"Kevin Durant of FIBA" - NBA fans in shambles as Joel Embiid's leaked letter exposes his desperation to play for French basketball team 

Team USA will head to the Paris Olympics this summer with Joel Embiid in their starting lineup. After missing out on a chance to compete for the gold medal in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Team USA is looking to make a statement with the 'Redeem Team 2.0'. The roster will feature a who's who of stars, including LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry along with Joel Embiid.

The move was a big one for Team USA, which came after quite a bit of speculation surrounding what the MVP would do. Although many expected Embiid to play for Team France, the 76ers star indicated that he wants to win a gold medal for Team USA, given that his son was born in the United States.

While the move was already controversial enough, it has now been put further under the microscope. A letter from 2021 where Joel Embiid declared his intentions to play for France, has gone viral, with fans comparing him with Kevin Durant, who joined the 73-9 Warriors.

As Embiid indicated in the letter, he has no wish to play for any other team, and at the time, had never worn the colors of any other national team. The letter, which was written in French, can be seen translated, in part, below:

"After discussion with the French Basketball Federation, my choice has now been made. I wish to take steps to obtain French naturalization and thus be able to be selected with the Blues. I therefore do not wish to play for any other national team.

"I have never worn the colors of any national team. It would be an immense honor for me to join this French team to participate in the next major international competitions."

"The Durant of FIBA" - @iStealEBTCards (Twitter)

"Embiid seen LeBron and Steph were playing for Team USA and made a business decision" - @3randyn (Twitter)

"Backstabbing your home country to join another is disgusting" - @HoodiGarland (Twitter)

"First he snaked Cameroon and now he’s snaking France? The sixers better watch out" - @CFCShifty (Twitter)

"Yes I’m not a fan of him doing that or being on this USA team." - @Edgarwoo_ (Twitter)

"How does this even get leaked" - @Asensii20 (Twitter)

"It doesn’t even feel right with him on team USA lowkey" - @WheelerJaylen (Twitter)

"The French federation throwing Embiid under the bus only they could leak this" - @Mkisii_mmeru (Twitter)

"He wants to represent a national team … is that a bad thing ?" - @surecr7 (Twitter)

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Looking at the Team USA Olympic roster with Joel Embiid

With the addition of Joel Embiid, the Team USA roster is arguably looking more stacked than ever before.

As previously mentioned, the team came up short in the FIBA World Cup last summer, sparking concerns that they would need to field a team of the United States' best to win gold at the Olympics.

USA Basketball Managing Director Grant Hill responded in a big way, compiling a roster of some of the biggest stars in the world. Apart from Joel Embiid, the group features many future Hall of Famers like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis.

Moreover, the team will also feature many young superstars in Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton. While the prospective roster was already looking stacked, the addition of Joel Embiid only elevated the team's status as favorites to win it all.

On DraftKings sportsbook, Team USA is sitting as the overwhelming favorites to win the gold medal with -400 odds. Sitting in second place is Serbia with +800 odds, while France and Canada are tied for third with +1000 odds.

Despite their first-place finish at the FIBA World Cup thanks to stellar play from Dennis Schroder, Franz Wagner, and Daniel Theis, Germany has just +1900 odds to win gold. The current odds have the team sitting in fourth place, indicating that many fans don't think they can go back-to-back as world champs.

Olympic basketball will tip off from Paris at the 2024 Olympics on Jul. 26, and will run through Aug. 11.