He lived in the U.S. since his high school days and acquired French nationality two years ago.

A famous anecdote is that Embiid sent a letter to French President Macron to acquire citizenship. French fans had high expectations that he would choose to join the French national team at the Paris Olympics. However, Embiid's choice was the "21st Century Dream Team."

Embiid is like a villain at the basketball game of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Whenever he catches the ball, French basketball fans boo him a lot. A Group C match between the U.S. and Puerto Rico held at Pierre-Maurua Stadium on Thursday was no exception.

Everything was as expected. Strong favorite America defeated Puerto Rico 104-83. And as usual, Embiid received a lot of boos.

How did Embiid react.

When asked why he chose to join the U.S. national team instead of France, Embiid said, "It was a difficult decision. In the end, I questioned which option made me feel more comfortable. I have known the U.S. national team for a long time. This makes me feel more comfortable. I have always said that I will go wherever I want. And the team members wanted me."

As for the booing to the audience, he said, "I enjoy booing. Many people would think booing is hate, but I see affection and respect in it. If I were a poor player, I wouldn't even be treated like that."[토토사이트](https://bsc.news/post/safe-totosite-ranking-top-15-major-safe-playground-2024
)

And the booing is nothing new to Embiid. "I've been booed even worse. Especially at Madison Square Garden (home stadium of the New York Knicks) and TD Garden (home stadium of the Boston Celtics), the mood was even worse (meaning the booing was much worse). It's not my first time experiencing it," he said.

"And fans of the Philadelphia Phillies (Mavid's) boo their home team more often than their opponents. But it's all affection. They push their players hard in hopes that they will do better," he added.

Embiid said, "I'm enjoying the booing by French fans. It gives me more inspiration and gives me more opportunity to work harder."

LeBron James said, "All of our players are on Embiid's side," while Anthony Edwards, who led the U.S. win by scoring 26 points on the day, said, "He's with us. You can do more. We don't care. He chose us."