WAIKIKI, HI – The basketball world received a shocking announcement on Thursday afternoon when Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid announced he would be playing for Team USA. The Sixers star spurned Clippers forward Nicolas Batum and France, as well as Cameroon.
Embiid took to Twitter on Thursday morning to make his announcement public.
“I’m really proud and excited about this decision,” Joel Embiid said of joining Team USA on social media. “It was not easy. 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.”
I’m really proud and excited about this decision. It was not easy. 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… pic.twitter.com/6VHSQTKVl3
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) October 5, 2023
Joel Embiid was even asked about his decision at Sixers training camp, and he opened up further on why he chose Team USA over France and Cameroon.
“All three options, with my home country which I love a lot, but I really want to participate in the Olympics. That's been my goal and my dream. You add the fact that my son is American, and I’ve been here for such a long time, I feel like for the past few years, this has been more every decision has been based off of family. My family and my son.
Sixers center Joel Embiid on selecting to play for Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics: pic.twitter.com/ntkZ2tNdtg
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) October 5, 2023
There had been a lot of anticipation leading up to this decision, given Embiid is from Cameroon and was recently given French citizenship. Following Team USA's loss to Canada in the Bronze Medal Game of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, LeBron James and other NBA stars announced their intention to play in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Clippers' forward Nicolas Batum says he did not try to recruit the Sixers' MVP in recent weeks, instead allowing him to make the decision on his own.
“I didn't work that much because he really came to us,” Batum said of Joel Embiid at practice. “I think he came to us and he asked for citizenship, so when I heard about it, he came to me and talked about it for sure. I mean, I was more than happy to welcome him to the team.
“And he took the best decision for him. I mean, I would have taken the same one. When you see all the guys who committed, they clearly missed a big man, but if they want the perfect lineup, they needed one of the best, if not the best, big man. So when I saw that, I was like, all right, that's fair.”
Aside from LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Davis, and Kawhi Leonard have all committed to playing for Team USA in next summer's Paris Olympics. With the super team already formed, Nicolas Batum says he's not at all surprised that Sixers star Joel Embiid chose Team USA over France and Cameroon.
“No, not a surprise,” the Clippers forward laughed. “Not really mad about it because I think like a basketball fan, it can be really, really, really something amazing. Like we've never seen before, maybe since 1992 or 2008, but you don't see stuff like they are very often, so as a basketball fan, it's crazy. As an opponent, I'm like, you didn't need that much. You have plenty already, so you still need to bring in big, but hey, I mean, good for them. I mean, it's going to be interesting.”
The 2024 Paris Olympics are expected to be the last ‘hurrah' for guys like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry. Even Nicolas Batum is said to be strongly considering retirement following the NBA season and Paris Olympics, but he said on media day he'll see how he feels at the end of this Clippers season.
“Who knows? It's my last year on my contract, 16 years, so we'll see what happens at the end of the season. I think I've done a lot in the NBA. I'm trying to focus on this season, and we'll see what happens after this season. Maybe I'm going to stay, maybe not. I don't know yet.
“But you know, I just don't like thinking about what I've got left. All I'm thinking right now is I'm just ready for this year. Really like I'm pumped for this year. I'm really excited for this year and what's ahead for this franchise, that's for sure because we have big goals, like a lot of teams have big goals, and we're really, really ready to achieve that goal. So we'll see what happens at the end of the season. We'll see what happens.”
Instead of being teammates, Sixers star Joel Embiid and Clippers forward Nicolas Batum will now be facing each other as they contend for the Olympic Gold Medal next summer.
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