![]() citizenship it was widely expected that he would play for the host nation at the Paris Games.Tyrese Maxey finished with 24 points and four assists to lead the 76ers. in the final at the Tokyo Games played in 2021 - had pitched Embiid on the prospects of joining a frontcourt that will likely include Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama next summer, and until Embiid revealed a year ago that he had obtained U.S. Embiid was a rarity, an international basketball free agent - since he had never been part of a senior national team and holds multiple passports, which meant he had multiple options.įrance - the reigning Olympic silver medallists, after losing to the U.S. It is a massive recruiting win for the Americans. "I wouldn't have made this decision if I wasn't ready," said Embiid, who said he now wants to focus on Philadelphia's season and not continually hear questions about his Olympic plans. Cameroon will be among 24 teams playing for the final four spots in the 12-nation Olympic field next summer the U.S., France, World Cup champion Germany, Serbia, Canada, Australia, Japan and South Sudan have already qualified for Paris.Įmbiid said again Thursday that it was difficult to choose between his three options. citizen last year and could have also chosen to play for France - or even Cameroon, his homeland, if it qualified for the Paris Games. Big time," he said, grinning when told by reporters there.Įmbiid became a U.S. ![]() James was succinct when told at Los Angeles Lakers' camp: "Great. "But I didn't think about that at all."Īdebayo had a simple reaction when he heard the Embiid news: "We're looking stacked," he said at Miami's training camp in Boca Raton, Florida. "You want to play with great players," Embiid said. next summer, including Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker and many more. Embiid joins a long list of top NBA players who are hoping or planning to play for the U.S. will try for a fifth consecutive gold medal at Paris next summer. WATCH | Could World Cup bronze be stepping stone for Canada onto Olympic podium?:ĭuration 1:48 Featured VideoThe Canadian Men's basketball team had a historic run at the FIBA World Cup, winning their first-ever medal, but can this team replicate the same success at the Paris Olympics in 2024? "The stronger the team, the better," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, who coached the Americans at the 2019 World Cup and then to gold at the Tokyo Games, said Thursday when told of Embiid's decision. No player has been officially named to the team at this point. As I've said before, I'm looking forward to the process of building the 2024 USA Basketball Men's National Team roster over the next several months." "Joel and I have had several conversations about his goals and I'm looking forward to continuing that dialogue knowing that one of those goals is to represent USA Basketball next summer in Paris. "It's exciting for USA Basketball that Joel Embiid wants to represent the United States," Hill said. I want to play for my fans because they’ve… /6VHSQTKVl3- Basketball does not plan to name its team until the spring of 2024, but if healthy, Embiid would seem certain to have one of the 12 spots on the squad that will be coached by Golden State's Steve Kerr with assistants Erik Spoelstra of Miami, Tyronn Lue of the Los Angeles Clippers and Mark Few of Gonzaga. I want to play with my brothers in the league. After talking to my family, I knew it had to be Team USA. I am blessed to call Cameroon, France, and the USA home. I’m really proud and excited about this decision. "It was kind of made hard by the deadline. "I was trying to take my time as much as possible," Embiid said. ![]() Embiid said he appreciated the interest the French showed in him. 10 deadline for deciding on his Olympic plans. I love my home country, but I really wanted to play in the Olympics."įrance had given Embiid an Oct. My family, my son, and having the chance to represent a country like the U.S., with my son being born here. "For the past few years, every decision I've made has been based on just family. "I've been here for such a long time," Embiid said in Fort Collins, Colorado, where the 76ers are having training camp - and where Embiid met with Hill this week. And one of the reasons Embiid cited in what had him pick the U.S.: His son is American. The Philadelphia 76ers' star let USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill know his mind was made up and then made the decision public on Thursday. The NBA's reigning MVP and scoring champion has told USA Basketball that, after more than a year of deliberating, he has picked the Americans over France as his team for the Paris Olympics. ![]() Joel Embiid will wear red, white and blue in Paris next summer - not rouge, blanc and bleu.
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