Joel Embiid will ‘embrace’ boos from French crowd when he suits up for Team USA

LAS VEGAS – Team USA’s Joel Embiid, who holds French and American citizenship, said his bruising National Basketball Association (NBA) play-off battles on the road have prepared him for any jeers the French crowd at the Paris Olympics send his way.

Embiid received his French passport in 2022 and many there thought he would wear the jersey of Les Bleus or his native Cameroon in his first Olympics.

Instead, he joined the United States team seeking their fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.

“I don’t think it should be anything but, if it’s more than that, I embrace it. I don’t think you can get worse than playing in New York in the play-offs,” Embiid told The Athletic at Team USA training camp in Las Vegas.

The Philadelphia 76ers star was labelled the “most hated man in New York” by the city’s tabloids and booed mercilessly at Madison Square Garden during the first round of the 2024 NBA play-offs, which the Knicks won in six games.

The 30-year-old centre previously said it was not easy deciding which country to play for but, ultimately, chose the US over France because of the length of time he had lived in the country and the fact that his son was born in the United States.

The US fell to France in the group stage of the Tokyo Games in a loss that snapped a 25-game winning streak, but eked out a win in the final to claim their 16th gold medal.

France, led by Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama, are again expected to present a challenge for the Americans on the international stage and, in response, the US have assembled a roster boasting a dizzying array of talent.

The 12-man team include Embiid, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2023, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer LeBron James, three-time Olympic champion Kevin Durant and three-point shooting great Stephen Curry, who are all expected to start.

The US take on reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Serbia in their first group-stage match on July 28 in Lille.

Following the completion of the qualifiers on July 7, Greece, Spain, Brazil and Puerto Rico rounded out the 12-team field in men’s basketball at the Games.

Joining hosts France are the US, Canada, Australia, South Sudan, Japan, Serbia and Germany, with the seven nations securing their spot during the 2023 World Cup.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece made the most of their home advantage to outclass Croatia 80-69 in the final of the Piraeus qualifiers and returned to the Games after a lapse of 16 years.

Greece will join Group A at the Olympics alongside Australia, Canada and Spain, who secured their seventh consecutive Olympic appearance with an 86-78 win over the Bahamas in the final of the Valencia qualifier.

Spain, who have three silver medals and a bronze, will be looking to improve on their sixth-placed finish at the Tokyo Games.

Brazil will also return to the Olympics after missing out on Tokyo, following a thumping 94-69 victory over hosts Latvia in the final in Riga.

The South Americans will kick off their 16th Olympic campaign in Lille against the hosts on July 27. They will also take on Germany and Japan in Group B.

In the last of the qualifiers, Puerto Rico downed Lithuania 79-68 in San Juan to claim the remaining Olympic berth and return to the Games for the first time since 2004.

They will join reigning champions the US, Serbia and South Sudan in Group C.

REUTERS, AFP