HENDERSON, Nev. — Joel Embiid has two choices: the red, white and blue of the U.S., or the blue, white and red of France. An Olympic medal might hinge on his decision.
France is still hopeful that Embiid — the reigning NBA scoring champion — will choose to wear its colors for the 2024 Paris Olympics even though he recently became an American citizen, national team coach Vincent Collet said Thursday.
Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers star, may choose to play internationally for the U.S. or France, but not both. It was widely presumed that he would play for France at the Paris Games and possibly even next year's FIBA Basketball World Cup in the Philippines, until Embiid revealed last week that he now has American citizenship as well. «Now he has both nationalities, and he has to choose one basketball nationality, which is not the same,» Collet told The Associated Press. «So, that is a choice.
Nobody can do anything to change it.» Embiid told AP last week that it's too early to think about a decision. By rule, he will eventually have to declare a choice to FIBA, the sport's international governing body, if he decides that he wants to play at the Olympics or World Cup.