Joel Embiid has LeBron James age concerns heading into 2024 Olympics

Joel Embiid isn’t so convinced Team USA will win another gold medal.

The 76ers big man cited the 39-year-old LeBron James’ age as a reason why the red, white and blue could fall short later this month despite the stacked roster taking the court in Paris.

“You look at the talent that the U.S. has, but there’s equal talent on other teams,” Embiid said in an interview with the New York Times. And the talent that’s on the U.S. team, you also got to understand most of those guys are older. The LeBron now is not the LeBron that was a couple of years ago. 

“So it’s a big difference. Everybody would also tell you, and you can see for yourself, the athletic LeBron, dominant that he was a couple of years ago, is not the same that he is now. I think people get fooled by the names on paper. But those names have been built throughout their career, and now they’re older. They’re not what they used to be.”

Embiid’s doubts come after the Americans won each of their first three showcase games over Canada, Australia and Serbia — all potential gold medal contenders. 

Team USA has won gold in each of the past four Olympic games since the disappointing bronze medal finish in 2004. 

The current roster rivals the 1992 Olympics “Dream Team,” but James, who is playing in his fourth summer games, isn’t the only aging star representing the U.S. with Steph Curry (36) and Kevin Durant (35) on the team. 

Embiid, 30, is playing for the Americans in the Olympics after flirting with other options. 

The Cameroon native also holds citizenship in the United States and France and chose Team USA after some deliberation. 

“I have three options,” Embiid said in October 2023. “My goal is to play in the Olympics. I love all three options. Cameroon, I’m born there, I’m from there and I always want to represent my country. But the goal is also to play in the Olympics. If we had a chance or if we were qualified for the Olympics, that would be an easy decision, but that’s still up in the air — and I really do want to play in the Olympics.”