Sixers center Joel Embiid has committed to Team USA for the 2024 Olympics, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
Embiid informed USA Basketball executive director Grant Hill of his decision Thursday morning, sources tell Shelburne. She adds that Embiid and Hill met for nearly an hour earlier this week in Fort Collins, Colorado, where the Sixers are conducting training camp.
Because Embiid was born in Cameroon and has citizenship with both the U.S. and France, he was eligible to play for any of those teams. Shelburne’s sources said he wants to help Team USA become the No. 1 nation in international basketball again after it failed to medal at this year’s World Cup.
Embiid recently told ESPN that he would love to represent his home nation, but he was hesitant to commit because Cameroon hasn’t qualified for the 2024 Olympics. France reportedly gave Embiid an October 10 deadline to reach his decision.
Next year’s competition, which will be held in Paris, will mark Embiid’s first appearance in the Olympics. He will be a welcome addition to an American team that was routinely out-rebounded by larger opponents during the World Cup.
A six-time All-Star, Embiid is the NBA’s reigning MVP, having averaged 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.7 blocks on .548/.330/.857 shooting in 66 games (34.6 minutes) in 2022/23. The 29-year-old led the league in scoring for the second straight season.
USA Gold Medal confirmed
Love how France was all trying to hard ball him and he ducks.
France did not pushed that hard cause WE have enough guys inside and Wemby has to be included
I’m in total agreement. We going to bring them hitters out next summer.
Sellout.
It would have been so awesome to see him commit to helping Cameroon build itself into a real world power.
Jumping onto team USA for a nearly guaranteed Olympic medal?
That’s weak.
Cameroon didn’t qualify… so why not the US? Plus it’s a great way to “scout” who he would like to play with in the future
Cameroon wasn’t eliminated… just haven’t fully qualified yet.
You know what would have helped them already qualify?
Embiid.
But I guess he knows that he can’t win anything on his own.
You understand that those countries don’t have funding for flights , hotels , no insurance. It makes sense he joined team USA
So… he’s a sellout?
Poor guy’s only making $47 million this year. He could have funded the Cameroon program himself without even noticing it.
Funny he’s a sellout but when guys like Karl towns who grew up in the USA , play for another country they’re not selling out lol. I am pretty sure he has a green card. And I can guarantee you when he retires(Embiid) he will stay in the USA. Plus he has a son that is born in the US Aswell.
I don’t think “sellout” is quite the word, but if he were serious about going with Cameroon, he would’ve just done it. There’s plenty of value in building a team up.
I don’t necessarily *blame* him for wanting to win, but doing it like this isn’t the best look. I think people would respect him and any accomplishments much more for Team Cameroon, or even Team France.
Also, plenty of people went at guys like KAT, Kyle Anderson, and others for “selling out”. And Paolo got the inverse treatment from plenty of people for playing for Team US when he had committed to Team Italy.
Forsure it would be a good accomplishment , but it wouldn’t be smart considering his past with injuries. Having to carry a NBA franchise & country would be too much. France has gobert & that would be messed up to have him come off the bench even though he has been committed to their national team since a teenager. For a guy who might only be committed for 1 olympics(and never play again). Team USA makes a lot of sense because he wouldn’t be stepping on anybody’s toes.
@Lucky.. I think that dude lack’s true leadership and my first impulse is to go there… but this makes sense. Good call.
Kyle Anderson playing for China lol what a joke
Really weird caring about what another man or even person spends their money…
Why would he pass up the chance at a gold medal in his permanent new home country to not even medal for his “home” country that he moved away from when he was a teenager? In a few years the USA will be the country he’s lived in for the longest.
Guaranteed now that the best big man in the game is joining it .
He’s so good he has to play with better players to win anything!
Best big man in the game? Which game u talking about.
I love embiid, but I agree. Jokic is the best and if you count giannis as a big embiid could be viewed as just the 3rd best big.
I thought they arrested you for killing tupac ?
I’d rather have AD
Lol to play the 4 next to jojo ?
Thank you Joel. Thank you for representing where you live and where you poop. I have more respect for you. Finally a American that respects his country
So… changes basically nothing? Embiid always chokes in big moments. People let him get away with it because Harden and Simmons are/were worse chokers, but he’s been mid by his standards in the playoffs in all but one series (vs Wizards in 2021) and has no signature playoff moments to his name imo.
At least if he went to France or Cameroon he’d have a shot at being impactful.
Embid has played through a broken face,torn off thumb and shredded knee at playoff time. Giving the big man adequate excuse to completely sit out entire series. Did he ?? He sucked it up, gutted it out. Save your critique for the paul georges,Kwai Leonard’s and the rest .
You know you picked players that are better than Embiid and who have taken their teams farther than he ever has, right?
Check out what Paul George did with his Pacers teams… ran into the Heatles a couple of times and still took them to 6 or 7 games.
Lol pacers, we are talking now !!
Back to back scoring titles and mvp yes ? Better ? Ok tom.
Last year in Game 7 of the Celtics series he folded like wet paper despite being healthier than half the guys in the West, and Jimmy Butler. 38 yo LeBron dropped a 40 pt near-Triple Double on a shredded ankle and foot in a closeout game. Durant was hobbled and still showed out. Butler carried his literally below-average squad to the finals without his second-best teammate on a messed-up ankle. Embiid? Had a sore knee that *clearly* wasn’t affecting him that much, and looked like he couldn’t wait to go home the second they were losing. He gave up on so many rebounds, couldn’t hit the rim from point-blank, and looked completely disinterested on defense. His body language looked like an emo kid forced to show up to a party. That’s a choke job and I will call him out for that every time.
I can give Embiid the benefit of the doubt for when he’s clearly injured and lagging. That’s a different thing entirely. 2022 was a weird playoffs and his facial injury clearly affected him, so he can pass on that. And normal playoff dropping is… acceptable. Usually. But if you’re healthy enough to step on the floor and not obviously hobbled, there are no such things as excuses. And doubly so when you’re League MVP. Everyone is injured in the playoffs. He’s worn that excuse thinner than a string bean.
Kawahi has won a championship. Not only that, he CARRIED a championship team. He gets more leeway, because if he’s actually capable of playing, he shows up big-time. Not a choker, just out.
PG? Has carried teams on his back against much better competition than Embiid and came back from a career-ending injury. He carried the Clippers into the conference finals in 2021 even without Kawahi and pushed the Suns hard. He’s had his moments. But I’m more inclined to forgive a guy who has routinely been the best player on three conference finals squads. Some people tried to slap him with the choker label for OKC, but he was always clearly better and wanted it more than his teammates in the playoffs (except Russ for the latter, but he’s a madman lol). And the Clippers choke in the bubble was everyone.
Spouting drool , you still don’t address my point. Playing through injury that keeps everyone else sidelined. Please stop with the the choke nonsense.
I addressed your point just fine, you just didn’t want to acknowledge it because you don’t like my point. As though a slightly strained knee would have taken out any of the guys I mentioned. Clearly hadn’t bothered him in the other games of the Celtics series. The facial fracture didn’t stop anyone else either, but it’s serious enough I’ll give him a pass for it. The hand injury? Sure, if you want to cut him some slack for that, that’s fine. But I don’t think it’s as debilitating as you’re trying to make it out to be.
Stooping to direct insults of someone instead of trying to refute their points is always weak.
And LeBron
Europeans punching the air right now
USA has what, a 40 player roster of people who want to play now? Grant Hill better speak up on who’s actually playing instead of every NBA player saying they are.
Maybe they can play baseball. That has a 40 man roster (including prospects and backups lol).
Wonder how he’ll react when he finds out gold medal isn’t an individual award?
I can understand why he is doing this. Knowing you won’t win anything during your carrer makes a man desperate.
Cameroon hasn’t been able to get through qualifiers but it had the potential of having a strong starting five. It could have put out a lineup of Embiid, Pascal Siakam and his brother, Luc Mbah A’Moute, and DJ Strawberry at the point.
I don’t understand why Embiid is getting hate for joining Team USA? This is a huge win for the US. It isn’t a guaranteed win for him. In case anyone didn’t read the article, the US failed to medal at the World Cup. Yes, they will have some better players for the Olympics, but that doesn’t change the fact that they struggle against teams with decent bigs. France would have beaten USA in the last Olympics if it wasn’t for KD’s heroics. If Embiid joined France, they would have been the favorite to medal as hosts, not the US. A big reason for that is the lack of height on team USA. Most of the top 5s and stretch 4s in the NBA are not American.
Also, Embiid has been a permanent resident of the United States for 13 years and has a child born here. There are tens of millions of long-time permanent residents in the US that consider themselves “American”, that pay taxes and are involved in their communities. The only people that should be getting any sort of hate for changing countries in the Olympics are those that have zero ancestral connection to a country, and just get a citizenship given to them for purposes of competing in sport.
Joel Embiid gets hate for anything. He could save orphans from a fire and people would say he started it.
He’s so french american that he was born and raised in Cameroun …
Serbian gold medal confirmed