76ers' Joel Embiid Pursued by France National Team for 2024 Paris Olympics

Joel Embiid recently became an American citizen, but the Philadelphia 76ers star could still represent France at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

French national team coach Vincent Collet is hopeful Embiid will join the squad for the next Olympics, which will take place in Paris.

"Now he has both nationalities, and he has to choose one basketball nationality, which is not the same," Collet told Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. "So, that is a choice. Nobody can do anything to change it."

According to Reynolds, "it was widely presumed" Embiid would play for France at the Olympics and possibly also the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

The 28-year-old was born in Cameroon and also holds French citizenship.

Embiid came to the United States for high school and one year of college at Kansas before being drafted by the 76ers in 2014. Last month, he became a citizen of the United States.

"I've been here for a long time," he told Dan Gelston of the Associated Press. "My son is American. I felt like, I'm living here and it's a blessing to be an American. So I said, why not?"

His dual citizenship allows him to compete for either France or Team USA, but FIBA requires him to choose one before competing in a major tournament.

The United States has dominated men's basketball at the Olympics, winning seven of the last eight tournaments since professional players were allowed to compete, including four straight gold medals.

France has still been formidable on the international scene, beating the United States in the 2019 World Cup thanks to NBA players Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier, Nicolas Batum and Frank Ntilikina. France earned the silver medal at the 2020 Olympics after a five-point loss to USA in the finals.

Adding Embiid, who won the scoring title in 2021-22 while finishing second in voting for MVP, would make the team a legitimate contender to win gold for the first time on home soil.

"I know he met some of our players to discuss," Collet said of Embiid. "I think he should play with us. But we will see. We will respect his decision whatever it is."