"People get fooled by the names on paper": Joel Embiid casts doubts on aging Team USA domination despite star power
Before the start of the 2024 Paris Olympics in a few days, Joel Embiid sat down with The New York Times’ David Marchese for a lengthy interview. The Philadelphia 76ers center spoke about a lot of topics, including the upcoming Olympics and Team USA’s chance of winning gold.
Marchese asked Embiid if there was any doubt over who would win gold in the men’s competition. The big man’s answer created more confusion than providing any clarity. He said:
“You look at the talent that the U.S. has, but there’s equal talent on other teams. And the talent that’s on the U.S. team, you also got to understand most of those guys are older. The LeBron now is not the LeBron that was a couple of years ago. So it’s a big difference.
“Everybody would also tell you, and you can see for yourself, the athletic LeBron, dominant that he was a couple of years ago, is not the same that he is now. I think people get fooled by the names on paper. But those names have been built throughout their career, and now they’re older. They’re not what they used to be.”
While it is normal to play down your own potential, Joel Embiid’s response could be an overkill. While players such as LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant might be on the older side, they have by no means lost their ability to dominate their opponents.
When they are paired with young players such as Joel Embiid, Devin Booker and Anthony Edwards, the U.S. becomes nearly impossible to defeat.
Joel Embiid said he could have been in the GOAT conversation if not for freak injuries
The 76ers big man has dominated the competition for years now. But he has failed to win the ultimate prize. In the same interview, Joel Embiid said he could have been in the greatest of all-time conversation if not for freak injuries:
“I think so. I think I’m that talented. Obviously you need to win championships, and to win championships you need other guys. You can’t do it by yourself. I want to win so bad. But if you don’t, you just got to understand that as long as you care about the right stuff, if it doesn’t happen, maybe it wasn’t meant to happen. …
“If you think about it, the thing that stopped me all these years is just freak injuries. Every single playoffs, regular season, people falling on my knee or breaking my face — twice. It’s always freak injuries at the wrong time.”
While it is on Embiid to stay healthy, he does have the required help next season in the form of newly-acquired Paul George. If he can win a couple of titles in the next few years, maybe being a part of the GOAT conversation isn’t past him yet.