Team USA have been buoyed by Joel Embiid’s decision to play for them in next year’s Paris Olympics, with last season’s NBA MVP set to create a dream pairing with Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported on Thursday that Embiid has committed to play for Team USA rather than his native Cameroon or France where he was granted citizenship in 2022.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr played a pivotal role in Joel Embiid’s decision to join Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Athletic’s Anthony Slater has reported that Warrior and Team USA head coach, Steve Kerr, “couldn’t be happier” with the Embiid news, with the 58-year-old having pitched the idea to the 76ers star before both games against Philadelphia last season.
Kerr and Team USA will be looking to bounce back from a shocking fourth-placed finish at the recent FIBA World Cup, with the squad having lost its Semi-Final to Germany and Bronze Medal game against Canada.
Steve Kerr said he met with Joel Embiid before both Sixers games last year, pitched him on Team USA and “couldn’t be happier” after Grant Hill delivered him the news that Embiid committed to for the Olympics next summer.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 5, 2023
Embiid is just the latest of a number of superstar players to have committed to joining Team USA next summer. That includes two-time MVP Curry who is yet to tick off an Olympic Gold Medal to his otherwise impeccable basketball resumé.
"“I want to be playing. It’s the one thing I haven’t done … I definitely want to be there. I want to be on the team,” Curry said when asked about it at media day on Monday."
Curry will likely join fellow veterans LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the faces of Team USA for the Olympics, with Kerr set to lead one of the most talented rosters in history in what’s being dubbed the ‘Avengers’ squad.
Other star players expected to be involved include Jayson Tatum and Anthony Davis. One that may not is Curry’s splash brother Klay Thompson, with the 33-year-old having signalled his intention to play for the Bahamas after winning Gold with Team USA at the 2016 Olympics.