
via Getty
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 08: Joel Embiid #11 of the 2024 USA Basketball Men’s National Team adjust a knee brace after playing in a practice session scrimmage against the 2024 USA Basketball Men’s Select Team during the team’s training camp at the Mendenhall Center at UNLV on July 08, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

via Getty
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 08: Joel Embiid #11 of the 2024 USA Basketball Men’s National Team adjust a knee brace after playing in a practice session scrimmage against the 2024 USA Basketball Men’s Select Team during the team’s training camp at the Mendenhall Center at UNLV on July 08, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Team USA sails through the first group stage game against Serbia, led by the captain of the ship, Kevin Durant. The Slim Reaper was joined by the King, as LeBron James went off for 21 points. KD and James led the squad to a 26-point staggering victory over Serbia, 110-84, playing together after 12 years in the Olympics. Whereas Joel Embiid dropped 4 points and 2 rebounds in the 11 minutes he played. The reason for an off night might’ve been because of his recent illness and the French booing him whenever he caught the ball.
The former MVP could have represented France after he received a French passport. But then again, The Process decided to join forces with Team USA. While talking about the hate from the audience, Bam Adebayo made sure to defend his teammate before he went on to talk about the team’s focus moving forward. “Joel has been booed a lot worse than that. He’s been booed a lot worse than that.”
“You know what it is, what opportunity he has at hand, so you go from there. You don’t really get into the crowd because they can’t help us or hurt us on the court.”, Bam said via BasketNews. At the end of the day, Joel Embiid decided to play for Team USA over France and he’d obviously know the repercussions before he made the call. The opportunity that Bam referred to was to be part of this historic Dream Team 2.0. And of course, the Sixer wouldn’t want to miss that!
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Still, there are heavier possibilities that he may have chosen to wear red, blue, and white, over France and Cameroon, for other off-court reasons. But that’s a story for another day. Regardless, The Process will look to get back on his game as soon as he can. He did struggle during the exhibition game and doesn’t seem to be off his slump. However, things will hopefully get better for Joel Embiid, as, in the meanwhile, the vets took care of things in their Paris Olympics opener.
KD dropped 23 points in his first game back, after weeks of barely being able to train. Not to mention, he did not play a single exhibition game, as well. As they look forward to the much-awaited game against South Sudan- King James and KD might just be the key Team USA missed in their UAE and London warmup games. Bam also admired Bron’s greatness post-game, as he seemed to have a good idea of who would be the key to their gold medal dream.
LeBron was jokingly mocked after making Team USA Basketball witness greatness at 50!
To see LeBron James dominate right as he returns to the Olympics, Bam Adebayo had nothing but respect for the veteran. Not only the fans, but the players on the squad are aware that they are indeed going to witness sheer greatness during this Paris expedition. Bam was completely mesmerized, jokingly claiming the King’s age to be a decade beyond than it currently is! “50. At the age of 50. It’s just one of those things where you just witness greatness. You understand what the greatness is. I’m glad he’s on my team,” he said.

via Reuters
Paris 2024 Olympics – Basketball – Men’s Group Phase – Group C – Serbia vs United States of America – Lille, Pierre Mauroy Stadium, Villeneve-d’Ascq, France – July 28, 2024. Nikola Jokic of Serbia in action against Lebron James of United States and Joel Embiid of United States REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
He went on to admire LeBron James, though this time, he got his age just right. “To see him still going at 40. He’s been great since he was 16. So, you know, going through his career, you’ve seen a lot of people expecting him to drop off, the fact that he hasn’t. You just admire greatness.”, Adebayo added.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Now, there’s no doubt that James will continue to dominate. However, the starting lineup in the following game does play a huge role. Kevin Durant is back, but he might come off the bench against the Sudanese too. A takeaway from the Serbia game can be leaving Steph, LeBron, KD, Holiday, and Abeayo on the floor. This rotation worked out great for Team USA and could be a better combination to go up against the dark horses.
Outside of KD and Bron, some of the few winning factors would include Jrue Holiday’s defense, Bam’s presence on the boards, and Steph’s threat from the outside (less than expected, but he did show his Splash Brother shooting signs). It will be interesting to see the Hoopers play this rotation while facing the young guns from Sudan.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
What are your thoughts on Joel Embiid getting all the hate from the crowd? Let us know in the comments.
Before you get to your next read, make sure to check out our latest podcast with BG12.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT