Joel Embiid seemed to be in good spirits on the bench despite his Olympic DNP against South Sudan

When Joel Embiid opted to play for USA Basketball over France and Cameroon, it was seen as a potentially game-changing boost for the U.S. men’s basketball team. This was a squad that was already heavily favored to win gold and adding another MVP to the loaded roster couldn’t hurt.

Embiid, though, has struggled adapting to the FIBA game, and on Wednesday, he did not appear in the USABMNT’s win over South Sudan. But despite the DNP, Embiid didn’t seem bothered by the decreased role.

As the U.S. pulled ahead between South Sudan’s runs, the NBC broadcast noted that Embiid looked to be in great spirits on the bench. He was rooting on teammates, celebrating big plays and smiling throughout the game.

"Joel Embiid, despite not playing a minute, he's been actively involved on the bench, he's been laughing with his teammates, he's been up on his feet cheering, he's handled this in a very impressive matter."

– NBC Announcing crew

— Jacob Moreno (@jmoreno76ers) July 31, 2024

Joel Embiid is the only player on Team USA's roster who did not play in the first half pic.twitter.com/VScuNqXUnG

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 31, 2024

This made it look like that Embiid was probably aware of the Steve Kerr’s plan ahead of time. Embiid started the Olympic opener against Serbia, but only scored four points in 11 minutes. Jayson Tatum — who had a DNP, coach’s decision, in the first game — started on Wednesday and played 17 minutes.

Embiid will start in Friday’s game against Puerto Rico.

Steve Kerr said he Joel Embiid received DNP-CD against South Sudan because USA wanted to better match up with their team speed.
– Kerr will start LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday and Embiid versus Puerto Rico on Friday.

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 31, 2024