Embiid responds to boos in Paris: ‘I’m an American’
PARIS — The French crowd booed Joel Embiid when he was announced as a member of Team USA on Sunday and every time he walked onto the court or touched the ball afterward.
The “why” is easy: Embiid was granted French citizenship in 2022 so he would be eligible to play for France at the Olympics in Paris, and basketball fans here knew all about it. But he’s playing for the Americans instead.
When asked about his reaction to the crowd’s response Tuesday before Team USA’s practice, he shrugged.
“Nothing. Like I said, I’m an American, I play for Team USA,” Embiid said.
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Embiid, 30, the Philadelphia 76ers superstar, received French and U.S. passports within weeks of each other in 2022. Embiid was born in Cameroon, moved to Florida in high school and has lived there ever since — meaning he’s never lived in France. He went through the naturalization process to become a U.S. citizen on his own, his spokesman and USA Basketball officials said.
Embiid, who has French relatives, has openly toyed with the idea of playing internationally for Les Bleus for most of his professional career, expressing his interest in media reports years ago.
In March, The Athletics reported that French basketball officials helped him obtain a French passport under his leadership, allowing him to play not only in the current Paris Olympics, but also in the FIBA World Cup this past summer.
“He said, yes, I want to (play) to be in the newspaper,” said French basketball president Jean-Pierre Siutat The Athletics earlier this year, referring to the passport. “So I do the job, with the help of the government, to get a passport for him and his son. And all the time he said, ‘I want to play for the French national team.’”
Embiid, through his spokesman, denied in the March report that there was any explicit reciprocity.
Embiid seen in Team USA’s season opener (Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images)
Embiid ultimately chose Team USA in September, citing his son’s U.S. birth. But sources close to Embiid also said that the relentless pressure from French officials — who they said wanted him to keep his promise to play for France after obtaining a passport — deterred him.
In six games for Team USA, all as a starter, Embiid is averaging 9.7 points and 6.0 rebounds. He scored four points on 2 of 5 shooting in 11 minutes in the Americans’ 110-84 win over Serbia on Sunday, playing the day after missing practice with an illness.
On Tuesday, Embiid said, “I love it” when describing his first experience playing for USA Basketball.
“This is a great setting for me because I play with a lot of great players,” Embiid said. “It’s all about finding ways to win — whatever I can do.”
The Americans will play South Sudan on Wednesday at 3 p.m. Eastern Time in the second match of the group stage for both teams.
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(Top photo: Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)
