Joel Embiid
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Joel Embiid will be in high demand this summer. The Cameroonian center obtained two passports – French and American – and both national teams would like to have him on their rosters.

Having not played for his home country on an international level, Embiid is eligible to choose a national team that wants to play for.

French center Rudy Gobert wants the decision to come from the 76ers superstar himself. However, it should be for the right reasons and with the right attitude, he says.

Via Joe Vardon of The Athletic:

“It has to come from him,” Gobert said. “You are either all in, or you’re not. You can’t just show up.”

“For me the most important thing is if his heart tells him to be a part of Team France,” Gobert told The Athletic. “I want him to do it for the right reasons. As long as he understands that the French national team is different than the NBA. We have rules, we have things that we do. Sometimes we all have lunch and dinner together — it’s not everybody doing their own thing. These are two different teams.”

In September 2023 USA will fight a ticket to the Paris Olympic Games 2024 via FIBA World Cup while France has already qualified as the host nation.

The last edition of the tournament was better for the French who won bronze, while the Americans managed to take only the 7th place.