Captain America: Joel Embiid selects Team USA as the team he’ll represent in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games

Drew Smith
October 6, 2023
Sixers
1 Comment

Joel Embiid officially announced which team he will represent in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games today, selecting Team USA over his home country of Cameroon and his other option, France.

Joel Embiid will join Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics

Philadelphia 76ers and reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid has decided to play Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Embiid decided among USA, France and Cameroon.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 5, 2023

Earlier this week, Embiid spoke on the topic during Sixers’ Media Day, stating that he would be making his decision soon given the fact that the Olympics’ host country of France set an October 10th deadline to choose between Team USA, France, and Cameroon.

Cameroon is still playing for a spot in the Olympics. They are one of 24 countries that will participate in the qualifying tournaments scheduled for July 2-7, 2024. A winner from each 6-team tournament will earn a bid in the Olympics.

Honestly, that’s probably why Embiid didn’t select Cameroon. Given the October 10th deadline to make a decision, if Embiid did in fact go with his home country and they didn’t make it, then he would be watching the Olympic Games on the couch with the rest of us.

That really left the reigning NBA MVP and two-time scoring champion with two options. He could either play for Team France or Team USA.

I have a million jokes about France but I’ll be nice and save them for 2024.

Joel Embiid Tweets About Team USA Decision

I’m really proud and excited about this decision. It was not easy. I am blessed to call Cameroon, France, and the USA home. After talking to my family, I knew it had to be Team USA. I want to play with my brothers in the league. I want to play for my fans because they’ve… pic.twitter.com/6VHSQTKVl3
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) October 5, 2023

Obviously, Team USA was the better option for Embiid, and they could definitely use the help at center.

America just completed a disappointing run at the FIBA World Cup, finishing in fourth place after losing to Canada in overtime during the bronze medal game.

Last Olympics, Team USA beat France in the gold medal game in Tokyo. So what’s the Team USA roster look like in 2024? Well, if I had to guess it would look something like this…

Team USA Projected Roster for 2024 Paris Olympic Games

Starters: Curry, Booker, Durant, James, Embiid
Bench: Lillard, George, Edwards, Tatum, Green, Davis, Adebayo

That makes the most sense and yes, Embiid will start easily on that roster. Not even a question. Argue with your couch.

This is fantastic news for Joel Embiid, mainly because if you look at his career in the NBA, the Sixers have failed in building a championship team around him for years.

If we are being honest, the Sixers haven’t been this far away from “championship level” since the days of the “process” and this organization is beyond dysfunctional.

Add the fact that he was stuck with players like Ben Simmons and now James Harden to go along with his injury history in the playoffs and Embiid has never really been around “winners” to say the least.

Playing in the Olympics would be huge for Embiid. They are meaningful basketball games against the best players in the world. The experience would be extremely valuable and finally give him a fair shot at winning something.

Not only will it be a fair shot, but it might be the only shot that Embiid has at winning something. Trust me, it pains me to write those words as much as it pained you reading them. It’s just the brutal reality of the situation.

Oh! And one more thing. I don’t want to hear another word from LeBron James in regards to Embiid joining Team USA and attempting to take credit for getting him to make that his final decision.

Don’t get me wrong, Team USA vs Everybody but check out this dweeb. Give me a break lol.