JERSEY CITY – Team USA center Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers hinted at switching teams in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"It's been a good experience," Embiid told reporters after he helped Team USA survive Serbia in the semifinals. "It's been a grind, being away from home and family for a few weeks. But the group of guys we have made it easy. Paris is a great city and the next one is LA. It might not be with Team USA; it might be with Cameroon."
The Cameroon-born Embiid dropped a tournament-high 19 points, including seven straight points in the critical juncture of the fourth quarter that ignited the Americans’ scintillating comeback from a 17-point deficit to beat Serbia, 95-91, on Thursday (Friday Manila time).
Despite being on the cusp of winning an Olympic gold medal, Embiid still yearns to represent his home country. Had Cameroon qualified for the Olympics, the US or France, where he holds dual citizenship, would not have been an option for Embiid.
“Having lived half of my life in the US and the other half in my country, Cameroon, it just looked like it was, you could go two ways and I always said from the beginning, everybody knew that if Cameroon would’ve qualified (for the Olympics), that would’ve never been a choice (to play for anyone but Cameroon),” Embiid told reporters.
The 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player will be 34 by the time the US hosts the Summer Games.
Switching teams is easier said than done, however, as Embiid would need clearance from the USA Basketball and FIBA.
Eric Gordon successfully did it with the Bahamas after playing for Team USA in the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Another former Team USA stalwart Klay Thompson is also hoping to get clearance to suit for the Bahamas in future FIBA tournaments.
But in the meantime, Embiid's focus is on the gold medal game against France. After choosing Team USA over France, Embiid is expected to receive boos from the home crowd.
“It’s all about Team USA against France, but I know myself, I’m going to interact myself and I’m going to enjoy it,” Embiid said. “They’re going to boo me. I’m going to go back at them and tell them to suck it. And so it’s going to be fun.”
After dealing with France in Paris, between now and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Embiid’s focus will be on leading a revamped 76ers team, buoyed by the addition of free agent signing Paul George, to an elusive NBA championship.
The 76ers have not won an NBA title since 1983. They are hoping to end the drought this coming season before Wells Fargo Center, their homecourt, will have a new name in 2025, per Sports Talk Philly.
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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for the New York-based website Heavy.com.