Philadelphia 76ers

Joel Embiid says he's OVER Rihanna -- officially declaring he's moving on after trying to get a date with her for years.

Seems Lakers rookie Josh Hart thinks Embiid's making a mistake.

Backstory ... Embiid has long claimed he hit on Rihanna back in the day and she told him to come back when he made the NBA All-Star team.

Well, now he has ... he'll be a starter on the East ... so, TNT's Kristen Ledlow asked Joel if he had a message for RiRi now.

He shot her down -- it was hilarious.

So, we asked ex-Villanova star Josh Hart if Embiid's making a mistake.

Everyone in Philly was feeling competitive AF this weekend during the Eagles' playoff game against the Falcons ... including 76ers star Joel Embiid.

Embiid got a little rough with an Eagles fan Saturday during a tailgate at the game, when the guy pushed the NBA star and intercepted an incoming pass to him in the lot.

Safe to say, Embiid wasn't having it ... he shoved the dude right back.

Embiid -- who's 7 feet tall -- doesn't usually back down against fans who challenge him in sports. He definitely didn't hold back while playing one-on-one with folks 2 summers ago.

Jalen Rose is taking the vegetarian approach with Joel Embiid -- NO BEEF -- 'cause the ex-NBA star has nothing but love for the Sixers stud ... despite being the butt of his joke the other day.

ICYMI -- Embiid poked fun at Rose in an interview with SportsCenter when he said his conditioning level was at 81 percent ... followed by "shoutout to Jalen Rose."

Of course, that's the number of points Kobe Bryant scored on Rose during his career-high performance against the Toronto Raptors back in 2006.

Rose says he's not pissed at all by the comment ... and showers the young baller's game with props.

Meek Mill kicked it with a VIP visitor -- Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Meek being a famous Philly native, has become friends with Embiid, who's now joining the public outcry against Meek's 2 to 4 year prison sentence for violating parole. Joel went to visit Meek last Friday, along with 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin, and we're told the visit went as good as it could.

As one Sixers source put it, "They really lifted Meek's spirits."

Meek has also spoken with Colin Kaepernick recently, and Colin said Meek "wanted people to know regardless of his unjust situation, he’s in good spirits and humbled by the support the people have shown him."

NBA #1 overall pick Markelle Fultz has a new BFF -- 17-year-old cancer survivor Mike Shelly, who's insane half-court shot at Saturday's 76ers game led to a once-in-a-lifetime VIP experience.

Here's the deal ... Mike balled out in a shooting contest during Sixers vs. Warriors, winning Chick-fil-A (Markelle's favorite thing ever) for all the fans in the arena.

Pretty epic -- but Shelly's no stranger to overcoming the odds ... crushing stage 4 cancer to suit up for his high school football team.

So when Mike got an invite back to the Wells Fargo Center, Fultz gave him a hero's welcome -- telling him he had a better jumper and asking if they could bro out over some chicken sandwiches! (The 76ers hooked Mike up with 76 Chick-fil-A gift cards, FYI).

The franchise also gave Shelly courtside seats, a future road trip with the squad and more!

Awesome story.

How did it feel to jam the rock down Lonzo Ball's throat??

Ben Simmons wouldn't say ... but his smirk told us everything we needed to know.

TMZ Sports got Ben hitting Delilah and Warwick with 76ers bro Robert Covington after they took out Lonzo's Lakers at Staples -- why not celebrate, right?!

Simmons straight up dominated their matchup ... so when we asked about his dunk that sent 'Zo to the shadow realm, Ben reacted pretty much how you'd expect.

B.S. seems to love the club scene -- and so far, it hasn't impacted his play. He was out early Wednesday morning and still killed it later that day.

FYI, we bumped into a couple of the 76ers assistants on gameday ... and they didn't seem to mind.

Here's Ben Simmons & Joel Embiid proving that nothing says criminal justice reform quite like beating the Clippers, 'cause after doing just that, the two young NBA stars want everyone set free.

And by everyone we mean Meek Mill & LiAngelo Ball (BTW, at the time this is being written 'Gelo is reportedly on his way back to the U.S. with his teammates, so Embiid is getting his wish).

The young 76ers hit up Poppy in West Hollywood Monday night after their victory in Staples, and our guy decided to ask Simmons about Mill and Embiid about Ball.

Embiid was down with cutting Ball a break (interesting considering his history with the family) and Simmons was all about Meek getting out from under his 2-4 year sentence.

Gilbert Arenas is tired of all the haters saying Jahlil Okafor sucks 'cause the 76ers are trying to cut bait ... telling TMZ Sports the big man's just stuck behind a superstar in Philly.

"He’s not a bust – there’s just a better player in front of him," Gil said, giving props to Joel Embiid. "He’s not a (Hasheem) Thabeet, he’s not a (Michael) Olowokandi – he’s better than those guys."

Basically, give Jah a change of scenery, and the former #3 overall pick can ball out.

Arenas also brought up the Lakers -- saying they have the reverse situation with former #2 pick Brandon Ingram (the starter) and rookie Kyle Kuzma (who's playing behind him).

Jahlil Okafor is opening about his infamous '15 streetfight in front of a Boston nightclub -- saying he lost his cool hours after the 76ers blew their chance to finally win a game that season.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Okafor went on a violent bender on Nov. 25, 2015 -- socking at least 2 men in the face outside Storyville Boston nightclub hours after Philadelphia (0-15 at the time) lost to the Celtics.

Okafor is now explaining the situation to SB Nation saying, "We were almost about to win that game against the Celtics and it ended up getting away from us in the fourth quarter," Okafor said.

"I remember just being upset because I thought we were about to get our first win. And I just decided I'm going to go out that night. I don't remember a lot of it, because I was really intoxicated."

"And me being drunk, I wasn't in my right state of mind. I remember being taunted -- just random stuff I would hear all the time on the court. I just reacted differently."

Okafor says he was so embarrassed after the fight, he didn't leave his house for 2 weeks.

Forget the Clippers ... Ben Simmons turned PHILLY into Lob City today -- with the help of a stud 12-year-old hooper diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

The 76ers superstar hit the gym Thursday to surprise Tyler Osowski -- who just underwent a major operation in June to help him walk better.

Simmons had heard Tyler was a HUUUGE Sixers fan -- and loves Simmons -- so, he worked with FOX 29's Dawn Timmeney to set up a shootaround.

What ensued was pretty great -- the two bro'd down on the court and Tyler even dished up a pretty sweet alley-oop!

He's unemployed at the moment, but think Nerlens Noel misses playing for the Philadelphia 76ers??

"NAH."

It was that simple when we asked the 23-year-old about his old squad outside of Warwick nightclub in L.A. last night, where he was partying until 2 in the morning.

Noel's story is bizarre ... he was the 6th overall pick in the '13 NBA Draft -- and after bouncing from the 76ers to the Mavs, he's currently a free agent.

After watching the clip, seems a Philly reunion is out of the question.

Oops.

Seems Markelle Fultz was so excited to publish his first sponsored Instagram post after he was drafted Thursday night, he forgot to fill in the template ... and left out the Philadelphia 76ers.

It's not uncommon for sponsors to give stars a template to publish on social media -- Scott Disick accidentally posted the instructions once -- and Fultz made a similar flub at Tissot's expense.

"Excited to head to (City) and join the (team name). @Tissot.us is helping me get started with my (team name) watch. #ThisIsMyTime #NBADraft."

Oops.

Don't worry, Fultz noticed his mistake and quickly filled in the blanks.

Rookie mistake.

Mick ... and Adrian ... and Paulie ... and Apollo might ALL be rolling in their graves after this -- 'cause here are a bunch of the Philadelphia 76ers doing "Rocky" quotes -- and it's so bad, it's good.

Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid, Nik Stauskas and more all take a swing and delivering some of the most famous quotes from the franchise ... despite the fact they have terrible Philly accents.

Our favorite part ... Dario Saric singing "Eye of the Tiger."

The team is honoring the 40th anniversary of the original "Rocky" -- and will include the theme at Wednesday's game against the Wizards.

DeAndre Jordan says R&B singer Sevyn Streeter should diss the 76ers the same way they dissed her ... and REJECT their offer of a do-over-make-good performance of the National Anthem.

You know the story ... the Sixers put the kibosh on Streeter's opening night anthem performance because the singer was wearing a shirt that read "We Matter."

Players on the roster were none too pleased about the decision, and the organization has since apologized to Sevyn and offered her an opportunity to sing again whenever she wants.

We got DJ leaving a Halloween party out in L.A. Monday night and asked him the question everyone wants to know about the situation ... should Streeter take the mulligan?

D.L. Hughley says the Philadelphia 76ers were DEAD WRONG for pulling Sevyn Streeter from her national anthem performance and owe her an apology ... and a redo.

We got D.L. out at LAX and asked her about the latest national anthem controversy -- with the singer claiming she was booted from a performance because she was wearing a "We Matter" shirt.

Check out the clip -- D.L. -- never one to hold back LAYS INTO the Sixers organization ... saying they need to make the situation right NOW ... or risk alienating part of their fan base.

Jahlil Okafor's season is already off to a GREAT start ... 'cause the 20-year-old Philadelphia 76ers superstar is dating a smoking hot bikini model ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Okafor's lady is Lauren Oglensky -- a 2014 graduate from University of Arizona where she was a "Tucson12" model (UA women who boast a 3.0 GPA or better).

Google her name ... she's fire.

Unclear how they met ... but turns out, she's from Philly, so that works out.

Sources connected to the couple tell us they've known each other for a while and are "happily together."

Congrats!