Joel Embiid benched for Team USA basketball at 2024 Paris Olympics: Social media reacts

Former NBA MVP Joel Embiid was notably absent from Team USA's lineup in Wednesday's 96-83 win over South Sudan, despite starting the team's first game of the 2024 Paris Olympics and all five of its exhibition games.

Embiid was replaced by Anthony Davis in the starting lineup, with reserve forward Bam Adebayo also receiving more minutes with the move. Both of the forwards were outstanding on Wednesday, with Davis scoring eight points with eight rebounds and two blocks, while Adebayo led Team USA with 18 points off the bench, along with seven rebounds two blocks and a steal.

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Embiid, who averaged an NBA-leading 33 points per game for the Philadelphia 76ers last season, was the lone player to not appear for Team USA on Wednesday. The situation was similar to Sunday's win over Serbia, which saw Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum also fall out of the rotation before returning against South Sudan.

Team USA coach Steve Kerr said Embiid was benched because he wanted to match up better with South Sudan's speed, noting Embiid will return to the starting lineup against Puerto Rico on Friday.

With a loaded roster at the Olympics, an NBA star is bound to receive limited playing time from game to game.

Here's how social media reacted to Embiid not playing against South Sudan on Wednesday:

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Joel Embiid benched for Team USA at Olympics: Social media reacts

Here's how social media reacted to Embiid being benched by Team USA in Wednesday's win over South Sudan:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Joel Embiid benched for Team USA basketball at 2024 Paris Olympics: Social media reacts