“F**King Common Sense”: Noah Lyles Gets Fresh Round of Applause After Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Support in ‘World Champion’ Debate

The Noah Lyles vs. NBA controversy continues to rage on. After an epic track and field triumph in Budapest, Lyles went on to criticize the National Basketball Association for referring to its winners as world champions. In a press conference last month, Lyles emphasized that he is frustrated with this practice since teams in the NBA do not play against the best national basketball teams from around the world. His comments soon invited the wrath of other NBA stars who entered the conversation and regularly trolled the track star on social media platforms.

Players like Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Aaron Gordon, and Damian Lillard among others called out Lyles online. Even basketball pundit Stephen A. Smith and Canadian rapper Drake publicly took digs at the world champion. However, recently, NBA champion Giannis Antetokounmpo has surprisingly come out in support of Lyles with his latest comments on the whole controversy.

Giannis Antetokounmpo backs Noah Lyles on NBA controversy

After facing a lot of heat from the basketball world, the 26-year-old pro sprinter may have found some comfort in Giannis Antetokounmpo’s latest statement on the controversy. The power forward was one of the guests on the 48 Minutes podcast, which is hosted by Ross Geiger, former assistant coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. When the guests started discussing the Noah Lyles controversy, Antetokounmpo expressed that he really wanted to support the sprinter when he was being trolled. According to a tweet by Track Spice, the NBA champion said, “I wanted to back him up so bad… He received so much backlash for saying the obvious. “

The Greek-Nigerian player also gave an example of how different soccer leagues operate around the world. He mentioned that winners of the UEFA Champions League, which is the most prestigious European club soccer competition, do not call themselves world champions as that right is reserved for winners of the FIFA World Cup.

Read more: “Shut Your Mouth”: NBA World Cancels Noah Lyles’ American Glory After Controversial Slant on Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Others

Antetokounmpo further highlighted that the NBA is the greatest basketball league in the world but the league should also respect champions of other leagues like the Euroleague champions, Spanish champions, and so on. Soon after his comments fans also took to Twitter and started voicing their opinions on these latest developments.

Fans react to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s support for Noah Lyles

As soon as NBA champion Giannis Antetokounmpo defended Noah Lyles, fans also came up with their own thoughts on the social media platform. Reacting to some of Antetokounmpo’s comments on Twitter, one fan sided with the Greek-Nigerian’s comment and wrote, “The International Players have taken over Basketball at every level. The Best Players in the NBA are International.”

Another enthusiastic fan also supported the perspectives of Noah Lyles and Giannis Antetokounmpo by stating, “Yes, finally somebody with some f**king common sense. The US just lost a game the other day – you can’t be a world champion unless you take on the entire world. @LylesNoah was 100% correct in his statement. We’re just mad because we’re falsely led to believe that the US is superior to everyone.”

One user attempted to clarify Lyles’s NBA comments and wrote, “Lyles talked about the NBA not being the best not the US basketball team. The NBA is the premier and best basketball league on planet Earth. The NBA takes the best players from around the world.”

Another basketball fan had an interesting question for the NBA champion Giannis Antetokounmpo and commented, “How about this, Giannis will you trade your NBA chip and your Finals MVP for a gold medal or a fiba chip? NO. Would Noah Lyles trade all of his world championships for an Olympic gold medal? YES. Why? Cause one outweighs the other! Noah salty. Should’ve played football.”

Another user highlighted his admiration for both the players by writing, “One of my all time favorite athletes standing up for another one of my all time favorite athletes.”

As more and more athletes weigh in on the Noah Lyles vs. NBA controversy, different sets of fans continue to remain divided in opinions. Antetokounmpo is one of the first non-American basketball players to come out in support of Noah Lyles and as this controversy continues to brew, fans only hope that it will not affect Noah Lyles’s upcoming performances at the 2023 Diamond League finals in Eugene.

Watch his story: After Flaunting World Championship Medals, Noah Lyles Gets Back to Hustle Again Ahead of Prefontaine Diamond League