FIBA World Cup results up the stakes for Joel Embiid recruitment
The United States and France had disappointing World Cup tournaments. That may lead to some intense recruiting.
Joel Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP, has never competed in international basketball. While he was born in Cameroon, Embiid also holds citizenship in the United States and France. That means that if the Sixers big man wants to play in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Embiid will have options.
Even before the U.S. fell to Germany in the World Cup semifinals, USA Basketball was planning to recruit Embiid.
Grant Hill, the managing director of USA Basketball, said in a radio interview that he'd "talked to Embiid." Hill added, "He has options, he’s a great player. But he’s also somebody who we’ve talked to about next summer, and we’ll see. We’ll see how that plays out."
Team USA is allowed one spot for a naturalized citizen, which Embiid became last September. But Embiid also became a French citizen last summer, as a person "whose naturalization is of exceptional interest." He's never lived in France but he does speak the language. There have been rumors of Embiid joining Les Bleus for years, but French general manager Boris Diaw claims he won't aggressively pursue the center.
France has a less pressing need for Embiid, given that they'll have Rudy Gobert and No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama available next summer, but Embiid is better than both of them. Plus, they'd keep Embiid from playing for their biggest rival. Meanwhile, Team USA suffered from a lack of effective big men, with Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. struggling in the World Cup and racking up more fouls than rebounds.
Their options at center now include Jackson, Miami's Bam Adebayo and two-time Olympian Draymond Green. There's also a possibility they could recruit Lakers big man Anthony Davis, who won a gold medal with Team USA in 2012 before he'd played an NBA game. But they'd certainly have a spot for Embiid if he chose to play for them.
There's precedent for such a move, with center Hakeem Olajuwon playing for the United States as a naturalized citizen at the 1996 Olympics, after he'd been living in the U.S. for 16 years. Embiid may not play at all, given he often uses the summer to recover from injuries, but if he did, he'd be one of the best players in the Olympics, if not the very best.
With World Cup finalist Serbia likely to add Nikola Jokic next summer, Team USA will need some size. Germany already has a big team, with Daniel Theis playing alongside brothers Mo and Franz Wagner. Potential Olympic team Latvia could have Kristaps Porzinigs, and Lithuania, who already defeated Team USA this summer, will likely have center Domantas Sabonis if they make it to Paris.
That's why Hill and Team USA will attempt to woo Embiid all year. Because while the United States still has the best basketball players in the world overall, they no longer have the best big men.
More must-reads: