Gilbert Arenas went on a rant filled with xenophobic tropes following Team USA's win over South Sudan ... and he's now facing backlash for the remarks, including from Joel Embiid, who's calling the comments "disappointing."
The former NBA star unleashed the offensive tirade on Saturday ... just after LeBron James and Co. squeaked by South Sudan in an Olympics tuneup, 101-100.
James' squad was supposed to win big at O2 Arena in London -- they were, after all, 43-point favorites -- but instead, they needed a last-second layup from the Lakers superstar to get them by.
“[Joel Embiid] throwing the game for his cousins [South Sudan] and sh*t… They don’t even have shoes. They get their shoes from America. We gotta ship them shoes... They shooting on f*cking peach baskets in dirt with no shoes.”
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 22, 2024
— Gilbert Arenas 😳pic.twitter.com/hxJ8X9ybn2
Arenas was highly critical of the Red, White and Blue after the performance ... and in a video posted to TikTok, he made some remarks about USA's opponent that many are calling highly offensive.
"We got the males, almost lost to some Africans," Arenas said. "Almost lost to the Ahi Ahi tribe. This is crazy."
The ex-Washington Wizards point guard then brought up Embiid, who was born in Cameroon.
"Man," he said, "Embiid over there, God damn throwing the game. He throwing the game for his cousins and s***."
Gilbert was giggling the entire time he was being filmed -- suggesting he was making his commentary in jest -- but there weren't many laughing with him on social media.
I asked @usabasketball’s Cameroon-born 🇨🇲 star Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) about Gilbert Arena’s (@GilsArenaShow) recent disgusting and racist comments about Africans and African basketball players… @FECABASKET @FIBA @SSBFed pic.twitter.com/aBRZfXnxTi
— Δ¥Ω™ (@iam_Ayo) July 22, 2024
X users blasted him for the comments ... and on Monday, Embiid called them "unfortunate" when reporters questioned him about it all.
So far, no response from Arenas -- at least publicly.
As for Team USA, it will officially begin its quest for gold in Paris next week.