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The USA basketball team appeared to take a swipe at track and field star Noah Lyles after winning a gold medal on Saturday.
“Are we world champions now?” Team USA posted on X after defeating France in the gold medal game.
Team USA’s post is a reminder of last August, when Lyles criticized NBA teams for calling themselves “world champions” despite playing in a league made up only of teams from America and Canada.
“You know what hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘World Champions’ on their heads,” Lyles said. “World Champions of what? Of the United States? Don’t get me wrong, I love the USA, sometimes, but that’s not the world.”
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“World champion of what? The United States?”
Track and field star Noah Lyles on NBA champions who call themselves world champions.
(above @eurosport) pic.twitter.com/do1WC2vdYb
Lyles’ comments sparked a years-long debate about whether NBA champions should be allowed to call themselves world champions.
On the one hand, the NBA is made up of the best players in the world, not just from the USA, which is an argument for it being a world league. On the other hand, the league is different from athletics, where every year athletes from all countries come together to compete and find out who is the best in the world.
Either way, both Team USA and Lyles can call themselves world champions after this year’s Olympics. Lyles won gold in the 100-meter dash, while the United States remained undefeated and won its fifth consecutive gold medal.
