Joel Embiid recently received two big news, getting citizenship in France and then becoming a US citizen. The Philadelphia 76ers superstar was born in Cameroon, but his talent and love for the game have taken him to different places and made him one of the best players in the NBA right now.
He’s been around for a while now and has a son born in the US, which led him to become a citizen. Prior to this, he was officially a French citizen, and it seems like these two situations will create a battle for Joel’s services between the two countries.
Being one of the most talented big men not only now, but in NBA history, Embiid has gotten a lot of attention after he entered the league. Not only the NBA world has learned how great he is but international basketball, too. That’s why we’re set to see a battle to define who will land Embiid.
Team USA To Join Joel Embiid’s Sweepstakes
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, USA Basketball is seriously interested in getting Joel’s services. However, seeing that Team France was already interested in the player, and everything points to him joining the European team, this won’t be an easy task for the American officials.
What we needn’t question: Whether USA Basketball officials will make a run at Embiid.
My checking on the matter this week left little doubt that USAB is seriously interested.
Keeping Embiid away from France, when it will have homecourt advantage at the next Olympics, is merely just one natural USAB justification for the pursuit. There is likewise the sobering reality that the center position has been a consistent source of vulnerability for the program in recent years. JaVale McGee, for example, was the only recognized center on the Tokyo squad, although Bam Adebayo certainly knows his way around the 5 spot. In slumping to a humbling seventh at the 2019 World Cup in China, Coach Gregg Popovich struggled to generate any reliability out of the Brook Lopez/Mason Plumlee/Myles Turner trio.
Perhaps a better reflection of USAB’s size issues is the annual dearth of Americans among the league’s top 10 rebounders. There were more Lithuanians (two) than Americans in last season’s top 10, with Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valančiūnas placing ahead of Jarrett Allen, who was the top Yank at No. 10 (10.8 rebounds per game).
So, yes, count on Embiid being courted by USAB officials … just like his idol Hakeem Olajuwon in 1996 after Dream gained U.S. citizenship.
A lot was said about Embiid creating a (really) Big 3 on Team France with veteran Rudy Gobert and prospect Victor Wembanyama, but now he could take a different path and join the overpowered Team USA for the upcoming FIBA World Cup and Olympic Games. Well, time will tell how this situation plays out for everybody, but it’s pretty clear that Embiid is a man in demand.
