After its failure to capture a medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Team USA is looking to bounce back next summer. With a flurry of stars rumored to be interested in suiting up for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the program is hoping to lure Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid, too.

Embiid has options for next summer if he chooses to partake in the festivities. The native of Cameroon has citizenships in the United States and France, a country that is a big-time player on the international hoops stage who actually had a more embarrassing showing in the World Cup than the Americans. Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier, Nicolas Batum and company lost in the group stage after defeats to Canada and Latvia. Team USA, meanwhile, lost in the bronze-medal match to Canada.

As the U.S. looks to make it five straight Olympic gold medals in 2024 — the last of which they won in 2021 by defeating France — LeBron James is ready to commit and has talked to superstars like Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum about joining him, according to Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Those efforts could expand to Embiid.

“The prospect of persuading reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid to A.) play in an international tournament; and B.) do so for Team USA instead of Team France, remains in play,” writes The Athletic.

James' efforts were made before Team USA disappointed in the World Cup but bringing Embiid on board would address a key issue with that squad's makeup. Their lack of size was a real issue on the defensive end. The Sixers big man would patch those concerns up while also giving the team another lethal scorer. If other countries boast star bigs like Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) or Nikola Jokic (Serbia), having Embiid would greatly help.

Grant Hill, the NBA Hall of Famer and managing director of the U.S. men's national team, said previously that he talked with Embiid about playing for Team USA next summer. Victor Wembanyama decided against suiting up for France in the World Cup but his inclusion in the Olympics would make the squad much more interesting.

Embiid has long wanted to lead the Sixers to the championship, so he could once again decide against participating in the international basketball scene. But playing for either the U.S. or France would give him a strong chance at winning a gold medal. Should Philly’s odds of winning a title fall completely off the table, the idea of competing for a different championship could easily entice Embiid to play.