Team USA basketball has indeed arranged a superteam for the ongoing Paris Olympics, with their roster consisting of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and 2023 MVP Joel Embiid. However, for Embiid, the Olympics has been quite rough, considering he hasn’t been able to perform quite up to the mark with this team.
With several All-Star talents in one team, it’s easy to fall through the cracks and go unnoticed. Embiid’s new Philadelphia 76ers teammate, Paul George, recognized this problem well, advising the former MVP to stay out of such a situation.
Embiid has received harsh criticism, with even Charles Barkley not failing to blame him for the major blemishes in his current form. On a recent episode of Podcast P, PG and Chuck discussed some of Embiid’s poor outings for Team USA on this Olympics run. Advising Embiid on staying relevant with Team USA, George said it’s hard for players to expect the same level of success if they follow the same formula as the NBA.
PG said, “I had a conversation with him [Joel] not too long ago…It’s a different dynamic when you play Team USA…It’s a little bit of a different thing that I think he’s going through because there’s so much talent on the floor.”
To explain this situation further, PG cited his experience with Team USA during the 2016 Rio Olympics. George believes that Embiid might need to do things differently to remain a valuable roster member. Adding on to this, PG remarked, “When I played on that 2016 team, my mindset was more so geared towards, I’mma pick dudes up 94 feet, I’mma pressure the hell out of whoever I’m guarding. I don’t do that in the NBA.”
Overall, PG’s advice seems to apply quite well in this context. Being on an All-Star team of such caliber, Embiid cannot expect his teammates to always pass him the ball like in Philly. All he needs to do is find more opportunities to make good plays that would positively impact his role and the team in this iteration of the Olympics.
Though Paul George’s point slightly convinced Charles Barkley, he still maintained a different perspective about Embiid’s sluggish performance. Chuck says that Embiid is not in the best shape, which might explain his recent subpar performances and inconsistencies.
The Philly legend says that the Sixers now have the perfect team to contend for the NBA title, with Paul George joining in recently from the Los Angeles Clippers. If Joel Embiid still fails to meet his expectations next season, perhaps he might harshly bear the brunt of Philly losing out.
