Heading into the Paris Olympics, there was so much at stake for Joel Embiid. The Philadelphia 76ers star had three countries of choice to represent in international tournaments: Team USA, Cameroon, and France. He would end up choosing to team up with Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant to represent the Stars and Stripes. When he finally popped off against Serbia, the jeers were deafening.
When the final buzzer sounded signaling that Team USA was headed for the Olympics gold medal match after a 95-91 win, Joel Embiid just had to return the favor to the French crowd. He was doing his victory dance in the middle of the court. Furthermore, this took such a fairly long amount of time that he was the only player left.
Embiid was a substantial help for Team USA's win against Serbia in the Olympics semifinals. Steve Kerr fielded him for 27 minutes and the 76ers superstar did not disappoint in any single one of them. He ended up knocking down eight of his 11 attempts from the field. Moreover, he also missed just one of his three shots from far out to notch 19 points.
It was not just on offense where he was lighting Serbia up. Embiid racked up four rebounds despite Nikola Jokic also jockeying under the rim to crash the boards. His verticality also allowed him to notch a block at a crucial turning point of the game for Team USA. He did commit three turnovers which would have been costly. Nonetheless, his scoring and defensive chops were more than enough to get the squad the win.
Joel Embiid's Team USA Olympics decision and its impact on France
Look, it's not hard to see why these jeers were sort of coming. Prior to the Olympics, the French thought they were getting three towers in Rudy Gobert, Victor Wembanyama, and Embiid. However, when the 76ers star made his call, there were a lot of outrageous statements made. Fred Weis, a former Olympics silver medalist for France, even called for the removal of his French citizenship.
“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. I find it scandalous, I find it embarrassing. I don’t care about his excuses, cause they are his words, and his words mean nothing,” he noted.
This heated nature between the crowd and a star bears the very distinct smell of beef that will go on for a long time.
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