“I love the United States, but that ain’t the world,” Noah Lyles’ words created quite the ripple when he called out the NBA last year about their “world champions” claims. The reigning world champion sprinter expressed his doubts about considering the champions of a tournament that’s played only in the USA as the best team in the world, and it looks like fans are also in cohesion with the 26-year-old’s statements.

When it comes to American sports, there’s never a shortage of drama. The latest on the list is the controversy arising after the Boston Celtics’ record 18th time winning the NBA Championship as fans can’t fathom the statement after their victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

The Celtics took to social media to announce their historic win as they posted about their latest feat on X. Captioned, “2024 WORLD CHAMPIONS,” the post showcase an emphatic Celtics squad along with their coach Joe Mazzulla. While the victory undoubtedly called many fans to arms to celebrate with their favorite NBA squad, others couldn’t let the moment pass without bumping Lyles’ comments that made ripples across the country a year ago.

“World Champions of what? The United States?” quipped Noah in a press conference last year, and fans were split by his opinion. While on one hand, NBA athletes such as Giannis Antetokounmpo extended their support to the Olympic medalist, others weren’t so sure about Noah’s comments.

And now, as another NBA champions are crowned, fans have once again taken a nose-dive into hair-splitting debate.

After Noah Lyles, Basketball fans also ask ‘which world?’

One fan seems to be eager to ask the real questions without beating around the bush: does a domestic event really qualify as the global standard? This resonates with what Noah had pointed out last year.

“He received so much backlash for saying the, like, obvious,” said Antetokounmpo about how he felt Noah said the right thing. Saint Yves also thinks the NBA needs to get things right in the technical department, and sought to take matters into their own hands.

Remember how it became a popular joke that aliens only land in the USA or that superheroes are only concerned with defeating monsters to save America? Well, one fan also thinks the NBA was on a whole different trajectory of its own when they claimed the Celtics as the new “world champions”. Taking a cue from the decade-old squabble, this fan came up with:

When the NBA controversy erupted last year, Noah Lyles got support from Sha’Carri Richardson. Rai Benjamin, the second fastest man in history in the 400 m hurdles, tweeted, “NBA triggered dawg” on that occasion. This time it seems the same support has come from beyond the track and field realm.

Fred Kerley, 2022 world champion in the 100 meters, used a more interesting approach to stand by Noah during the controversy. He made two X posts writing “National Basket Association” in one and “World Championships” in the other one. Apparently, that was for everyone to understand that the names tell it all. One fan took the same way to quash the claim.

And yet, it seems like Noah Lyles is a prominent and frequent feature in the comment section of the original post, despite the festivities being ushered by the loyalists. What is your take on the matter? Tell us in the comments!