"Nobody really knew who he was" - ESPN's Tim MacMahon believes Noah Lyles' beef with NBA players was clever marketing ploy
American track and field sprinter Noah Lyles made headlines last year when he called out the NBA for using the term "World Champions." Fast forward to the 2024 Paris Olympics, Lyles' profile has increased, with ESPN's Tim MacMahon saying that it all had to do with what the sprinter said.
MacMahon praised Lyles for all the controversy he created last year to raise his popularity and social media presence. He also called the "World Champions" argument silly because the NBA champions are the best team in the world because they play in the best league in the world.
"We're arguing silly semantics here. (Boston) is the best team in the world. (NBA) is the best league in the world with players around the world. World champions, who cares? But what it is is silly semantics and phenomenal marketing by Noah Lyles.
"Because as great as he is, nobody really knew who he was outside the track world until he said this stuff. He talks a good game, and like I said, he absolutely backs it up," MacMahon said.
As mentioned by Tim MacMahon, Noah Lyles certainly backed his talk up with his performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Lyles bagged a gold medal in the 100m race with a personal best of 9.784 seconds. It was also the United States' first gold at the event since the 2004 Athens Olympics.
However, it was a close race with a 0.005-second margin over silver medalist Kishane Thompson. Lyles was that close to getting ripped apart by NBA players and fans who he angered during his fiery rant last year at the World Championships in Hungary.
Noah Lyles' 'World Champions' comment might have helped create a potential FIBA-NBA Tournament
Noah Lyles' comments about the NBA champions calling themselves world champions might have helped create a potential tournament. NBA commissioner Adam Silver opened up about a possible partnership with FIBA regarding an annual tournament involving international teams.
"I continue to believe there's enormous opportunity here. It's not something where we'll transform a league structure in the short term.
"But I think that there's an appetite among our team owners for additional investment in global basketball," Silver said earlier this week in Paris.[H/T Associated Press]
The NBA commissioner added:
"We have a huge initiative in China. We have a huge initiative in Africa. Given the quality of the basketball here in Europe, it would seem to make sense that we should be doing something here as well."
If the NBA and FIBA agree on a potential tournament, it could create a huge opportunity for teams in other countries to shine. It will also help promote the sport on a much bigger scale from Europe to Asia to South America and even Australia.