Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid could be playing for France in international competition sooner rather than later. He recently received French citizenship and the plan was that he would have played for France in EuroBasket 2022 if it wasn’t for the hand injury he sustained in the playoffs.
Embiid will join a strong France team that gave Team USA a run for their money in the gold medal game at the 2020 Olympics before they came up short. They feature NBA players such as Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert and New York Knicks guard Evan Fournier.
Gobert talked with BasketNews and he discussed potentially teaming up with Embiid on the floor:
“He’s an incredible player. There are lots of things to think about. Joel is a unique player and we have a team that is already well-knit. A group that lives well together. You have to see how it might work for the group.”
Some weeks ago, Gobert said “there’s no player in the world like Joel Embiid. So yes, I would like to see him one day with the jersey of the French team. It is up to the coach (Vincent Collet) to make this decision.
But no one can really say no to a talent like him. As long as it sticks to our team, our chemistry and our principles of play, and he is ready to adapt to it, he can be a very nice weapon for us,” the three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year said.
Embiid and Gobert would be one formidable duo out on the floor and they would vault France towards the top of the international leaderboards. The two of them would be extremely tough to score on and Embiid can obviously step out and do almost everything out on the floor on offense.
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Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire
