When Joel Embiid decided to represent Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics and subsequently rejected the host country France, he knew what kind of reaction awaited him in the City of Light. The Philadelphia 76ers superstar and former NBA MVP has been flooded with boos, but he is not letting the chilly reception rattle him.
But Embiid is not ignoring them, either. The big man egged on the combative crowd in Team USA's 104-83 win versus Puerto Rico on Saturday, embracing the incessant jeers. He is having fun being the local “villain,” which is a role he has been assigned multiple times before while leading the Sixers.
It is especially easy for him to handle all the noise given the positive perspective he has on the boos.
“I’ve always loved it,” Embiid said, per Eurohoops.net's Aris Barkas. “At the end of the day, I think a lot of people think it’s hate. I see it as love and respect. If I wasn’t an OK basketball player, I would not receive that type of treatment. So I see myself as being blessed, and that’s why I interact with them…. And I’ve seen worse. I’ve played in worse environments. Both Gardens (Madison Square Garden of the New York Knicks and TD Garden of the Boston Celtics). So it’s nothing that I haven’t seen before.”
Joel Embiid vs. France
The 30-year-old's healthy outlook will further endear him to the Philly faithful and his Team USA brethren, but the French are unlikely to relent. They feel like they were strung along and then brutally kicked to the curb in favor of the huge Gold Medal favorites.
The French Basketball Federation shares this sentiment of course, claiming that Joel Embiid expressed the desire to play for Les Bleus in the Olympics before shifting loyalties. The Cameroon native is a citizen in both France and the United States but has spent almost the last decade and a half of his life in the latter. Hence, it is not as if he is an American ringer.
Though, the animosity stems from what Paris considers to be a betrayal. The time for understanding each other's viewpoints, at least as it relates to this basketball decision, is over. And Joel Embiid seems perfectly fine with that. He is enjoying the atmosphere all the same.
But there will be a different vibe to the boos if the two countries collide in the Gold Medal game. Will Embiid still feel the same way?
Follow Us
Subscribe