Joel Embiid on the team makes them unlikable and unwatchable, really can’t stand the guy
What don’t you like about Embiid?
Personally I am disappointed that Embiid chose to the US over his home nation.
Embiid & Pascal Siakam would have been a formidable front court. I believe Nicolas Batum’s father was from Cameroon and he’s previously stated a desire to play for the african nation before he retired.
A competitive Olympics is what’s best for international basketball.
Well as someone who has multiple citizenships Embiid had the luxury of choosing who to play for, since all those countries wanted him to play for their program and he qualified. And he wants a gold medal, and figures his best chance is with Team USA. Self-interest is usually what drives these decisions. As for Buddy, DeAndre and Eric, if they all had a chance of being picked for Team USA I'm sure they would be picking that as well, because it's the best chance for a medal. As Kernewek mentioned, Gordon was born American but qualified for the Bahamas due to parentage. The same as Jordan Clarkson for the Philippines - he has no connection to the country, never lived there, doesn't speak the language, probably can't sing the national anthem - but he qualified due to a parent being Filipino. There's a certain amount of transactionalism with it, both from the player and the team.
I do get the sentiment of wanting the lesser teams to be more competitive, but it happens in all sports - France has a lot of players in soccer who also qualify for African countries due to ancestry but they're playing for Les Bleus because that's the best chance to win a World Cup.
