Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid officially committed to playing for the United States in the 2024 Paris Olympics, notifying Team USA director Grant Hill of the decision earlier today.
This choice to play for the U.S. national team sets up the strong possibility that every player on the team is a top 25 player in the world.
The decision also sets France back, as they were anticipating boasting Embiid, Rudy Gobert, and young phenom Victor Wembanyama on the team next summer.
Embiid joins a long list of stars, including Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal that have expressed a desire to suit up in July 2024 to go for the gold medal that was missed out on this summer at the FIBA World Cup.
The Americans are aiming for their fifth consecutive gold medal performance at the Olympics next summer.
Team USA basketball must invite players to join the roster of 12, so obviously not everyone who is interested will be able to join the team. It is presumed there will be spots saved on the team for LeBron James, Durant, Booker, Jayson Tatum, Steph Curry, Embiid, Damian Lillard, and Anthony Davis.
Kawhi Leonard also expressed interest in playing but the chances of that actually coming to fruition is more unlikely than the other stars who have expressed interest or commitment.
Eight players having spots on the team would leave four spots to be competed for presumably between the likes of players such as Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Edwards, Kyrie Irving, Trae Young, Ja Morant, De'Aaron Fox, Draymond Green, Mikal Bridges, and Beal.
Embiid himself remarked at the stars aligning to play for the red, white and blue.
"When you have guys committing like this, I think it's great, not just for them but also for the game of basketball and the Olympics," he said. "Basketball is such a huge sport in this world."
The demand to play in the Olympics appear to be at an all-time high, and although some of the best players in the world are international-based, America still has the best collection of talent from top-to-bottom, and it shows in the sheer competition to just get a spot as the 12th man on the squad.
Team USA will enter training camp next summer as the overwhelming favorites to win gold yet again, and it is yet to be seen if this rendition of the team could rival the '92 Dream Team or the 2012 London team.
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