‘World Champions.’ These two words are fraught with controversy, much of it ignited by the three-time world champion Noah Lyles. After clinching gold in the men’s 100-meter final, Lyles aimed to secure another gold in the 200-meter race on August 8th. At that time he was battling COVID-19 with a 102-degree fever and enduring considerable pain. But he didn’t let these setbacks stop him and persevered to win a bronze medal finally.

An impressive feat, right? Yet, not everyone views it that way. Noah Lyles felt that the basketball team of his own country seemed almost to wish for his failure, as he put it in words: ‘just to see me fail.’ You might be wondering what led to this sentiment and when he made these remarks.

Well, in an Exclusive interview with EssentiallySports correspondent Shreya Verma, in collaboration with Tide, at the Paris Olympics, she asked Noah Lyles, “You are the fastest man in the world and no one can deny it. Do you have any message for anyone who doubted you?” Lyles earned the title of fastest man by winning the men’s 100-meter final with a time of 9.784 seconds, the fastest of the year. Lyles responded to this query saying, “No. I’m not here for them. I’m here for me. It’s all about me and my mission. It doesn’t matter what they think.”

Everything seemed perfect until the conversation took an unexpected turn. EssentiallySports correspondent Shreya Verma asked Noah Lyles, “So you have stars from the NBA team watching you live. How does it make you feel? Or do you have any comments on seeing them and their gold medal performance last night?” This was indeed a smart and tricky question.

We all know the USA secured their fifth consecutive gold by defeating hosts France 98-87 in the men’s basketball final on August 10th. The American team, featuring NBA legends like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant, overwhelmed the French team, which included Victor Wembanyama.

This comes just days after Lyles, who had previously won gold in the men’s 100m final, could only secure bronze in the men’s 200m final. The NBA stars were also present at that event. When Lyles was further asked about their presence in his 200m game, Lyles responded with uncertainty: “I mean, I hope they enjoyed the show. I don’t know if they came in support or just to see me fail, but, you know, either way, they came. And I’m glad I could bring the entertainment to a level where they would want to watch, regardless of the reason.” Why would he say this?

The long story is behind this! Following their gold medal victory at the Paris Olympics on August 10, the USA basketball team shared a post featuring a photo of the team on the Olympic podium, accompanied by the question: “Are we the World Champs now?” This tweet references a comment made by Noah Lyles at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, where he won gold in the men’s 200m and discussed the term “world champion,” sparking much debate. The post’s connection to the NBA team highlights the ongoing conversation around the use of the term.

NBA’s ‘World Champion’ label hits a nerve with Noah Lyles

In August 2023, following the World Championships in Budapest, Noah Lyles criticized the NBA’s use of the term “world champions” for its titleholders. During a press conference, Lyles expressed his frustration, saying, “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. 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… We are the world.”

He emphasized that international track and field competitions, such as the World Championships, feature athletes from a diverse range of countries, unlike the NBA, which predominantly involves teams from the U.S. and Canada. The NBA’s response was immediate as Kevin Durant posted on Instagram, “Somebody help this brother,” in response to Lyles’ comments. Draymond Green, wrote, “When being smart goes wrong,” accompanied by a face-palm emoji. Denver Nuggets star Aaron Gordon took a lighter approach, commenting, “Whatever … I’m smoking buddy in the 200m.”

But it didn’t end there!

Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker also attended the track and field events at the Stade de France on Sunday. He was joined by Team USA teammates Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum, assistant coach Tyronn Lue, and Grant Hill to watch Noah Lyles’s 100m race. And Lyles won that!

Booker was visibly impressed by Lyles’ performance. “It was crazy, I mean, it was great for America. Congrats to him,”  Booker said. However, Booker also expressed his disagreement with Lyles’ comments about the state of track and field compared to the NBA. “I still don’t agree with the comment,” Booker said. “I feel like all the best talent in the world is in the NBA, and this is coming from an Olympic gold medalist [who believes] that being an NBA champion is probably harder to do.”

But Lyles wasn’t alone in all this.

Support for Lyles came from fellow track athlete Sha’Carri Richardson, who posted on social media, “I’m standing with Noah on this one.” She added, “The organization [NBA] has players from different countries but do they compete against different countries? You have to go against the world to be a world champion.” With such strong opinions expressed, it seems unlikely that Lyles and Richardson will be seen courtside at an NBA game anytime soon. But the NBA team did make a notable visit to Lyles’ event! Did you enjoy reading this?

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