Joel Embiid Saves America And Then Trolls France At Olympics
Team USA was on the ropes. They trailed Serbia by double digits heading into the 4th Quarter. They were on the brink of one of the greatest upsets in USA history. People were already writing their takes about how badly Team USA choked. But then Joel Embiid became an American hero.
Joel Embiid: American Hero
Team USA trailed 82-75 with 6 minutes to go. Embiid then scored 7 straight points to make it 84-82. He also got the assist on the KD bucket before that stretch and got a big block to end it. He finished with 19 points, shooting 8 of 11 from the floor. The 2nd most points on Team USA, and 3rd most in the game. More than Jokic scored, and way more efficient.
He obviously didn’t do it himself. Steph Curry was the team MVP scoring 36 points. Curry went 9-14 from deep, including the go-ahead bucket. Lebron and KD added clutch buckets, with Lebron getting an acrobatic layup to tie the game late in the 4th. But they do not win that game without Joel Embiid. Lebron said it himself after the game. In the postgame huddle, he credited “Chef and Joe,” for carrying the team to the win.
Team USA was -21 with any other center on the court. Bam was -15 in 10 minutes on the court and scored 0 points. In 10 minutes Anthony Davis nearly had as many fouls (3) as he did points (4). Those 2 did not have it in this game. Embiid did.
He might have struggled in some of the group games. But he was one of their best players in both the Quarter and Semi-Finals. When a team full of the best players in the world was on the ropes, Embiid stepped up. He lived up to the moment. He has taken heat in his career for not doing that. On Thursday he showed that when the lights come on, he shines even brighter
Embiid is a huge reason Team USA will get a chance to win gold on Saturday when they take on France. Without his scoring and his defense, they would be getting ready to play for the Bronze Medal. If Embiid had chosen to play for France, or Cameroon, Team USA would not be here right now.
Joel Embiid Trolls France
French fans have left no doubts about how they feel about Embiid. They are not happy he picked Team USA over them. Forget the fact that he has never lived in France, and his only connection to France is that they colonized his actual home country of Cameroon. They felt entitled to his talents.
So when he spurned them and decided to play for the country he has lived in half his life, and where his son was born, they were upset. The French crowds have booed him every time they see him, every time he touches the ball, every time he breathes.
So wouldn’t you know it, the Gold Medal now comes down to the team he decided to play for, vs the one he turned down. On Saturday at 3:30, Team USA will take on France to decide who takes home the Gold.
How does Embiid feel about this chance to take on the country that currently hates his guts? In typical Embiid fashion, he let them know after the game vs Serbia.
There are two things Embiid is a master of. Basketball, and trolling. He relishes hate and thrives off of it. So you know he was feeling it when he had that game in front of that crowd. He will love it even more getting to play the home country in front of a completely hostile crowd.
He was asked about it later by the media, and again gave a typical Embiid answer.
“They are going to boo me. I’m going to go back at them and tell ’em, to suck it. So it’s going to be fun.”
I don’t know about you, but I can wait tfor this game, to see what Joel Embiid does. Something tells me it will be another special game for the big man.
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Tracking Every 40 Point Game By Joel Embiid This Season
40 against the Bulls on 12/18
The very next game, Embiid did it again, scoring 40 in 37 minutes. But this time it was in a loss. Maxey scored 29 in the game, but the rest of the team combined managed just 35 combined points. The Sixers had just 38 combined FGs in that game, and Embiid either scored or assisted on 21 of them. He also had 14 rebounds. It was not a great night for the Sixers, who lost 108-104. But it was still a very good game for Embiid.
