Joel Embiid sparks fury as NBA star suggests he could ditch Team USA for another country at LA 2028 Olympics
NBA star Joel Embiid has suggested he could ditch Team USA for Cameroon ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The Philadelphia 76ers center decided to represent America at the Paris Games, earning him boos from the crowd in the French capital.
Embiid, 30, picked Team USA over France and his native Cameroon after receiving American citizenship in 2022.
That same year, he became a French citizen having previously expressed interest in playing for Les Bleus.
But ahead of Saturday's gold medal battle with the host nation, the 2023 NBA MVP said he could change team colors again.
"It's been a good experience," he said of the Olympic tournament, per San Francisco Chronicle reporter Ron Kroichick.
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"It’s been a grind, being away from home and family for a few weeks.
"But the group of guys we have made it easy.
"Paris is a great city and the next one is LA. It might not be with Team USA, it might be with Cameroon."
The remarks didn't go well with fans in America.
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"Bro really was ring chasing this year smh," one posted on X.
"He’s loyal to nobody and everybody," another wrote.
"Bro hates being a role player so much he’ll go play for a country that has no chance to make it," a third said.
"Can you just switch teams like that?" one wondered.
Explaining his decision to play for Team USA, Embiid recently said he has lived in the US since he was 16 — having spent the other half of his life in Cameroon.
"It just looked like it was, you could go two ways," the center told ESPN.
Paris is a great city and the next one is LA. It might not be with Team USA, it might be with Cameroon
Joel Embiid
"I said, from the beginning, and everybody knew that if Cameroon would've qualified, that would've never been a choice.
"And then having the family [in America] and having built a lot of things and having accomplished a lot of things in the U.S. and then knowing the group of guys deeply, it just made it easy."
However, Embiid noted that gold medal chances played a factor as he was choosing his national team allegiance.
"I think a lot of people wanted to [make it an issue] because of storyline and all that stuff ... but to me it's whatever it takes to win to gold," he said.
"So that's what I'm focused on. It's all about Team USA against France."
Embiid also addressed the boos he's been hearing in Paris since the 2024 Games started.
"They're going to boo me," he said.
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"I'm going to go back at them and tell them to 'suck it.' And so it's going to be fun."