“World Champion.’ These two words are rife with controversy, most of which was sparked by three-time world champion Noah Lyles. After taking gold in the men’s 100-meter final, Lyles was looking to win another gold medal in the 200-meter race on August 8. At the time, he was battling COVID-19, had a fever of 102 degrees and was in considerable pain. But he didn’t let these setbacks stop him and persevered to eventually win a bronze medal.

An impressive achievement, isn’t it? But not everyone sees it that way. Noah Lyles felt that his own country’s basketball team almost wished him failure, as he put it in words: “only to see me fail.’ You may be wondering what led to this mood and when he made these comments.

Well, in an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports correspondent Shreya Verma at the Paris Olympics, she asked Noah Lyles: “You are the fastest man in the world and no one can deny that. Do you have a message for the people who doubt 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 question by saying: “No. I’m not here for them. I’m here for myself. It’s just 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 do you feel about that? Or would you like to say something about their performance and their gold medal performance last night?” That was indeed a clever and tricky question.

We all know that the USA secured its fifth consecutive gold medal in the men’s basketball final with a 98-87 win over host France on August 10. The American team, featuring NBA legends such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, overwhelmed the French team, featuring Victor Wembanyama.

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

There is a long story behind it! After winning gold at the Olympic Games in Paris on August 10, the US basketball team published a post with a photo of the team on the Olympic podium, accompanied by the question: “Are we world champions now?“This tweet refers to a comment made by Noah Lyles at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, where he won gold in the men’s 200m and used the term “World Champion,” and sparked a huge debate. The post’s reference to the NBA team underscores the ongoing debate over the use of the term.

NBA label “World Champion” hits a nerve with Noah Lyles

In August 2023, after 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, what hurts me the most is having to watch the NBA Finals and having ‘World Champion’ written on the head. World Champion of what? Of the United States? Don’t get me wrong, I love the USA sometimes, but this is not the world… We are the world.”

He stressed that international athletics competitions such as the World Championships involve athletes from a wide range of countries, unlike the NBA, which mainly features teams from the United States and Canada. The NBA’s reaction was immediate, with Kevin Durant posting on Instagram: “Someone help this brother”, in response to Lyles’ comments. Draymond Green wrote: “When wisdom goes wrong,“, accompanied by a facepalm emoji. Denver Nuggets star Aaron Gordon took a more relaxed approach and commented: “Whatever… I’m better in the 200m, buddy.”

But it wasn’t over yet!

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

Booker was visibly impressed by Lyle’s performance. “It was crazy, I mean, it was great for America. Congratulations to him.” Booker said. However, Booker also expressed his disapproval of Lyles’ comments about the state of athletics compared to the NBA. “I still don’t agree with the comment,“, said Booker. “I feel like the greatest talent in the world is playing in the NBA, and that’s coming from an Olympic champion who believes it’s probably harder to become an NBA champion.”

But Lyles was not alone.

Support for Lyles came from fellow track and field athlete Sha’Carri Richardson, who posted on social media: “I’m on Noah’s side in this case.” She added: “The organization (NBA) has players from different countries, but do they compete against different countries? To become world champion, you have to compete against the whole world.” Given the strong opinions expressed, it’s 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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