Joel Embiid has been through it thus far in his run with Team USA Basketball, before and during the 2024 Olympics. And don’t think NBA X (Twitter, blah, who cares) hasn’t noticed.
The haters fed on when he struggled, and feasted when he was outright benched by Head Coach Steve Kerr for their group stage win against South Sudan.
But you can’t deny that the Americans wouldn’t have won their semifinal showdown against 3-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Serbia without Embiid’s efforts.
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The Sixers big man finished with 19 points – including a personal 7-2 fourth quarter run to draw his team’s deficit down to two – on 8-of-11 shooting, to go with four rebounds, two assists, a block, and finished the game as a plus-15.
He was a huge reason the Americans are playing for gold Saturday against France, and NBA Twitter recognized the greatness.
Paris 2024 Summer Olympics
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And last, certainly not least, this video tweet should go in the Louvre.
As most of you may know, Embiid chose playing for team USA over France, and the French aren’t happy about it at all. They boo him at every opportunity, every time he touches the ball.
Maybe they know that the last time he shared a court with Victor Wembanyama he dropped a 70-burger on him. Maybe not.
But I’ll bet Wemby remembers.