“World Champions of what?” After dominating last year’s World Athletics Championship in Budapest, sprinter Noah Lyles made a statement that turned the NBA world against him. Frustrated by the league’s ‘world champion’ tag for their season winners, Lyles questioned the norm. Sure enough, he received a ton of backlash from fans and even many NBA superstars who took offense to his comments. However, a year later, Noah revealed the true intention behind his controversial statement and made a shocking confession about three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.

Making an appearance on NFL legends Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson’s podcast Nightcap, Lyles addressed his statement, “Everybody sees the 16 seconds. But did anybody decide to ask what was the question that was asked to me?” Sure enough, when Lyles targeted the NBA’s tag, he was asked how it feels when athletes from other countries get a hero’s welcome when they win a medal for their nation but the same does not happen in the USA.

Then, he revealed how he was welcomed after winning gold, “When I showed up back home on my flight, of course some people recognized me and I’m very thankful for that, but there was no thirty thousand people, there was no limo driver ready to take me home, there was no bus waiting.”

Only greeted by his parents and a handful of his fans, Lyles claimed he was ready to go to bed as soon as he landed. The difference between how he is treated and how the NBA champions are treated frustrates him. After Noah put his point forward and justified his controversial statement, Shannon tried to defend the league by pointing out that the NBA has the best players in the world.

“Is Nikola Jokic one of the best players in the world?” Shannon asked Noah. However, what the sprinter said next shocked everyone, “Imma be honest, I don’t know who that is.” Followed by a huge laugh.

Noah Lyles stands by his statement

While many consider The Joker to be the best player right now and he has even proven it with three MVP wins and a championship, Noah Lyles denied having any knowledge about the Serbian big man. Then, Shannon asked him about two other foreign-born NBA superstars, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Fortunately, Noah was aware of them, unlike Jokic, “Ah, I’ve heard of Luka… They’re great players.” But he still stood by his original point.

“The problem that I had was you have given the title of world champion to people who weren’t facing the world. That’s where I drew the line and said that’s hurtful… I’m not expecting the parade, I’m just showing the difference of how our sport is shown.” Sure enough, being a six-time world champion, Lyles did not like that the NBA Champions were glorified as world champions despite the league having teams from only one nation, with only the Toronto Raptors as an exception. And he expects his sport to get the same level of respect and recognition. Whose side are you on in this Noah Lyles and NBA debate?

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