USA Basketball have talked with Joel Embiid about teaming up for Paris Olympics

If Joel Embiid does decide to suit up and play at the 2024 Paris Olympics, it’s unclear which nation he’ll represent yet. But USA Basketball Managing Director Grant Hill says he’s already talked to Embiid about playing for Team USA.

“I’ll just answer it with a simple answer, and that’s yes, I’ve talked to him,” Hill said. “He has options, he’s a great player. But he’s also somebody that we’ve talked to about next summer and, you know, we’ll see. We’ll see how that plays out. I know he just got married, so I want to congratulate him on that.

“But yeah, it’s tough. France is a team that has probably been our toughest opponent, at least in the last quad. They beat us in the opening game in the Olympics in ‘21, and then in a very close, hard-fought win we beat them in the Gold Medal game. And you think about [Victor] Wembanyama and the potential of others, so it’s not easy.”

Over the last year or so, with Embiid gaining French citizenship, it looked like he may have been gearing up to play national basketball for France. And that could still be the case. He isn’t taking part in this year’s FIBA World Cup for France starting on Aug. 25, understandably opting for a traditional offseason, but he still has time to decide who (if anyone) he’d like to represent at next summer’s Olympics.

Using his U.S. citizenship to play for the United State would be a rather dull choice from a competitive standpoint. It would be fun to see other countries at full strength to challenge the U.S. as much as possible (can you tell I’m a basketball fan from Europe?). But that would obviously be Embiid’s best bet to win a gold medal.

If he does choose France, they could form a dangerous team with NBA players like Evan Fournier and a seriously loaded frontcourt with Embiid, Rudy Gobert, and a certain 7-foot-5 phenom we’re all excited to watch in the league this year... rookie Victor Wembanyama.

Embiid’s decision could play a big factor in how the basketball medal race pans out in Paris. It’ll be interesting to see what he opts for.