France puts pressure on an NBA superstar

If there is one goal that is on everyone’s mind within the French Basketball Federation, it is the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. After a completely missed World Cup, the Blues will have to show a completely different face. ‘next summer. And to do this, the FFBB is counting on the help of Victor Wembanyama and Joël Embiid. If the first has confirmed his presence, the second has just been given an ultimatum.

For more than a year, the daily life ofFrench basketball team is as well punctuated by international deadlines as by the potential arrival of an NBA star in the Blues squad. This star is Joel Embiid, the reigning MVP. If Jean-Pierre Siutat confirmed on RMC that he hoped to see Vincent Collet continue until the Olympic Games on the bench of the French team, the president of the French Federation also returned to the situation of the native of Yaoundé in Cameroon.

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“I want him to come”

While the FFBB has been working for months to bring in the pivot of Sixers in Blue, a deadline has been set. Jean-Pierre Siutat has also revealed that he expects a response from the player before October 10: “ (Joel Embiid’s decision) will happen very quickly in any case. We hope so and I think he knows it. We should have a response by October 10, we have established this deadline, confirms the president of the FFBB. We have never released anything official about Joel Embiid. There has been buzz created everywhere, and I repeat that I want it to come. However, we had no communication about the fact that he was with us. Today, he is still not there. »

Embiid faces a difficult choice

However, the situation is complex for the NBA MVP: “ We are working on it, we have a great desire to succeed in bringing him in. He knows it. We have had the opportunity to discuss with him and we are awaiting a decision. Team USA is also interested. Cameroon is qualified for the pre-Olympic tournament… it’s a delicate situation for them. ” entrusts Siutat. As a reminder, last summer, Embiid has completed the necessary steps to become a French citizen. As a result, he became eligible to represent the country on the international stage. But the additional citizenship ofEmbiid was not limited to France making the decision difficult.