- LeBron James suggested that he had something to do with Joel Embiid committing to Team USA
- James has already recruited Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant
- The 2024 Team USA Olympics squad will be stacked with talent
After Team USA’s failure in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, it seems as though they will be sending an extremely talented team to the Olympics in 2024. A number of top-tier superstars have already committed to playing for the squad.
It was recently reported that Joel Embiid will play for Team USA in the 2024 Olympics, and there’s no doubt that he is a good addition to the squad. In a recent interaction with a reporter, LeBron James seems to hint that he recruited Embiid to Team USA.
LeBron James: “Oh, what happened?”
Reporter: “He committed.”
LeBron James: “Oh, that’s awesome. To us?”
Reporter: “Yeah.”
LeBron James: “Great. That’s big time.”
Reporter: “Did you make any calls on that?”
LeBron James: “I have no idea.” *smiles knowingly* “Appreciate it.”
"I've always kept the main thing, the main thing—right now it's the Lakers… Looking forward to seeing how that team constructs."
LeBron on the potential of playing in the 2024 Olympics and Joel Embiid committing to Team USA.
(via @DStarkand)pic.twitter.com/AGvSJINMpA
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 5, 2023
There is no doubt that LeBron James has good relationships with a number of players around the league. In fact, James played a huge part in creating the Team USA superteam for the 2024 Olympics with Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry,
Last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game. He is still playing at a high level, and it is quite possible that he’ll lead Team USA to gold in 2024.
Joel Embiid Picked Team USA Over France
Aside from Team USA, Joel Embiid also had other options when it comes to international basketball. He could have suited up for Cameroon and France, and it is quite possible that he would have had a huge impact on both of those programs.
It was previously reported that France gave Joel Embiid an October 10 deadline to choose his national team for the Olympics, and that could have been what prompted the latest announcement from Joel Embiid.
There is no doubt that France has a solid national team: former DPOY Rudy Gobert headlines the squad, and they have other NBA-level players such as Nicolas Batum and Evan Fournier. San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama is also expected to be with the French national team next year.
However, it is fair to say that Team USA is far more talented overall than France. Joel Embiid ultimately picked the team that gave him the biggest chance to win a gold medal, and it is hard to fault him for his decision.
Joel Embiid Could Have A Huge Impact For Team USA
There is no doubt that Joel Embiid is an MVP-level player. Though he won’t necessarily dominate touches on Team USA, Embiid will still play a big role for the team.
The international game generally has less spacing, and teams are often forced to play a grit-and-grind style where every possession counts. Team USA was exposed during the 2023 FIBA World Cup for not having a traditional center that can score in the post and rebound at a high level. Embiid can do both of those things and on top of that, he is a quality rim protector.
It remains to be seen what the final squad for Team USA looks like in 2024. There are a lot of deserving players who can make an impact, and we’ll see how the roster ends up being constructed next year.
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