With Adidas launching Anthony Edwards’ first signature shoe last December, it was a momentous occasion in the young star’s career. Hoping for other three stripe athletes to be a part of the event, Adidas sent out an invitation to sprinter Noah Lyles. But he declined the invite and was reportedly offended by it. Moreover, he even questioned the company’s decision to give Edwards a signature shoe while he does not have one yet. Upon backlash from the NBA World, Lyles denied having any personal vendetta against Edwards with a tweet.

However, that did not stop the speculations and rumors from spreading even further. While Ant-Man is yet to break silence, NBA legend Carmelo Anthony gave Lyles a heartfelt advice and showed him a way to achieve what he wants in an effort to shut down the controversy for good.

Carmelo Anthony’s advice to Noah Lyles

Addressing the controversy on the 7PM in Brooklyn Podcast, Melo understood why Noah believes he deserves his signature shoe. After all, he is a six-time world champion and proved that he is the fastest man on the planet by bagging a gold medal at the Paris Olympics’ 100m event. However, the NBA legend had an issue with Noah’s methods, “You want a shoe? Ask some n****s for a shoe. Don’t keep saying Anthony Edwards got. Anthony Edwards is a whole different brand. Leave him alone. Focus on yourself champ.”

As great as Lyles is in his sport, many people would agree that Anthony Edwards has more marketability and star power than him. And that is by no means the sprinter’s fault as it is just how big the NBA economy and reach is. Moreover, Edwards is expected to be the next face of the league because of his dominance in Minnesota, which is why Adidas trusted him to be their next big athlete. So instead of firing shots at Edwards or the rest of the NBA, Carmelo advised Noah to work in collaboration with them, “Noah come on champ. We wanna support you… Let’s do this together. Let’s support everybody. We in this together.”

More importantly, he also warned the six-time world champion about the consequences of frequently criticizing athletes from other sports, “Don’t keep playing those games because what’s gonna end up happening is all of these people gonna start turning on you because you’re gonna start making no sense.” Instead, Melo believes Noah should question the nation’s track and field association and focus on introducing their league which would help the athletes and the sport financially by broadcasting deals and ownership rights. And now that Lyles walked his talk by winning gold in the Olympics, Melo urged Adidas or any other sneaker brand to fulfill his wish, “Let’s get this man a sneaker.”

Is Noah Lyles burning the bridges with NBA players?

Although the controversy involving Anthony Edwards and Adidas is the latest chapter in the story, Noah’s issues with the NBA became public last year. It all began when he questioned the NBA for calling their season winners the world champions despite it being a national league. “You know what hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head. World champion of what? The United States?” he remarked. Sure enough, his comments riled up the basketball community as many NBA superstars slammed Noah on social media and defended their sport.

However, Noah did not stop there. During a recent interview, Noah fired shots at LeBron James after he was asked if the ‘average Joe’ is closer to reaching him or the four-time NBA champion, “Well, I’m the third fastest man ever to live. So, you are definitely closer to getting to LeBron than me.” Sure, he would not put anyone above himself being the fastest runner in the world, but many believe he could have been more respectful toward a legend like LeBron. On top of that, the controversy with Anthony Edwards has brought more heat toward the sprinter and turned a lot of basketball fans and athletes against him.

Not only in the NBA, but even NFL players have called Noah out publicly. Just recently, Miami Dolphins star Tyreke Hill made a bold claim while reacting to Lyles’ last year’s world champion comment, “I would beat Noah Lyles. I’m not going to beat him by a lot, but I would beat Noah Lyles.” Although it might all be in fun and games, there are signs that Noah’s antics have rubbed many big-name athletes the wrong way. But wanting the best for Noah, Carmelo said to him, “Don’t burn the bridges champ.” Representing the same nation and wearing the same colors on the international stage, Melo believes that athletes from all sports should be supporting each other rather than pulling them down. And he hopes Noah to do the same in the future. What are your thoughts?

Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Asia Avinger