Joel Embiid hasn’t seemed to jell with the Team USA system across the country’s five exhibition matches, except for their last one against Germany.
In USA’s first few warmups, Embiid looked slightly off pace with his teammates due to his slower style of play.
It also hasn’t help matters that Embiid has never represented USA (or anyone for that matter) at the Olympics, unlike some of his teammates who will make their fourth appearance at the Games.
Despite the slow start, the big man showed out in USA’s 92-88 victory over Germany in the final game before the Olympics, after notching 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
After the win, Embiid spoke about how it takes him some time to find his feet in the NBA, and the international stage is the same.
“People who watch me know that every season know that it takes me a couple of games to get going and this is no different,” Embiid said after the game, via ESPN. “That’s the reason we’ve got preseason games. I feel like myself and I’m going to keep going and I’m going to be playing at that MVP level I’ve played for the last five or six seasons.”
In an interview the NYT earlier this week, Embiid spoke about his injury struggles and believes without them, he would be in the GOAT conversation.
“I think so. I think I’m that talented,” Embiid said. “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.”
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