Team USA is confident in their chances of earning a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics… For the most part. However, Joel Embiid's recent comments about LeBron James and others on the team do not exactly preach confidence.
“You look at the talent that the U.S. has, but there’s equal talent on other teams,” Embiid said during an interview with David Marchese of The New York Times. “And the talent that’s on the U.S. team, you also got to understand most of those guys are older. The LeBron now is not the LeBron that was a couple of years ago. So it’s a big difference. Everybody would also tell you, and you can see for yourself, the athletic LeBron, dominant that he was a couple of years ago, is not the same that he is now.
“I think people get fooled by the names on paper. But those names have been built throughout their career, and now they’re older. They’re not what they used to be.”
Embiid's comments may even be considered concerning for Team USA fans. Fans certainly want their best players speaking highly of the team. Instead, the Philadelphia 76ers star said there is “equal talent on other teams” and used LeBron James as an example of a player who is not the same as he once was.
There are other talented teams but Team USA is the favorite given their star-studded roster.
Are Joel Embiid's comments concerning?
One can also argue that Embiid is simply being honest and realistic. Again, there are other basketball teams in the Olympics with quality rosters. It also is true that LeBron is not in his prime anymore.
Still, the fact that Embiid did not take the opportunity to uplift his team and/or teammates will lead to some questions. With that being said, Embiid is a player who is not afraid to say exactly what is on his mind. He is not worried about pleasing people with his comments.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if LeBron or any other Team USA players address Embiid's comments.
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