Joel Embiid reveals reason for ditching France basketball team ahead of playing in Paris Olympic: "Cameroon is first choice"

Former MVP Joel Embiid's decision to join Team USA left many fans stunned. Embiid, who was born in Cameroon, recently indicated in an interview with the New York Times that in an ideal world, he would have been able to represent his home country in the Olympics. With Cameroon failing to qualify, however, Embiid was left with a choice.

The 76ers star had reportedly committed to playing for France behind the scenes before acquiring citizenship in 2022 according to a letter allegedly written by Embiid back in 2021.

In the letter, which was published by RMC Sport, Joel Embiid indicated that he had met with the French Basketball Federation, and wanted to take steps to become a citizen to play for the Blues.

This was then corroborated by NBA vet and Team France GM Boris Diaw. As he and coach Jean-Pierre Siutat explained to The Athletic earlier this year, Joel Embiid told the team he wanted to play and win with them. The 76ers star, however, has denied doing so.

Now, as he and Team USA look to pursue Olympic gold this summer, Embiid has opened up on his decision to play for Team USA, citing Cameroon as his top choice of team. With Cameroon failing to qualify, Embiid was left with two choices.

"One thing that was always known was that Cameroon is the first choice. And if they qualify, I’m playing for my home country because that’s my dream to play in the Olympics."

"I want them to be safe," - Joel Embiid cites tense relations between France and African countries as reason for joining Team USA

As Joel Embiid explained in his interview with The New York Times, there were two factors that played a factor in his decision to compete for Team USA. One was the fact that he had seen France put a deadline on his decision to join, something that didn't sit well with the seven-time All-Star.

In addition, he also cited the tense relations between France and various countries in Africa, specifically his home country of Cameroon. Because of that, following a discussion with President Emmanual Macron of France, he decided to join Team USA.

"There's a lot of things going on over there. There's a lot of pushback as far as basically kicking out the French because it's been so many years of oppression. So that was my mind-set.

"I still got my family living in Cameroon, and I don't want to put them through any of that stuff. I want them to be safe, and the relationship between France and Cameroon or Africa in general is just not good."

With that in mind, considering Joel Embiid moved to the United States at 16 years old, and now has a child born in America, he wants to win gold for Team USA. According to the 76ers star, he also spoke with Macron about his decision, saying that the pair had a quote-unquote great talk about the matter.

As the former MVP looks to put the decision behind him, he and Team USA will compete in their second-to-last international friendly before the 2024 Paris Olympics on Saturday, leading up to their first Group Phase game on July 28.