By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid plans to pick a national team in the upcoming days and choose the country that he will represent in the 2024 Olympic Games of Paris.
Per multiple reports, Embiid mentioned that he has three countries to choose from, his native Cameroon, France and USA, and that it’s a tough choice to make since he “loves all three options.” The Philadelphia 76ers superstar then clarified that he’ll likely make his final decision in the next few days.
While France and USA have secured spots in the Olympics, Cameroon has to advance via one of the six FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.
France has given Embiid a deadline of October 10 to answer whether he accepts the Federation’s proposal to join Les Bleus next summer. The French Federation has been actively trying to recruit him over the last couple of years and the player received a French passport in July 2022, a few months before the EuroBasket.
France general manager Boris Diaw has been optimistic about Embiid. After his national team’s elimination in the World Cup, two rounds into the competition, he said that the Sixers big man is a “special case for his own reasons.”
Before the 2023 World Cup, USA Basketball managing Director Grant Hill confirmed that there have been talks with Embiid to join the national team.