The world of the NBA comes across as a civilized space for vicious competitors. The enigmatic figures go toe-toe against each other but unite when the time is right. One such instance happened recently as NBA stars such as Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, and a few others joined forces to stand against Noah Lyles.
Lyles took a dig at the NBA with his remarks around the phrase world champion. The superstars of the game united to hit back at him as the basketball world witnessed one of the rarest of occasions.
What did Noah Lyles say?
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The 26-year-old professional track runner completed a hat-trick of world titles in the World Athletics Championships 2023. The American created history as he became a six-time world champion in Hungary. Upon being asked about the difficulty of winning in track and field, he took a sudden dig at the NBA.
He stated that the world was bigger than just the USA. So, the NBA crowning their champions as world champions was not justified. “World champion of what? The United States?”?he said to express his belief. He then went on to portray the World Athletics Championships in a better limelight.
"I love the U.S… but that ain't the world!" ❌
Noah Lyles throws shade at the NBA's 'world champions' 🏀👀 pic.twitter.com/BRCJagckcK
— Eurosport (@eurosport) August 27, 2023
He mentioned, “I love the U.S., at times, but that ain’t the world!”. He added, “We are the world,” to highlight that numerous countries from various parts of the world competed in the tournament to claim the world champion spot. Unlike NBA, where they proclaimed themselves to be the best. His comments enraged several NBA stars, and they promptly responded to his words.
How did Kevin Durant and other NBA stars react?
The 2-time NBA champion Durant mocked Noah for his comments. He responded, “Somebody help this brother”.?His Phoenix Suns teammate Devin Booker reacted with a disappointed emoji to express his disagreement. Superstars like Damian Lillard could not believe Lyles’ words as he commented, “Tf”. Aaron Gordon was so furious that he threw a challenge to defeat him in a 200-meter race.
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The Miami Heat star Tyler Herro reacted to it too. “Nba is the best league in the world that?s why the champs are ?world champs,?”?he declared to reiterate the point of the argument. Numerous other players such as Tyus Jones and Udonis Haslem also joined in to counter Noah.
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The entire saga proves that in this world, there are no friends and enemies. There are just interests. So, despite these NBA stars uniting to confront Noah for his remarks, they would not think twice before tearing each other apart from the start of the next season.