Joel Embiid Eggs On Boos From Crowd Ahead of Team USA-South Sudan Clash

The 76ers MVP is always happy to embrace the crowd's energy, good or bad.

Jul 10, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; USA forward Joel Embiid (11) and forward Anthony Davis (14) laugh together on the bench during the fourth quarter against Canada in the USA Basketball Showcase at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports / Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

Joel Embiid's bad start to his first-ever Olympics was not helped by a hostile crowd. Embiid's decision to join Team USA over Cameroon or France was a controversial one, especially for the French, who have spent the months since criticizing the MVP big man for his choice. As soon as he arrived in the country for the Games the boos came fast and loud.

But Embiid indicated to reporters that he was pretty unbothered by the reception, which he reinforced ahead of Team USA's clash with South Sudan on Wednesday. As Embiid jogged onto the court for warm-ups he egged on the crowd to boo louder in his usual WWE-esque way.

Joel Embiid enters for pregame warmups to boos from the French crowd…

Embiid responds the only way Embiid does, by telling them to do it louder lmao pic.twitter.com/HzMAku1qjX

— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) July 31, 2024

Nobody loves to play the heel quite like Joel Embiid. It does feel a bit more personal in this case with the animosity being driven by a sense of nationality rather than typical American fandom, but that makes it even more entertaining.

Embiid did not get a chance to immediately show the crowd what he could do as Steve Kerr decided to replace him with Anthony Davis in the starting lineup for Wednesday's contest. But he'll assuredly have plenty of opportunities to engage with boos throughout the rest of Team USA's un.