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American track and field sprinter Noah Lyles has been in the crosshairs of NBA players following his "world champions of what" remarks last year. With Team USA outlasting France in the gold medal game of the men's basketball tournament on Saturday, it was their time to have a say.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, USA Basketball seemingly took a shot at Lyles with a question for its followers. It was particularly trivial considering the 27-year-old athlete was critical of the NBA champions and not the United States basketball team.
"Are we the World Champs now?" USA Basketball posted.
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Despite what is going on between Noah Lyles and the American NBA players, they were both successful at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Lyles took home one gold medal and one bronze medal. He was unable to compete for another medal after testing positive for COVID-19.
On the other hand, Team USA was triumphant for the fifth straight Olympics after beating France 98-87. The U.S. has now won every gold medal in the men's tournament since 2008.
What did Noah Lyles say at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Hungary?
Noah Lyles drew the ire of many American NBA players and fans when he criticized the league for using the term "world champions" despite playing in a national league. Lyles pointed out that the NBA champions should compete with other champions around the world.
"You know the thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have "world champion" on their head," Lyles said. "World champion of what? The United States? Don't get me wrong. I love the U.S., at times, but that ain't the world. That is not the world.
"We are the world. 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."
While Lyles had some valid arguments, the NBA is the best league in the world, and many observers believe its champion would go undefeated against other league champions in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and South America. Team USA has also been dominating the Olympics despite the increase in international talent over the years.
Noah Lyles' comments might have indirectly created an NBA-FIBA tournament
A lot of American players were upset by Noah Lyles' comments, but it might have indirectly created a future tournament involving the NBA and FIBA. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver recently shared a potential annual competition involving NBA teams and FIBA-sanctioned leagues or a possible NBA-backed league featuring teams around the world.
"I continue to believe there's enormous opportunity here," Silver said in Paris last week. "It's not something where we'll transform a league structure in the short term. But I think that there's an appetite among our team owners for additional investment in global basketball. We have a huge initiative in China. We have a huge initiative in Africa.
"Given the quality of the basketball here in Europe, it would seem to make sense that we should be doing something here as well."
What are your thoughts on U.S. basketball's social media post after its Olympic win? Let us know in the comments section below!
