Instead of playing in three major international tournaments for France at once, Joel Embiid will now play for the US team and wait to recover from injury to compete at the 2024 Olympics right in France.

Reigning MVP Joel Embiid has committed to playing for the US basketball team at the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, the ability of the center forward with three nationalities of Cameron, France and the US to play is still a question mark.

Bigman, born in 1994, is still recovering from knee meniscus surgery and has not been able to set a date for his return to the Philadelphia 76ers. If he is in good shape, Embiid will almost certainly play again for the Sixers in the Playoffs and then play for the US team at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

The fact that Joel Embiid, despite having French citizenship, still chose to play for the US team was decided many months ago. But it wasn’t until now that the French team officially spoke up.

In an interview with journalist Joe Vardon of The Athletic, two representatives of the French basketball team, including president Jean-Pierre Siutat and technical director (GM) Boris Diaw, both expressed dissatisfaction. 

They said that the entire French team felt “betrayed” by Joel Embiid.

The French team once dreamed of a team of 3 great strikers including young talent Victor Wembanyama, bigman Defensive Player of The Year NBA Rudy Gobert and MVP Joel Embiid

Everything started in 2021 when Joel Embiid expressed his desire to play for the French national team, aiming to play for the “Goliaths” at EuroBasket 2022.

Because the two sides reached an agreement and found common ground, the French team began the naturalization process for Embiid. It should be noted that this striker has no connection to France, does not live in this country and does not have French blood.

“He confirmed that he wanted to play for the French team, so I returned home and started working with the government to get a passport, taking care of the paperwork for not only Joel but also for his son,” Mr. Siutat said. told.

The naturalization was completed in July 2022, making Joel Embiid officially a French citizen under article 21.19 of the civil code, which stipulates that “nationality may be granted to “foreigners whose naturalization is of special concern to the nation”.

Joel Embiid expressed his desire to play for the French team, but later he “turned around”

The team that won the silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics thought everything was over. But in a surprising turn of events, Embiid got American citizenship just 3 months after he got French citizenship.

This helps Joel Embiid become a “free player” and have the right to choose a destination to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Instead of playing for the home team hosting the Olympics, the big man born in Cameroon chose to play for the Olympics. US team.

President of the French basketball team, Mr. Siutat, expressed his dissatisfaction in an interview with The Athletic. He believes that Joel Embiid’s actions are an act of “fan movement”.

“Now the US team with Embiid will become an undefeated team, a super team in the international arena. He chose a strong team to compete, a very easy path to get an Olympic medal ,” Mr. Siutat shared.

Joel Embiid shared his decision to commit to playing for the US team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, calling it “not an easy choice”.

Joel Embiid’s story of “choosing civilization” would not have happened if he had not suffered an injury in the summer of 2022, leading to him not being able to compete at the European Championship – EuroBasket.

This is also the initial goal for Embiid’s naturalization, helping to improve the strength of the French team and aim for three titles at once: EuroBasket 2022, FIBA ​​World Cup 2023 and Paris Olympics 2024.

The path and steps have been predetermined. As long as Embiid plays for the French team at EuroBasket, he will certainly remain a member of this team in international tournaments for the rest of his career (FIBA rules do not allow changing national team colors).

However, all plans fell apart right at the starting point. Joel Embiid could not play due to injury, so he maintained his “free player” status.  

Even more bitter for the French team is that during EuroBasket in Europe, Joel Embiid’s American citizenship was finalized on the other side of the Atlantic.