The basketball world is busy with its intense trash-talking and shooting for the WNBA’s semi-finals. However, Noah Lyles, also known as the fastest man in the world, recently issued a statement disrupting the peace of the NBA world and causing a stir among the champions. The man of sprints questioned the pride of the NBA players titling themselves as world champions. This comment was not approved by most NBA players and fans.

Players such as Kevin Durant and Devin Booker have already made their shots against Lyles. However, an intriguing argument recently came up around the same in the WNBA context. Can WNBA winners refer to themselves as global champions?

An intriguing debate on the status of the WNBA

Fubo Sports YouTube channel telecasted an episode where Gilbert Arenas was joined by the WNBA stars Sydney Colson and Theresa Plaisance. The anchor posted an interesting question to women athletes – Can WNBA winners refer to themselves as world champions?

Theresa took the mic as she explained it is different from the NBA as WNBA players usually play both overseas apart from their homeland. Conversely, in the case of the NBA, as Theresa mentions, players from across the world compete in the American league, but not every league consists of NBA players. So, the case of the WNBA is entirely different when considering whether players can call themselves world champions or not.

Theresa says that the competitive nature of the WNBA of the United States ultimately emerges as the best. In that way, they can declare themselves as world champions, though in the scenario about which Lyles spoke, the WNBA is totally different from the NBA.

Sydney Colson, along with Gilbert Arenas, accepts her stature. “If you take like WNBA champions and put them against any other champions, it would favor the WNBA champion side,” says Theresa Plaisance.

Theresa adds an explanation to the world champions in the WNBA, as they have many gold medalists and can be deemed world champions, but the teams they’re in cannot hold the same title.

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Gilbert Arena also stands up to the statement of Noah Lyle, as he is theoretically correct, but the practical NBA works differently.

Kevin Durant and Devin Booker on Lyle’s comment

Many NBA stars have lashed out at Lyle for his comment, but leading the assault was Kevin Durant, the twice MVP and champion known for his sharp tongue. “Somebody help this brother,? Kevin wrote on Instagram. Devin Booker has also expressed his discontent with an emoji.

At the end of the debate, though Lyle might be logically correct, there are many emotions and plays that are blended into the NBA world that makes the champions in question. Finally, it is not the actual honor but the perception and reception of players that contribute to their attribute of remaining a world champion.

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