Joel Embiid says he is no longer interested in Rihanna now that he has fulfilled her demand of being an NBA All-Star

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• Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid was named as a starter in the All-Star Game on Thursday night.
• Early in his career, Embiid had been shut down when asking a woman, rumored to be Rihanna, out on a date, with the woman in question responding, “Come back when you’re an All-Star.”
• When asked to address the matter postgame, Embiid said that he was past his former crush.

Joel Embiid was named a starter for the Eastern Conference in the NBA All-Star Game in February and many people immediately wondered, “what about Rihana?”

The starting nod is quite an accomplishment for the young center, whose career began with ongoing injury concerns and is now playing in his first full season after an abridged 2016-17 campaign. But beyond the recognition the honor brings, Embiid has another important reason to be thrilled he’s an All-Star: he can finally get past his crush on Rihanna.

Back in 2014, while Embiid was already a social media star but less known for his play on the court, he had a well known public crush on Rihanna. But when he finally took his shot with the woman presumed to be Rhi Rhi, he was shut down in brutal fashion. “Come back when you’re an All-Star,” she said.

Now that Embiid is an All-Star, he was asked after his 26 point, 16 rebound performance on Thursday night, if he had anything he’d like to say to anyone out there watching. If he still wanted to shoot his shot, this was his moment.

But instead, he veered away.

“She denied me back then; there’s no reason to go back to her,” Embiid said. “So I gotta move on to the next one. There’s a lot of pretty women out there, and I’m beautiful, so I gotta move on to the next one.”

You can watch video of his postgame comments below.

The NBA All-Star Game is February 18 in Los Angeles. NBA fans will be watching to see if Embiid brings a date to the game, and if Rihanna has anything to say in response.