Days after winning gold with Team USA, Joel Embiid accepted another prestigious medal — from his native Cameroon.
The 30-year-old Philadelphia 76ers star, who drew boos from the crowd at the Paris Summer Olympics, received nothing but praise during a visit to the Central African nation on Wednesday (August 14), where he received the Commander’s Medal of the Order of Courage from President Paul Biya.
In a video posted on X, the former NBA MVP can be seen accepting the high honor. TMZ first broke the news.
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The medal is awarded to natives of Cameroon who have made “an outstanding contribution in the fields of art, science, agriculture, commerce or industry,” according to TMZ. Embiid lived in Cameroon until he was 16, and later played basketball at the University of Kansas for one year.
For the seven-time All-Star and two-time NBA scoring champion, the moment was the culmination of a busy summer and followed Team USA’s victory over France during the men’s basketball final on Saturday, August 10.
Embiid’s best outing came a few days earlier against Serbia in the semifinals on Thursday, August 8, when he poured in 19 points in 27 minutes. Throughout his Olympic experience, fans have been vocal in their displeasure with the center choosing Team USA after considering playing for France
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“Honestly, I don’t understand why I got a lot of criticism from the crowd,” Embiid told reporters, including PEOPLE, on Friday, Aug. 9.
The decision to play for Team USA was not a foregone conclusion for the star center.
“Having spent half my life in the US and the other half in my country Cameroon, it seemed like you could go two ways, and I always said from the beginning – everyone knew that if Cameroon qualified, I would never was a choice,” he said.
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Source: HIS Education