NBA News: Team USA reportedly scouting Joel Embiid

Team USA is interested in adding Joel Embiid to the US National Team. The Sixers star recently acquired American citizenship, but he also holds French citizenship.

This would allow Embiid to play in either of the two countries. Both the French and Americans hope the center will play for their teams at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Marc Stein reports that Team USA is very interested in Embiid.

The 28-year-old was born in Cameroon, became a French citizen in July and has family in the country. However, in early September, he also accepted US citizenship. He went to high school in Florida and later played college basketball at Kansas. “I’ve been here a long time, my son is American, I live here, it’s a privilege to be here, so I thought why not?” Embiid explained his decision.

The French national team still have faith in the Sixers star. “I know he’s already met some of our players,” national team coach Vincent Collette said on Thursday. “I think he wants to play for us, but we’ll see. We respect his decision, whatever it is.”

Embiid himself said at the start of training camp that it was too early to make a decision. “I want to stay healthy and win the championship, then we’ll see,” he said Associated Press.

For both the Americans and the French, the center will be a huge asset in the fight for Olympic gold. The five-time All-Star averaged 30.6 points and 11.7 rebounds on 49.9 percent from the field last season and finished second in the MVP race.