Athletes with Celebrity Crushes
“Who is your celebrity crush?” This is not an uncommon question for star athletes to get in more light-hearted interviews.
Big athletes like Aaron Rodgers and Blake Griffin are celebrities in their own right, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get starstruck every once in a while.
Here are a few athletes who have tweeted, 'grammed or talked about their celebrity crushes. Look out, Rihanna—you’re on the list a couple of times.
Honorable Mention: Drake, Skylar Diggins
1 of 14This one gets an honorable mention because it’s not an athlete with a celebrity crush, but the other way around. Drake is all over the sports world, but he’s not a professional athlete. However, he has posted to Instagram several times about a possible infatuation with WNBA star Skylar Diggins.
Joel Embiid, Kim Kardashian
2 of 14
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has risen to Twitter stardom, and it all started with Kim Kardashian. In July 2014, Embiid made a virtual move on the socialite by tweeting, “Hey I want you to come slide in my DMs @KimKardashian.”
Apparently, he quickly realized Kardashian is off the market and tweeted, “Oh I didn't know you were married sorry @KimKardashian just saw it from the fan's tweet... have a nice day.”
Jose Canseco, Lady Gaga
3 of 14
In 2011, Jose Canseco took to Twitter to profess his love for Lady Gaga. According to Yahoo Sports, the retired MLB slugger tweeted, “I love lady gaga I wish I could meet her. Would marry her in a second.”
Despite not actually mentioning her handle @ladygaga in the tweet, Canseco later checked back in via the Interwebs to see where she stood on his "marriage proposal.”
Rob Gronkowski, Nicky Whelan and Pamela Anderson
4 of 14
In 2012, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski told Michelle Beadle and Holly Robinson Peete on Access Hollywood that he had a crush on “the girl from Hall Pass,” aka Nicky Whelan.
Then in 2015, at media day for Super Bowl XLIX, Gronkowski revealed that his celebrity crush as a kid was Pamela Anderson. It looks like someone is into blondes.
Chris Paul, Kelly Kapowski
5 of 14The cast of Saved by the Bell recently got back together to film a glorious segment on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. It was everything you can imagine and more.
But before the rest of the world was reminded of its favorite '90s sitcom, Chris Paul got his own personal memento. According to Fox Sports, Paul received an autographed photo of Tiffani Thiessen, the actress who played Kelly Kapowski, for his 29th birthday in 2014. In an Instagram post of the photo, Paul called Kapowski “#My1stLove.”
Ryan Lochte, Blake Lively
6 of 14
Shortly after winning five medals in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte told Piers Morgan of CNN that his celebrity crush was Blake Lively. He said, “She is gorgeous” and talked about asking her to go to an island with him.
Jahlil Okafor, Beyonce
7 of 14
Superstar Duke freshman Jahlil Okafor is predicted to go No. 1 in the 2015 NBA draft. Naturally, folks want to know who his celebrity crush is. He recently told Lindsay Schnell of Sports Illustrated that he has several, but he only mentioned Beyonce by name.
Bonus fact: Okafor’s coach, Mike Krzyzewski, once told students at Duke, “I’m madly in love with Beyonce,” according to Scott Gleeson of For The Win.
Alex Morgan, Couple Crush
8 of 14
Alex Morgan recently married fellow soccer player Servando Carrasco, but back in 2013, she revealed her celebrity crush. Morgan told Whitney English of SheKnows.com, “I have a celebrity couple crush: Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz.”
Paul George, Alex Morgan and Sofia Vergara
9 of 14
Alex Morgan doesn’t just have a celebrity crush—she is the object of one as well. In 2014, Indiana Pacers star Paul George did a Q&A on Twitter. One of the fans, of course, asked about his celebrity crush. To this, he tweeted that Sofia Vergara and Alex Morgan take the cake for him.
Jadeveon Clowney, Rihanna
10 of 14
Before Jadeveon Clowney was the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NFL draft, a reporter asked him about his celebrity crush. According to Josh Kendall of The State, Clowney’s response was, “Rihanna, yeah, Rihanna, I'm coming girl.”
Colin Kaepernick, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj
11 of 14
Also crushing on Rihanna is San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. In January 2015, Jennifer Cooper and Mike Vulpo of E! Entertainment reported that Kaepernick said, “I kinda got two [crushes] between Rihanna and Nicki Minaj. The reason for Rihanna is her style, swag and the aura about her. Just when she walks into a room people feel her presence.”
Regarding Minaj, he said, “She just has this presence about her that is attractive to a man.”
Team USA
12 of 14
In 2014, Lisa Costantini of Team USA asked American athletes about their celebrity crushes. Snowboarder Elena Hight said, “One of my biggest celebrity crushes at the moment is Ian Somerhalder.” Ice hockey player Monique Lamoureux called Gerard Butler “the definition of a 'man's man,'” and skeleton athlete John Daly said Katy Perry “seems like a fun time.”
Aaron Rodgers, Ellen DeGeneres
13 of 14
At media day for Super Bowl XLV in 2011, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he had a crush on Ellen DeGeneres.
Travis Souders of the Chico Enterprise-Record reported that Rodgers, “I said my celebrity crush was Taylor Swift, just because I couldn't think of anything else. But I have to revise that today. Ellen (DeGeneres) is a big fan of mine, so I'll change it. My celebrity crush is Ellen.”
He had a chance to meet her in the flesh later that month on her show.
Blake Griffin, Jennifer Lawrence and Mila Kunis
14 of 14
In 2013, Jimmy Traina of SI.com interviewed Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin. Sure, they talked about basketball, but they also talked about other important topics like celebrities and karaoke songs. When asked about his celebrity crush, Griffin said, “Toss-up between Jennifer Lawrence and Mila Kunis.”
.jpg?w=480 "Rams Seahawks Football")
.jpg?w=600 "Thibodeaux, Diggs Top Landing Spots 🛬")
.jpg?w=600 "Steve Smith Sr.'s Cryptic Post 🤨")