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Topics: Basketball, LeBron James, NBA, Olympics, Sport
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Basketball, LeBron James, NBA, Olympics, Sport
USA Basketball have seemingly thrown shade at Noah Lyles.
Lyles is known for voicing his opinions, so much so that Botswana sprinter Letsile Tebogo labeled him as 'arrogant and loud'.
And one opinion of Lyles' that has ruffled some feathers is his thoughts on USA Basketball and the NBA's annual championships.
Last year Denver Nuggets defeated Miami Heat 4-1 to be crowned winners, while Boston Celtics beat Dallas Mavericks this year to become 2024 champs.
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But Lyles has an issue with NBA winners hailing themselves as 'world champions'.
"You know what hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals, and they have ‘world champion’ on their heads," he complained last year.
"World champion of what? The United States? Don’t get me wrong. I love the US (at times), but that ain’t the world. That is not the world."
"We are the world," Lyles went on to say of the World Athletics Championships that he'd just competed in. "We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving, putting on their flag to show that they are represented. There ain’t no flags in the NBA. We gotta do more. We gotta be presented to the world."
But now USA Basketball have proved that they were in fact champions of the world after winning gold at the Olympics.
Sporting GOATS like LeBron James and Steph Curry were part of this year's Olympic line-up, with the team defeating hosts France to take top place.
Following their win, the USA Basketball official Twitter page wrote: "WORLD CHAMPIONS," alongside a first medal and American flag emojis.
People were quick to presume that it was a thinly veiled swiped at fellow Olympian Lyles' 2023 remarks.
"NOAH LYLES COME OUTSIDE," one person replied to the post.
"@LylesNoah basketball community wants to have a chat real quick," quipped someone else.
However, others pointed out that Team USA technically aren't world champions after all.
"Noah Lyles obviously hit a real nerve and no you're still not, you're Olympic Champions," one person insisted.
Another corrected: "Olympic champions not world champions."
A third person pointed out: "Olympic champions. Reigning world champions are Germany."
If you Google world basketball champion you'll find that the current champion is Germany, who defeated Serbia in the final of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
But, with Team USA having beat several other countries to win gold at the Olympics, does that actually make them the new world champions?
Who'd have thought there was so much politics in sport...
UNILAD has contacted representatives for Noah Lyles for comment.