Embiid is not Lorenzo Brown: France strikes by 'signing' the NBA's top scorer

• Basketball Spain nationalizes Lorenzo Brown, who will play the next Eurobasket

The same day that Spain granted Lorenzo Brown nationality, France aimed higher.

Among the dozens of names that the Official Gazette of the French Republic published that day,

, star of the Philadelphia 76ers and one of the best players in the world, stood out.

On the horizon, two major goals: the 2023 World Cup and, above all, the 2024 Paris Olympics. And ahead, the opposition of some heavyweights in the locker room.

Joel Embiid became the first foreign player to lead the NBA in scoring, and the first center since Shaquille O'Neal to average more than 30 points (30.6).

He has also averaged 11.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists (all career highs), and again finished second in NBA MVP voting behind

.

Forgetting the foot injury that delayed his debut for two years (the same one that retired

), he has established himself as one of the biggest stars in the league.

That is the magnitude of the player who 'signs' France.

Embiid was born in

where French is the co-official language, but his relationship with the Gallic country does not go beyond the language and some relatives who live there.

His relationship with the basketball team is long but never reciprocated.

The first fling was during the 2014 World Cup, when

took advantage of Embiid's tweet in French to throw the cane at him.

By then the center was injured, but the glove was thrown.

faces

is that when he has wanted to pick it up, he has been opposed by the leaders of the locker room, including Batum himself.

'An ethical problem'

The first criticism in France with the nationalization of Joel Embiid came in 2018, when the Cameroonian dropped in 'RMC Sport' that he did not rule out

.

Authorized voices like

("I'm not saying it against Joel, who is a very good player and it would come in handy for us. But that's not the debate. You're not French, you're not there, that's all," he declared in 'Le Parisien') or Batum.

"I don't like

. Like

with Slovenia and those tricks. [Embiid] may be the best post player in the world. If we're just talking about basketball, of course we have to do it. But there's an ethical problem already. level of training", he said in 'RMC Sport'.

Criticism that was repeated last May, when

.

"It may be that he has to play as 'two' or 'three' with the national team, because it seems that he is going to have quotas," madridista

, one of those possibly affected, quipped.

With the signing of Joel Embiid, France, Olympic runner-up in Tokyo 2020, is aiming for the next two major international tournaments, the 2023 World Cup and above all

There the French team could present an inside game with Embiid, twice second in the voting for the NBA MVP;

, three-time Best Defender in the league;

and Poirier, one of the best centers in the Euroleague.

And that's not counting

, one of the world's greatest

in his position.

A transfer market

The signing of Joel Embiid delves into a growing trend in international basketball.

If it was traditionally used as an arrangement so that some non-community players would have a better market in Europe (

with Azerbaijan;

with Uganda; Anthony Randolph with Slovenia;

was about to be Bulgarian), in recent years it has established itself as a market for selections.

Thus, while Spain has 'signed'

to cover the casualties in the point guard position for the Eurobasket (a decision that

has publicly criticized as captain), France takes Embiid to look even higher: to the World Cup and Olympic gold.

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