Sitting Joel Embiid against South Sudan was the right thing for Team USA. Time for him to understand that.

NANTERRE, France — Joel Embiid has never minded being a heel. Not publicly, anyway. Those who have known him throughout his 10-year career with the 76ers will say that, when the cameras are gone or there’s no competition imminent, he wants very much to be liked. But he rarely projects any of that solicitousness once he steps on a basketball court.

It has not been surprising, then, that for this first two games of these Olympics, he has let the showers of boos and jeers from French spectators wash over him as if he were standing under a waterfall. They will not let him forget that he chose not to play for France in these Games — he was granted citizenship here in 2022 — and he will not let them forget that he ostensibly doesn’t give a damn what they think.

“I’m American,” he said. “I’m playing with Team USA.”

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid expects to learn ‘nothing’ from the Olympics. The way he’s playing, he’s right.

He’s more than a villain here now, though. He has morphed into something else: a source of curiosity and questions and attention, for reasons that have little to do with Team USA’s excellence.

Coach Steve Kerr kept Embiid on the bench Wednesday night for all of the U.S. team’s 103-86 pool-round win over South Sudan. In another context, with another player, Kerr’s decision could be chalked up solely to the mixing and matching that happens in Olympic tournaments and that he has said will happen in this one.

Jayson Tatum, for example, did not play Sunday in the United States’ victory over Serbia, and he started against South Sudan. Again, no surprise: South Sudan gave the Americans a scare earlier this month in an exhibition game, before losing, 101-100, and prefers a faster, perimeter-oriented pace. Serbia does not. So Tatum sat Sunday and played Tuesday. Based on each opponent’s strengths, weaknesses, and style, Kerr will contour his lineup and substitution patterns accordingly. It’s the easiest way for him to make up for the Americans’ lack of preparation relative to most teams.

“The biggest adjustment for us is to put all our different skill sets together on the fly,” Stephen Curry said. “If this team had a full year of training and chemistry and all that, we wouldn’t be talking about the adjustments that much. We had to go from playing against each other for years and years and years to now playing together in a five-week span.”

Simple, right? Please. With Embiid, nothing is so simple. He was asked Monday before Team USA practiced if it would be a challenge for him to go against South Sudan. And instead of acknowledging his struggles against Serbia and throughout his time with Team USA, instead of playing the good soldier, he was defiant.

“For me, there’s no challenge,” he said. “I play the game any style, every type of basketball team, and any scheme that you can think of. But as a team, they’re quick. They shoot the ball really well. So you’ve got to box out, take away their threes. Last time, they made a lot of tough shots.”

» READ MORE: South Sudan is the underdog story of the Olympics, and a former Sixers guard leads the way

At some point, Embiid has to stop waiting for Kerr and the rest of Team USA to defer to him. It isn’t going to happen. There are too many great players on this roster, too many years of a strong culture within USA Basketball. That embarrassment in Athens — when the U.S. barely won the bronze medal, and everyone from Larry Brown to most of the players were pointing fingers at each other — is 20 years in the past now. Jerry Colangelo, Mike Krzyzewski, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade: They and others established an understanding within the program that winning the gold medal comes before everything else. You put your ego aside, and you win. If Embiid wants to make this about him, he’s free to, but it won’t earn him some kind of special status on this team.

“It’s our job as a staff to make sure we’re keeping everybody engaged and ready because, again, we’re going to need all 12 guys,” Kerr said. “It’s just the way this tournament and FIBA tournaments work. We need everybody.”

They’ll need Joel Embiid in this tournament, too. They just didn’t Wednesday night. That’s how it goes on Team USA. Get over it, Joel. This is the Olympics. This isn’t about you.