Meet Anne de Paula – the gorgeous SI swimsuit model who married an NBA superstar
While Joel Embiid is coming off another playoff failure with the Philadelphia 76ers, that hasn’t stopped him enjoying a lavish wedding with his now bride, Anne de Paula
Joel Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP, experienced the best individual season of his career that resulted in a whole host of awards.
The Philadelphia 76ers star secured his first MVP trophy after a league-leading 33.1 points per game along with 10.2 rebounds per game.
He was selected to the All-NBA First Team for the first time in his career as he looked set on leading the franchise to their first championship since 1983.
However, it wasn’t to be after he and the 76ers were bounced out of the second round by the Boston Celtics, continuing their drought from the Conference Finals since 2001.
Yet another playoff failure didn’t stop Embiid from enjoying his off-season as he got hitched to his long-time girlfriend, Anne de Paula.
The pair got married on Saturday (July 22) in a lavish affair in New York as the Brazilian SI Swimsuit model looked stunning in her white long-sleeved gown.
Is Anne de Paula your favourite NBA WAG? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below
The duo already share a son, two-year-old Arthur Elijah, named after Embiid’s late brother, as they first met in 2018 before embarking on a friendship which soon turned into a romantic relationship.
The 28-year-old model has a popular following on Instagram with 248,000 followers and first embarked on her journey with Sports Illustrated when she won the fan vote in 2017 to make her swimsuit debut with the publication.
She then became an SI Swimsuit rookie in 2018 and has since graced the issue four times.
Despite her burgeoning modelling career, a career in sport like her husband was something the Brazilian thought about, given her love for football, having grown up playing the sport.
She said it was “everything I wanted to do” as she insisted that she remains “very passionate” about football.
“It’s been a while [since] I’ve played because you have to keep your nails looking nice for this job. But if I had some free time, I would definitely go back to Brazil and play,” she told Fox News in 2018.
After Embiid had a then-career year in 2021 when he averaged over 28 points per game, de Paula had encouraging words for her partner.
“He just has this personality where he wants to motivate you,” de Paula told ESPN in 2021.
“His friends, his family and now with Arthur — he pushes all of us to be the best of ourselves. That’s the type of person you want to have around.”
