NBA analyst regrets 'out of shape' Joel Embiid choosing USA ahead of France and Cameroon in the Olympics

Former MVP Joel Embiid has continued to be showered with boos in Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympics after deciding to compete for Team USA over France. While Embiid has made it clear that in an ideal world, his first choice would be to compete for Cameroon, the team didn't qualify for the Olympics. As a result, he was left with a choice to either represent France or the United States.

As he explained after deciding to represent the United States, he wants to win gold for his son, who was born in the U.S. In addition, he has since explained that the tense relations between France and various countries in Africa, such as Cameroon, played a factor in his decision.

The decision didn't go over well with French fans, and French Basketball President Jean Pierre Siutat, who claimed that the 76ers star was chasing an easy medal. The way NBA analyst Sam Mitchell sees things, however, Joel Embiid's decision to show up to the Olympics out of shape raises questions about his preparation and his commitment to Team USA.

He spoke on Sirius XM's NBA radio:

"He chose the US. To show up out of shape, disinterested. It makes me wonder, one, why did we go through heaven and earth ... To woo him to come play for us, the US team, right. We put on a full court press to convince Joel to play for the United States, his adopted home country, now, and this is what we get.

"... To me, it has everything to do with your preparation, showing up. If you show up out of shape, that tells me you're not even ready to play. You had no thought of bringing your best"

Looking at Joel Embiid's recent struggles throughout the Olympics

While Joel Embiid has played in all four of Team USA's games at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the former NBA MVP has dealt with his fair share of struggles since arriving in Paris. Leading up to Team USA's opening Group Phase game against Nikola Jokic and Serbia, Embiid was reportedly a gametime decision.

Fans joked about the 76ers star ducking Jokic, however, Embiid was reportedly battling an illness early on in the Olympics. While he did end up playing, he was on the floor for just 11 minutes, the fewest of any player who competed for Team USA against Serbia.

Now, with Joel Embiid and Team USA set to compete against Serbia in the semifinals of the Paris Olympics on Thursday, the NBA star is reportedly dealing with an injury.

After starting off Team USA's quarterfinal game against Brazil strong, Embiid sat out the second half of the game. On Wednesday, coach Steve Kerr revealed that he and the team kept Embiid out of practice because of an ankle injury.

While Kerr said that Embiid's absence from practice was precautionary, it further adds to the list of ailments the former MVP has dealt with in Paris. Between an illness and an injury, it seems likely that both could be contributing factors to Embiid's on-court struggles.