Joel Embiid vows to shut down French fans if they boo him in gold medal game: “Tell them to suck it"

Throughout the 2024 Paris Olympics, Joel Embiid of the USA Men's National Basketball Team has received a chorus of boos from the French. This vitriol that Embiid has received stems from his decision to play for Team USA over France.

In a full-circle moment for Embiid, he will face the French Men's National Basketball team in the gold medal game. A game where the 2023 NBA MVP expects to receive the same reception that the fans have had for him throughout the Olympics.

While speaking to the media, Embiid shared how he's going to react to the boos from the French in the gold medal game.

"They're going to boo me," Embiid said. "I'm going to go back to them and tell them to suck it."

While he is a native of Cameroon, Joel Embiid has also acquired citizenship in the USA and France. Some fans expected that he would join the French basketball team in their bid for the gold medal at this year's Olympics.

However, he decided to join the stacked Team USA squad instead. A squad that also features other NBA MVPs such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry.

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Joel Embiid explained his decision to choose to play for Team USA over France

In an article from Joe Vardon for The Athletic, Joel Embiid talked about why he chose to play for Team USA instead of France.

According to Embiid, the Americans made him feel wanted. He admitted that choosing Team USA was not easy but ultimately, he felt more comfortable with the Americans than the French.

Additionally, Embiid also shared that French National Basketball Team officials, who helped him acquire French citizenship, pressured him to choose France.

Had he chosen to play for France, he would have joined a roster featuring four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and the reigning Rookie of the Year, Victor Wembanyama.

On paper, this line-up sounds terrifying; it would have posed some issues, such as with fit and minutes. With Team USA, Embiid fits nicely into Steve Kerr's starting lineup.

This was most evident in the Americans' win against the Serbians in the Semifinals. Embiid had his best game against Nikola Jokic in a crucial game that went down to the wire.

He scored 19 points while shooting 8-for-11 from the field, 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and 1-for-3 from the charity stripe.