In an interview with the New York Times, the basketball player explained his decision to play for the United States, even though he still considers himself as a Cameroonian was ready to play with the team if qualified for the Olympic Games.

“I think of myself as from Cameroon. That’s always going to be home. I was born there, and from what I’ve seen growing up — the struggle — I’ll always identify with it,”  Joël Embiid told the New York Times in an interview.

The NBA Sixers player, who considers himself Cameroonian, will play for the US national team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It is a decision he made with great difficulty, as he is of Cameroonian descent, but holds both French (obtained in July 2022) and American citizenship. His first choice, he explains, was Cameroon:  “But one thing that was always known was that Cameroon is the first choice, and if they qualify I’m playing for my home country.” 

Unfortunately, the country failed to qualify at the pre-Olympic tournament. France was also an obvious choice for Joel Embiid. But he explains that he was put under pressure by being given a deadline, whereas in the United States he was told to take his time,

“I wanted to take as much time as possible, and it didn’t help that France had put an ultimatum on when the decision had to be made. I saw it on Twitter, and I was like, Whoa, where did this come from? Because from the conversation that I had with the U.S., it was: Take as much as time as you need. We’d love to have you, but it’s OK if you make another decision. Then when you’ve got someone else putting the pressure on you, making it seem like, Oh, you got to make the decision, we need it, we need it — I’m like, well, I got one person over here telling me take as much time as you need.”

Today, the 30-year-old MVP of 2023 will be playing alongside Stephen Curry and Anthony Davis at the Olympics. Iti s a position that does not bother him as he has been living in the USA for more than a decade, where he has a family and a long history.