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Joel Embiid has a difficult decision to make next summer. Embiid has not represented a national team and has a few choices. The 29-year-old is a citizen of three countries. He still has the opportunity to choose any of the three to play for on their respective national teams. Embiid is a citizen of the U.S., France and Cameroon.
Embiid could also choose to skip the Olympics as he has every year of his career so far to rest for the NBA season. He is often injured and may take the time to rest and recover from a long NBA season instead of donning a national team jersey in Paris.
Embiid was born in Cameroon but has never played for the national team. It seems unlikely he will choose his home nation as they are unlikely to make it through the qualifying tournaments to make the Paris 2024 Games. However, they are in the tournament and have a chance so Embiid could lead them to glory.
Realistically, Embiid’s choice is between France and the United States. He recently became a citizen of the U.S. after years of living stateside. He also was granted French citizenship under a special circumstance as “a foreigner whose naturalization is of special interest”. Embiid is also fluent in French and his home country of Cameroon is a former French colony.
3 Reasons why Joel Embiid should choose France for Paris 2024
Let’s take a look at why France may be the better choice than the mighty Team USA. Here are three reasons why Embiid should play for France instead of the U.S.
No. 1 - The hometown team
Embiid could choose France to be a star for the host nation of the Paris 2024 Games. He would be promoted as a major star of the Olympics and would likely get giant endorsements in France.
The crowd will also be hyped beyond belief for the games as they are a proud sporting nation. They also love basketball and might get behind and embrace him as their star.
No. 2 - More minutes
Embiid may choose France over the U.S. due to less competition. He would have a larger role with the French team. He would be France’s best player as soon as he signed up. He would have a much larger role with the France team and could have more minutes.
More minutes would mean more points and more opportunities to have a breakout performance on the international stage. Embiid could also dominate as a big and get more post touches with the French team.
Team USA has moved towards a smaller lineup and plays more of an NBA style. France would offer Embiid a more European approach where Embiid could play less isolation-style basketball. He could operate more as a passer and efficient scorer down low on the French team where the ball moves around more.
No. 3 - Victor Wembanyama
Wembanyama has said he plans to pay for France at the Paris Olympics. After his rookie season, he could be an even bigger star than he is now.
Playing with France could give Embiid the opportunity to play alongside the generational talent in Wembanyama. The two would form the most formidable frontline in basketball. It would be an interesting pair that could be unstoppable on the way to a gold medal. Team USA would have no one to match up with the size of Embiid and Wembanyama together. Not to mention, the team also has big man Rudy Gobert. The three could form a towering lineup that could dominate next summer.
Embiid will have a tough choice to make either way. Team USA has reportedly been recruiting Embiid for years. France made a special government exception to try and lure him. He may also just skip the Olympics entirely and save his body to keep playing out his multi-million dollar deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. We will wait and see.
