It took Joel Embiid a few years to start truly making his mark in the NBA but, as of Thursday, he's now an All-Star ... and an All-Star starter at that.
With his first All-Star Game selection comes the opportunity to take a victory lap around those who previously doubted or underestimated his ability, and Embiid has a few of those haters to check off his list.
First and foremost ...
Now, while Embiid didn't explicitly name the "famous girl" who was only interested in All-Star quality lovers, but most people are speculating that the woman in question is Rihanna. That Embiid tweet was sent around the time that the 76ers big man was furiously pursuing the female pop star, both publicly and privately.
From a PhillyVoice post from May of 2017:
Embiid previously asked Kelly Rowland, a close friend of Rihanna's, to put in a good word for him when the two met at an ESPN event. The Sixers star gave a pretty convincing pitch for Rowland to pass along.
"I mean, look at myself. I'm 7-2, I'm good looking. Women usually love my accent because I'm from Cameroon in Africa. And I'm pretty intelligent, too. And I'm funny. I love pretty women. I feel good about myself," Embiid said while Rowland laughed the entire time.
Following Philly's win over the Celtics on Thursday night, NBA on TNT sideline reporter Kristen Ledlow offered Embiid the chance to send a message to the unnamed woman who told him to give her a call once he was All-Star status. His answer was slightly surprising, but wholly wonderful.
Embiid might have to pass on Rihanna… pic.twitter.com/nDmhyDYKup
— Steve Noah (@Steve_OS) January 19, 2018
"She denied me back then, so why go with her again?" said Embiid. "So I have to pass that and move on to the next one."
Not only is Embiid an All-Star, he's also a man who knows his self-worth and values his pride. But we'll have to see if he sticks with this mindset if Rihanna hits him up in the coming days.
And, for what it's worth, Embiid's army of fans are going out of their way to troll Rihanna with a flood of Embiid tags on her Instagram page. What I wouldn't give to see the look on her face as that movement picked up steam.
Hopefully Rihanna is taking all of this in stride, and hopefully Joel is able to find love from someone who will appreciate him whether he's an All-Star or not.