embiid’s decision was aided by the fact that Cameroon has not yet qualified for the games, while France has a faster opt-in deadline process than the US.
The U.S. Team often goes into international competition as the favorites; however, finished just fourth in this summer’s FIBA World Cup. As a result, conversations about reinforcement for next year’s Olympics have run rampant. This is especially due to the lack of size of the U.S. Team.
At 7-foot-1, Embiid will strengthen America’s biggest weakness and help the U.S. Team return to its winning ways.
“I saw everything that was going on this summer with the U.S. and I started thinking about it,” he said.
Read more about the Philadelphia 76ers star’s decision to join Team USA at the 2024 Olympics in Paris and its likely impact at The Wall Street Journal.
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Joel Embiid was named the MVP for the 2022-23 NBA season.
