Why Joel Embiid Is Hearing Boos from France at the 2024 Paris Olympics

He was the last to leave the court on Thursday, and Joel Embiid made sure those at Bercy Arena knew he was still there.

After the United States recorded a dramatic victory over Serbia in the men’s basketball semifinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which set up an Olympic final against France on Saturday, Embiid celebrated the occasion by acknowledging the controversy surrounding his inclusion on the U.S. roster for the Games.

The Philadelphia 76ers star walked to center court, dancing to the music blaring from the building’s speakers. Embiid made a gesture to taunt the crowd when he saw teammate Anthony Edwards. The booing that had followed Embiid throughout the Olympic tournament intensified. He’s preparing for it to culminate when Team USA plays France in front of its home crowd for the men’s basketball gold medal.

Because Embiid could – and, according to many Frenchmen, should – play for France.

Here’s what you need to know about Embiid’s beef with France and why the former NBA MVP has become the “bad guy” that the French crowd is so eager to boo at the Paris Games:

OLYMPIC 2024 IN PARIS: Follow all of USA TODAY’s coverage of the Paris Olympics here

Where is Joel Embiid from?

Embiid was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon on March 16, 1994. He did not start playing basketball until he was 15. He moved to the United States a year later when NBA player and Cameroonian Luc Mbah A Moute spotted him at a basketball camp in Africa.

Embiid has played stateside since then, becoming a five-star recruit out of The Rock School in Gainesville, Florida, according to his 247Sports Composite profile. He then played one season at Kansas. Embiid was drafted by the 76ers with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft and played in Philadelphia for his entire professional career.

Is Joel Embiid a US citizen?

Yes, but not before obtaining citizenship of two other countries.

Embiid also had the opportunity to play for France or Cameroon in the Olympics. He became a French citizen in May 2022 under a clause that allows for naturalization for foreigners who are “exceptionally interesting.” Then in September 2022, Embiid revealed that he had also become a U.S. citizen, citing his son as motivation.

Why Joel Embiied is being booed at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Embiid’s decision to play for the United States at the Paris Olympics had been a sensitive topic in France long before the games began.

When Embiid received French citizenship, speculation immediately arose that he planned to represent France two years later when it hosted the Olympics. There was a possibility of him playing on a team with Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert. Embiid has said there was never an agreement that he would play for France in exchange for citizenship, but he recently revealed that French President Emmanuel Macron tried to recruit him.

Former NBA player Boris Diaw, who currently serves as the general manager of the French men’s national basketball team, insisted to The Athletic that Embiid had approached him multiple times during the 2021-22 NBA season about his interest in playing for France. When France defeated the United States 83-76 at the 2020 Olympics, snapping Team USA’s 25-game winning streak in Olympic competition, Embiid even tweeted “Allez les Bleus” in celebration.

“Joel came to us and said he wanted to play international basketball, he said he wanted to win, and he said he wanted to play for France and he wanted to win with France,” Diaw told The Athletic. “So we listened to him.”

That prompted French officials to bypass the usual paths to citizenship. Embiid had no direct French ancestry, nor had he lived in France for at least two years. But he and his son were granted French passports because of what France could achieve at the Olympics with him.

A year later, when Embiid announced he would play for Team USA in Paris, he admitted that his family’s ties to the United States were a deciding factor.

“It wasn’t easy,” Embiid wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) explaining his decision in October 2023. “I’m so lucky to call Cameroon, France and the USA home. “After talking to my family, I knew it had to be Team USA. I want to play with my brothers in the league. I want to play for my fans because they’ve been amazing since the day I got here. But most of all, I want to honor my son who was born in the USA. I want my boy to know I played for him in my first Olympics.”

Embiid’s decision to play for the United States was not received well by the French.

“Team USA, with him, who’s going to beat you? No one,” French Basketball Federation president Jean-Pierre Siutat told The Athletic. “It’s an easy way for him to win an Olympic medal.”

Frederic Weis — the former French soccer player who is famous for being dunked by Vince Carter during the 2000 Olympics — took it even more personally.

“I hate him for the things he did. I think he has no respect for France and for all the people who ask for a French passport and don’t get it. And under the pretext that he’s a great athlete, he got it,” Weis told Eurohoops.net in April. “I find it outrageous, I find it embarrassing. I don’t care about his excuses because they’re his words and his words mean nothing.

“I would take away his French citizenship and ban him from entering France,” Weis added. “You won’t play in the Olympics. You’ll arrive at the airport with the U.S. team and we’ll say, ‘You’re not allowed to enter the territory, go home. You’re Cameroonian, you’re American, you’re not French, go away.’”

Since the start of the Olympics, Embiid has been consistently booed by fans — during pre-game warmups, upon entering and when touching the ball during games — both in Lille, France, during the group stage and in Paris during Team USA’s victories over Brazil and Serbia that advanced to the gold-medal game against France on Saturday.

WOLKEN: Winter is coming for men’s basketball in the U.S., and the match against Serbia shows it’s almost here.

What Joel Embiid said at the Paris Olympics

Embiid’s reactions to the controversy have been mixed.

During the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, U.S. teammate Tyrese Haliburton joked about the controversy in a video posted to his Instagram account.

“Hand over your passport,” Haliburton said.

“I’m an American, man,” Embiid replied, waving a miniature American flag from a boat carrying a delegation of U.S. athletes along the Seine River during the Parade of Nations.

Embiid said last week when the topic came up again that he chose the United States because he felt more comfortable with Americans and “they wanted me.”

“A lot of people see (the booing) as hate, I see it as love and respect,” he told reporters in Paris last week. “If I wasn’t a good basketball player, I wouldn’t be getting treated like that. So I consider myself blessed and that’s how I interact with this type of audience and this type of stuff. I’m blessed to be here. I’ve seen worse. I’ve played in worse environments.”

“Playing in Philadelphia, they boo their players more than they boo their opponents,” Embiid added. “Sometimes it seems like our fans are more against us when they should be against the opponent. But like I said, it’s all love. It’s all about pushing you, wanting you to be better. Like this crowd, it makes me want to be better, do more and do whatever it takes to win.”

Embiid suggested Friday that he would play for Cameroon if his home country qualified for those Olympics, and that he would consider doing so in the future. But because Embiid has played for the United States in international competition, he would need a waiver from FIBA ​​and USA Basketball to play for another country at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

For now, he is ready to reprise his role as villain in front of what is expected to be another enthusiastic French audience.

“I know myself. I’m going to interact and enjoy it,” Embiid said Friday. “They’re going to boo me. I’m going to boo them back … and it’s going to be fun.”

What Team USA Says About Joel Embiid’s Booing

“All you can do is laugh about it,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr told reporters in Paris, according to the Associated Press. “He did a good job of just playing it down. And his teammates are clearly supporting him. That’s all part of it. I’m sure he knew it was coming. And I like that after the French fans were booing, you could hear the American fans cheering. So everybody seemed to be having a good time.”

“It’s OK. He’s with us. Get mad. We don’t care,” U.S. defenseman Anthony Edwards said. “He chose us over you, so it’s OK.”

Joel Embiid Olympic Stats

Embiid finally broke into the U.S. team, scoring a key 19 points against Serbia in the semifinals in an otherwise disappointing performance. Charles Barkley accused him of being out of shape during an appearance on Paul George’s podcast. He is averaging 13 points and four rebounds in five games in Paris.

How to watch the USA vs. France gold medal match at the Paris Olympics

  • Date: August 10, 2024
  • Time: 3:30 PM EST
  • Location: Accor Arena, Paris
  • TV: NBC
  • Streaming: Peacock, nbcolympics.com, fuboTV

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