Joel Embiid is among Team USA’s 41 finalists for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris
The Sixers center committed in October to play for the United States after also considering his native Cameroon and France. He is a citizen of all three countries.
Joel Embiid is in the pool of 41 finalists who will be considered for the U.S. team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, USA Basketball announced Tuesday.
Embiid committed in October to play for the United States after also considering his native Cameroon and France. He is a citizen of all three countries.
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At the time, he said he reached his “tough” decision following discussions with USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill and representatives from the French national team. Cameroon has not yet qualified for the Summer Games. Embiid said he takes pride in representing the country where his son Arthur was born.
”I love all three options with my home country, which I love a lot,” Embiid said in October. “But I really wanted to participate in the Olympics. That’s been my goal and my dream.”
The group of 41 players includes fellow centers Bam Adebayo, Jarrett Allen, Anthony Davis, Chet Holmgren, and Walker Kessler. But none of those players has the MVP resumé of Embiid, who leads the NBA in scoring (36.1 points per game) for the third consecutive season while also averaging 11.6 rebounds and a career-best 5.9 assists. He is coming off a Sixers franchise-record 70-point game in Monday’s win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Other NBA megastars are expected to compete for Team USA in the Summer Games, including LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant. Former Sixers James Harden and Jimmy Butler, as well as former Villanova stars Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges, are also on the list of finalists.