Days after winning the gold with Team USA, Joel Embiid accepted another prestigious medal — from his native country of Cameroon.
The 30-year-old Philadelphia 76ers star, who drew boos from the crowd at the Paris Summer Olympics, received nothing but accolades during a visit to the Central African country on Wednesday, Aug. 14, where he received the Medal of Commander of the Order of Valor from President Paul Biya.
In a video posted to X, the former NBA MVP can be seen accepting the high honor. TMZ was first to report the news.
The medal is given to Cameroon natives who have made “exceptional contributions in the fields of arts, science, agriculture, commerce, or industry,” per TMZ. Embiid lived in Cameroon until the age of 16 and later played basketball for one year at the University of Kansas.
For the seven–time All-Star and two-time NBA scoring champ, the moment was the culmination of a busy summer and on the heels of Team USA’s win over France during the men’s basketball final on Saturday, Aug. 10.
Embiid’s best outing came a few days earlier against Serbia in the semifinal on Thursday, Aug. 8, when he scored 19 points in 27 minutes. Throughout his Olympics experience, fans aired vocal displeasure about the center choosing Team USA after considering playing for France
“I frankly don’t understand why I’ve got a lot of criticism from the crowd,” Embiid told reporters, including PEOPLE, on Friday, Aug. 9.
Deciding to play for Team USA wasn’t a foregone conclusion as far as the star center was concerned.
“Having lived half my life in the U.S. and the other half in my country Cameroon, it just looked like you could go two ways, and I’ve always said from the beginning — everybody knew that if Cameroon would’ve qualified, that would’ve never been a choice,” he said.
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