Joel Embiid is still looking for a naturalization which would not guarantee him a place in the France team. The general manager of the Blues Boris Diaw returned to the situation of the Cameroonian player.
Keystone
The interior of the Philadelphia Sixers, born in Yaoundé and aged 28, “made his request for nationality and he hoped to have it to be able to play in the France team. The latest news, he is still in this process, ”confirmed Diaw during a press conference in Nanterre where the Blues are training before qualifying matches for the 2023 World Cup.
But the possible naturalization of Embiid would not guarantee him direct access to the France team according to the general manager of the Blues. “The day when it will be obtained, it will be another subject to make a selection and to take the players who have the capacities to carry this team of France while remaining in the state of mind of the group”, underlined Diaw.
Embiid’s first approaches to the French Basketball Federation (FFBB) date back to 2016. Revealed two years later, they had aroused not very enthusiastic reactions, with full-back Evan Fournier believing in particular that “playing for a country with which you have no ties is disturbing”.
The captain and winger of the Blues Nicolas Batum had shown himself to be more nuanced about a possible integration of the best scorer of the season in the NBA (30.6 pts on average) in the France team, in an interview with the newspaper “L ‘Team’ in May. “I can understand that it disturbs ethically, but (…) an Embiid-Gobert racket (red: pivot of the Blues), p…n!”, He had said. “So there you go, ethically, I understand, but ‘basketball’…”, added Batum.
