Joel Embiid, the prominent NBA player, is leading the charge to secure Team USA men’s basketball their fifth consecutive gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Literally.
Embiid, standing at 7-feet and weighing 280 pounds, brings a formidable presence to Team USA, joining the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant. His addition to the roster elevates an already impressive lineup to a level of unparalleled talent.
Leading the NBA with an average of 34.7 points per game in the 2023-24 season, Embiid has quickly established himself as one of the league’s top players, earning the title of Most Valuable Player just a year prior. Teaming up with Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo, Embiid forms a trio of dominant big men that is unmatched worldwide.
Despite his stellar performance in the NBA, this will be Embiid’s first foray into international competition. His decision to represent Team USA over other options has sparked curiosity and intrigue both at home and abroad.
Discover the story behind Embiid’s choice to wear the red, white, and blue in Paris, and how he arrived at this pivotal moment in his career:
Where is Joel Embiid from?
Embiid hails from Yaounde, Cameroon, where he primarily participated in soccer and volleyball during his formative years. It wasn’t until he turned 15 that he took up basketball. A year later, he relocated to the United States after catching the eye of NBA player Luc Mbah A Moute at a basketball camp in Africa.
Ever since then, Embiid has been playing in the United States, making a name for himself as a five-star recruit at The Rock School in Gainesville, Florida, according to his 247Sports Composite profile. He then spent a season at Kansas before being selected by the 76ers as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. He has since played for Philadelphia throughout his professional career.
What nationality is Joel Embiid?
Originating from Cameroon, Embiid was presented with the chance to represent either France or his home country in the Olympic Games. In May 2022, he acquired French citizenship under a provision that permits the naturalization of a foreign individual deemed to have “exceptional interest.” Subsequently, in September 2022, Embiid announced that he had also attained United States citizenship, attributing this decision to his son as his primary motivation.
How is Joel Embiid playing for Team USA?
A year later, when Embiid announced he had committed to play for Team USA in Paris, his family’s connection to the United States was the determining factor.
“It was not easy,” Embiid wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) explaining his decision in October 2023. “I am blessed to call Cameroon, France, and the USA home. “After talking to my family, I knew it had to be Team USA. I want to play with my brothers in the league. I want to play for my fans because they’ve been incredible since the day I came here. But most of all, I want to honor my son who was born in the US. I want my boy to know I played my first Olympics for him.”
Was Embiid’s decision to join Team USA controversial?
It certainly has been in France.
Upon receiving French citizenship, there were immediate speculations that Embiid might choose to represent France in the Olympics two years later. The possibility of teaming up with Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert was discussed.
Former NBA player Boris Diaw, who currently holds the position of general manager for the French national men’s basketball team, revealed to The Athletic that Embiid had expressed his interest in playing for France multiple times during the 2021-22 NBA season.
After France defeated the United States 83-76 in the 2020 Olympics, breaking Team USA’s 25-game winning streak in Olympic competition, Embiid took to Twitter to celebrate by saying, “Allez les Bleus.”
“Joel came to us and said that he wanted to play international basketball, he said he wanted to win, and he said he wanted to play for France and he wanted to win with France,” Diaw told The Athletic. “So we listened to him.”
French authorities decided to circumvent the usual procedures for obtaining citizenship due to the potential benefits of having Embiid represent France in the Olympics. Despite lacking direct French lineage and not meeting the residency requirements, Embiid and his son were still awarded French passports. However, his decision to compete for the United States instead of France was not well-received by the French officials.
“Team USA, with him, who can beat you? Come on, nobody,” French Basketball Federation president Jean-Pierre Siutat told The Athletic. “This is an easy way for him to get an Olympic medal.”
Frederic Weis, the retired French national team athlete who became famous for being dunked on by Vince Carter in the 2000 Olympics, took the incident to heart even more deeply.
“I hate him for the things that he did. I think he doesn’t have any respect for France and also for all the people who are asking for a French passport and don’t get it. And under the pretext that he is a great athlete, he got it,” Weis said in April, via Eurohoops.net. I find it scandalous, I find it embarrassing. I don’t care about his excuses, because they are his words, and his words mean nothing.
“I would take away from him the French nationality and I would ban him from entering France,” Weis added. “You will not play in the Olympics. You will come to the airport with Team USA and we will say, ‘You don’t have the right to enter the territory, go to your home. You are Cameroonian, you are American, you are not French, go away.'”
During the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, Team USA teammate Tyrese Haliburton jokingly sounded a similar refrain in a video posted on his Instagram account.
“Give your passport back,” Haliburton said.
“I’m American, man,” Embiid responded, waving a miniature American flag from the boat carrying the United States delegation of athletes along the Seine River during the parade of nations.
Embiid said in July at Team USA training camp he isn’t worried about a rude reception when he arrives in Paris.
“I don’t think it should be anything, but if it’s more than that, I embrace it,” Embiid told The Athletic. “I don’t think you can get worse than playing in New York in the playoffs.”
Who else born outside the United States has played for Team USA?
Hakeem Olajuwon, originally from Nigeria, and Patrick Ewing, who hails from Jamaica, are prominent historical instances of naturalized citizens who have represented the United States in men’s basketball during the Olympic Games.
Joel Embiid career highlights
Embiid was unable to participate in his initial two years in the league due to a persistent foot injury. However, over the subsequent eight seasons, he has built an impressive portfolio of achievements. Below are some of his significant accomplishments:
- 2022-23 NBA MVP
- 7-time NBA All-Star
- 5-time all-NBA selection (first team in 2023, second team in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022)
- 2-time NBA scoring champion (2021-22 and 2022-23)
