Why Joel Embiid has to endure so much "hate" at the Olympics
The whistles of French fans will certainly be there for Joel Embiid in the basketball final in Paris. The Grande Nation is not fond of the NBA superstar. He once gave them great hope and then bitterly disappointed them. That still lingers.
When thousands of French people whistle and boo as if he had trampled on the Tricolore, Joel Embiid feels like he's being warmly embraced. "Many people think," said the US basketball superstar, "it's hate; I see it as love and respect." Well, if that's the case! In the electrifying Olympic final against the proud Grande Nation, which feels collectively snubbed by him, Embiid can be sure to be showered only with such "affection".
But the 30-year-old can live with the expected whistles if he wins Olympic gold for the USA alongside LeBron James for the fifth time in a row. "If I weren't a good basketball player, I wouldn't be treated this way. I see myself as blessed. I've seen worse," said Embiid, who isn't too worried about the well-known opponent in the form of NBA super talent Victor Wembanyama: "I love France, but I'm not concerned about them."
"He was incredible tonight"
It seems like fate that the star center of the Philadelphia 76ers will play for the gold medal in the Bercy Arena in Paris on Saturday (9:30 PM/ARD and Eurosport as well as in the ntv.de live ticker) against the host country, the very country Embiid once gave hope to before deciding for the USA. He has been relentlessly booed since the group phase in Lille.
In the semi-final against Serbia, Embiid played a crucial role in ensuring that the mission for gold didn't end in disaster: he scored 19 points with nine of eleven shots, and the USA scored 17 more points than the impressive Serbians in his 27 minutes of play. In defense, Embiid put on one of the best games of his career against superstar Nikola Jokic, who had been voted the most valuable player in the NBA three times in a row. "He showed why he is one of the greatest to ever touch a basketball," Kevin Durant told "The Athletic" after the victory. "He finished, hit shots, and got these guys in foul trouble. He was incredible tonight."
"I just felt more comfortable on this side"
Years ago, Embiid once told the French newspaper "L'Equipe" that he would have liked to play for his birth country, Cameroon, if it hadn't been for financial and organizational problems. The USA, where Embiid has lived since he was 16 and where his son was born, was always an option. But so was France. And for a long time, this seemed like a real possibility.
From the French federation, it was reported that Embiid expressed his desire to play for the three-time Olympic silver medalist during the 2021/2022 NBA season. "Joel came to us and said he wanted to play international basketball, that he wanted to win, that he wanted to play for France and win," said general director Boris Diaw to the portal "The Athletic". Although Embiid never lived in France, the federation tried to obtain a French passport for him, which he received in the summer of 2022.
Just a few months later, Embiid also took US citizenship - paving the way for his decision in October 2023: In the 2022/2023 NBA season, which he concluded as MVP, the US federation approached him and wanted to convince him to play at the Olympics in "Stars and Stripes". Embiid, he says today, "felt more comfortable on this side." And that's something they don't like to hear in France.
Despite initially giving French fans hope and then disappointing them, Joel Embiid still considers the whistles and booing from French crowds as a sign of love and respect. In the highly anticipated Olympic final against France, Embiid is anticipating a shower of "affection" in the form of whistles.
With his outstanding performance against Serbia in the semi-finals, Joel Embiid demonstrated why he is considered one of the greatest basketball players, scoring 19 points and putting on a stellar defensive show against Nikola Jokic, who is known for his three consecutive MVP awards in the NBA.
