Joel Embiid made a controversial decision to play for Team USA over France. What’s new? Despite his team’s success, the Center has found it hard to receive the love of the locals at the Paris Olympics. From their very first Showcase game to the last Puerto Rico win, the crowd has jeered and booed him from every direction. “It was a tough decision, but it is all about comfort level…and I just felt more comfortable than on the other side (France),” Embiid has already tried to justify his choices. But is that really working?
If you think about it, Embiid’s decision to play for Team USA would’ve made sense to him, because he grew up in the US and played for the University of Kansas before joining the NBA. But the problem, as recently recognized by a panel of hoops analysts, seems to be in the process. “I don’t think anybody criticizes him choosing to play for Team USA. I think it’s just the process of the way he went about that decision, kind of leading France on that people are upset about.” Tim MacMahon said.
Back in 2022, when Joel Embiid got French citizenship, many believed that the Sixer would play for Les Bleus at the 2024 Olympics. The Process had also written a letter to the French President mentioning, “I would like to take the steps to obtain French naturalization and thus be eligible for selection with the Blues. I, therefore, do not wish to play for any other national team.” So, this is where the twist in the story comes in. Can the French fully be blamed?
However, Tim Bontemps, a panelist on the Hoop Collective, had a different view. “The process doesn’t matter,” he said. “I am just saying that the guy chose not to play for France. He was going to get booed by the French no matter what.” The two hosts could not come to an agreement, and that is when Brian Windhorst brought his insight to the table. “This goes back to my whole thing about when Lebron left Cleveland, because of the decision people would say, well, it wasn’t that he left, it was how he left,” he said.
via Reuters
“That was like the mantra in Cleveland because it’s bad form to criticize a player’s agency,” Windhorst concluded. LeBron James‘ decision to take his talent to South Beach back in 2010 faced severe backlash from the people of Cleveland, similar to what Embiid is facing now. As we all know, there are two sides to a coin, so there are no definite answers to who is right or wrong; it all depends on your perspective. In addition to this, The Process has not been able to bring his A-game for Team USA, which has made matters worse.
Sure, he was able to average over 10 points and sneak over 6 rebounds, but that does not scream his ‘MVP’ potential, does it? This also has to be a reason for the fans to boo Joel Embiid besides the other controversies. Now with the Olympics in its knockout stages, the question is: will he be able to step up? Had he chosen to play for France and not matched their expectations, the Sixer still would’ve been subject to solid backlash. That brings to mind one more question.
Does France really need Joel Embiid in their ranks?
We all know that Joel Embiid plays as a Center. However, with players like Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert on the French team’s roster, do they really need another big man on their squad? A similar question was raised by Anthony Edwards to a French reporter, according to Brian Windhorst. “Ant had a funny back and forth with a French reporter after he [Embiid] was getting booed and Ant’s like, ‘I don’t get it, you guys got Victor and Rudy, why do you need Joel?”
“He don’t want to play there because you guys got centers,” Windy said. “The French Reporter was like, well, you know, because he’s an MVP and you know he could help the team.” With the French team stacked, especially in the Center position, and with Wemby stepping up to the occasion and garnering praise from the head coach, who went on to call him the “leader,” would Joel Embiid have been a good addition to the Les Bleus, regardless of whether he performed or not?
