“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?” said Noah Lyles last year, lamenting the lack of opportunities for track and field athletes. In a post-meet press conference, the 27-year-old had even defended his sporting community, saying, “We are the world. We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving, putting on their flag to show they are represented. There ain’t no flags in the NBA.” So naturally, the sports community was divided into two defending and taking shots at the young athlete.

While Sha’Carri Richardson agreed with her fellow athlete and even wrote a long message on social media extending her support, NBA veterans like Draymond Green and Kevin Durant didn’t hold back. “Somebody help this brother,” wrote Durant in response to an Instagram post by ESPN reporting the news. On the other hand, Green hit back, “When being smart goes wrong”, with a face-palm emoji. However, notably missing was another veteran, Lebron James’ reaction, and by his most recent statements, it seems like that’s the way it’s always going to be…

The Paris Olympics was a thrilling experience for both fans and athletes alike, with the atmosphere buzzing with excitement. And perhaps Team USA was the most excited for Simone Biles and her legendary comeback. One of the most celebrated gymnasts of all time, Biles has been a source of inspiration for practically the whole world. So, it’s really no surprise that she has garnered the respect of NBA legends like Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and more. In fact, Bron has never shied away from showing his love for the 27-year-old.

In a recent appearance on GoJo & Golic, the NBA superstar talked about how other Olympic athletes have inspired him and his daughter. Namedropping the gymnastics superstar Simone Biles, James mentioned, “It’s always fascinating to see track and field and also gymnastics. Obviously seeing Simone Biles continue to dominate her sport at the level that she’s at and it was unbelievable!”

He then talked about his nine-year-old daughter Zhuri James—an avid fan of Biles.

“Having a black girl, daughter in my household who loves gymnastics, loves volleyball, and things of that nature, to have an example like Simone, is unbelievable,” James explained. This isn’t the first time the 39-year-old has talked about how Simone Biles has been an inspiration for not just his daughter or even girls, but rather any and everyone regardless of the sport.

Biles had announced her return from the two-year break after the infamous 202o Tokyo Olympics. She had cited mental health, primarily twisties, as the reason for withdrawing from the Summer Olympics. The backlash the 23x World Champion received was brutal, with terms like “quitter” and “selfish” thrown around. But she held her ground and as we saw in Paris, came back even stronger!

Hence, it’s little wonder that LeBron James, who has also been at the receiving end of such criticism (just think of ‘The Decision’), would be in awe of Simone Biles. He also talked about US’ track stars. But as expected, the name everyone expected was missing..

“I love seeing those runners,”: LeBron James wasn’t as subtle as he thought when it came to track and field

Apart from gymnastics, the ‘Akron Hammer’ named track and field as his favorite event of the Olympics. But did he have the same kind of enthusiasm for it as he did for gymnastics and Biles? Keep reading to find out what he said.

“I love seeing those runners. They run extremely fast, if it’s one for endurance, like the 400 or whatever the case may be, if it’s the…relay and that’s all countries. I just love seeing track and field and seeing the great athletes that we have all over the world. But you know, it’s pretty cool.” Said ‘The King’.

However, Lyles has not been this patient when it comes to conversations about James. During the same press conference, the sprinter was asked, “Is the gap wider between the average Joe and [LeBron James] or the average Joe and you?” to which he had replied, “Well I’m the third-fastest man ever to live, so, you’re definitely getting closer to LeBron than me,” drawing widespread criticism.

However, the backlash didn’t affect him as he later went to point out how even legends like Lebron James, Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson were not free from haters. “Anybody who you want to say is great, there’s always going to be love, and there’s always going to be hate because people are going to form opinions, because you’re now so high up there that they can’t see you as everyday people of everyday society.”

Yeah … real subtle Bron, real subtle. Do we even need to say anything more? But we would love to hear from you! Do let us know your thoughts on LeSneaky’s attempts at maintaining that professionalism.