While Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis are incredible basketball talents, they may also be great at soccer. After Team USA practice, Embiid and Davis kicked the ball about for fun, with Embiid immediately taking the ball and showing off how many keeps-ups he can do, before trying to pull off an ‘around-the-world’ trick.
Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis having some fun after Team USA practice 😅
(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/puCVSBCRjR
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 21, 2024
Embiid is known to be a big soccer fan, constantly tweeting about games, especially that of Real Madrid, whom he supports in Europe. On top of that, soccer is the primary sport in Embiid’s native Cameroon, thanks to players like Samuel Eto’o and Roger Milla, who were wildly successful on the global stage.
Despite representing Team USA at the Olympics, Embiid has great love for his home country of Cameroon. In fact, he recently revealed he rejected the chance to play for the French national team over the country’s historically poor relationship with Cameroon, including the years of colonization from France’s end.
Anthony Davis is one of the most gifted athletes that the NBA has ever seen. While he has never vocally expressed any affinity for soccer, it shouldn’t be surprising that an athlete of his caliber was able to kick the ball around with the natural ease that he did.
For now, Team USA will keep their focus on basketball, as they are considered the favorites to win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Should they win, it would be their fifth consecutive gold medal in the sport, and their 11th consecutive podium finish.
Will Team USA Fumble In Paris?
Team USA, as mentioned, is expected to win it all in Paris. But their recent performance against South Sudan has shaken a lot of confidence in them. While they came away with the win, South Sudan challenged them in a way that was not encouraging for their prospects in Paris.
Team USA coach Steve Kerr took full responsibility for the loss, saying that he didn’t prepare his team well enough for the challenge that South Sudan would pose. The team definitely lost focus during the game, and it was up to LeBron James to make the game-winning lay-up for them.
Joel Embiid noted prior to the game that Team USA’s position as favorites isn’t entirely fair, as there are other countries participating in the tournament who have a lot of great players, and also pointed to the age of players on Team USA as a potential detriment to their chances.
Team USA also assembled this strong roster after their humiliating showing in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Germany, and didn’t even register a podium finish, losing their third-place game to Canada.
Despite all of the aforementioned caveats, there is little reason to waver from Team USA being the favorite to win gold in Paris. The incredible talent along with their massive depth makes it too difficult to consider any other team possibly defeating them when the chips are down and it’s time to decide the game.
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