By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Joel Embiid has received French citizenship and shall be eligible to potentially play for the national team in the 2023 World Cup. That’s also the hope of French national team manager Boris Diaw.
“He doesn’t have the FIBA license yet. But it would be nice if he could have this license and play for the France team,” Diaw, a former longtime said to RMC Sport. “We know that he has become French so why not, we try to have as many good players as possible and then make a team that holds its own and plays well together.”
France just completed EuroBasket with the silver medal after losing to Spain in the championship game Sunday (18/9). Les Bleus made the Final after finishing Group B in second place, just below Slovenia and then survived two dramatic overtime matches vs. Turkey and Italy in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals respectively to advance to the Top 4.
After a rout over Poland in the semifinal, France fell to a mostly inexperienced Spanish team that lacked the star power of previous editions.
France wasn’t without absences either, being without Nicolas Batum and Nando De Colo, two key members of the silver medal run in last year’s Olympic Games.
“We lacked consistency in the tournament and in the Final,” Diaw commented.
Embiid was examining the option of playing in the EuroBasket and could’ve possibly joined France if not for his finger surgery, as Diaw mentioned back in July. The Philadelphia 76ers superstar had 30.6 points, 11.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 2021-22.