That parade of well-wishers included Sixers coach Brett Brown, who came over from the coaches’ room to offer a congratulatory handshake then gushed about what Embiid’s nod means to the Sixers franchise as a whole.
“Like somebody just gave one of your children a star and put it on his paper. It’s true,” Brown said. “[Embiid] and I have been doing this for a long time, and I have been with him the longest out of any of the players in the locker room. He’s gone through a lot. To think that somebody that’s played — what is it, 65 games? — just from that small sample size is now on the All-Star team and starting?
“His story of perseverance is remarkable, and his story as it reflects the organization and the process that we’ve all been going through is a wonderful story. I’m just very proud of him.”
Embiid celebrated his All-Star nod with a monster effort against the East-leading Celtics, putting up 26 points and 16 rebounds as Philadelphia prevented Boston from completing a four-game season sweep with an 89-80 triumph at TD Garden.
Embiid downplayed the notion that the All-Star announcement provided extra motivation.
“I felt like I would have been extra motivated if I had not been a starter,” Embiid said. “The coaches told me, they were like, ‘You don’t have anything to prove. Just play basketball.'” During an on-court interview with TNT following Philadelphia’s win, Embiid was asked whether he might finally have a chance of landing a date with Rihanna now that he was a bona fide All-Star.
“She denied me back then, so why go with her again?” Embiid said. “So I have to pass and move on to the next one.”
Embiid often professed his fondness for Rihanna in 2013, then tweeted in 2014: “I was trying to get with this famous girl and she said, ‘Come back when you’re an All-Star.'”
Embiid fans responded to his All-Star nod by flooding Rihanna’s Instagram mentions with Embiid’s username. Trust the process, indeed.
Embiid thanked the fans on Twitter for their support.
Fantastic day!!!! We got a great win and I became an ALL STAR…. I wanna thank all of you guys out there and the organization for the support.. We’ve been through so much but this is for you guys so THANK YOU #TheProcess
