Why fans are booing Team USA's Joel Embiid at Paris Olympics

It seems French fans still haven't forgiven center Joel Embiid for choosing to play for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

According to Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press, fans booed Embiid whenever he touched the ball in Team USA's Group C matchup against Serbia on Sunday. Hightower suggested the jeers likely tie to his decision not to suit up for France on the world stage.

In 2022, France granted the Cameroon native citizenship. Although Embiid has never lived in France, The Sporting News' Jacob Camenker shared that 76ers superstar is fluent in French. Some thought he would play for Les Bleus in the Games.

If Embiid had played for France, he, Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert would have formed a fearsome frontcourt, bolstering the country's gold-medal chances.

Embiid hasn't specified why he chose Team USA over France, but in a recent interview with David Marchese of the New York Times, he hinted that he felt France was rushing him.

"Obviously, I got my home country, Cameroon, which I love, and the U.S., where I've been for 14 years now, and then France, where I have a lot of family," Embiid said . "I kind of felt rushed in that decision. 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."

Embiid struggled in Team USA's opening 110-84 victory over Serbia on Sunday. In 11 minutes played, the 7-footer scored four points on 2-of-5 shooting and committed three fouls.

Embiid could bounce back to silence his detractors. More importantly, he has a strong chance to win his first Olympic gold medal. As of Sunday, FanDuel gave Team USA the best gold-medal odds (-430) for the Paris Games, ahead of Canada and France.