The 28-year-old centre was born in Yaoundé in Cameroon but could become eligible for the French, it is claimed.

He has started the process to represent the country, according to national team general manager Boris Diaw who spoke to L'Equipe.

Embiid, who plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, is a five-time NBA all-star and has long been rumoured to want to play for France.

He stands in at 7ft tall and has never represented Cameroon in international basketball.

In 2017, his home country selected him in the preliminary squad for that year's AfroBasket, but he didn't go on to make an appearance.

In the 2021-2022 season, Embiid led the NBA in scoring, becoming the first foreign player to do so as he averaged more than 30 points per game.

He also became the first centre to lead the league since Shaquille O'Neal in 2000, and the first centre to average more than 30 since Moses Malone in 1982.

"I know that he has personally started the naturalisation processes and that he would then like to be able to play for France," said Diaw to L'Equipe.

"That being said, we are not putting the cart before the horse and we are waiting for these steps to succeed." 

France's men lost the Olympic final at Tokyo 2020, 87-82 to the United States.

Countries are allowed to select one naturalised player in their Olympic squads.

However, French players such as Tony Parker and Evan Fournier have previously opposed the idea of naturalising players.