"World Champions of what?": 5-time Diamond League champ Noah Lyles takes a dig at NBA's 'World Champions' title
Track and field superstar Noah Lyles has a problem with the NBA, making it known after he made history at the 2023 World Athletics Championship. Lyles is in disbelief that NBA champions are called "world champions" even though they only play in the United States.
In an interview after the 200m gold medal, Lyles ranted about the lack of support for track and field stars. The NBA got the brunt of his frustrations as he called out the basketball league for calling their champions as champions of the world.
"The thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have world champion on their heads," Lyles said.
"World champion of what? I love the US, at times, but that ain't the world! We are the world. We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving putting on a flag to show that they are representative.
"There are no flags in the NBA. We've got to do more. We've got to be presented to the world. I love the track community, but we can only do so much within our own bubble. There's a whole world out there."
According to Athletics Weekly, Noah Lyles became the first male athlete to win the 100m and 200m gold medals in the same World Championships since Usain Bolt in 2015. Lyles is also just the fifth person to accoplish the double in athletics history.
The 26-year-old sprinter's rant about the NBA also happened when he was being followed by cameras. His docuseries is set to air on Netflix sometime later, and his plea for more support will certainly become a talking point.
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Does Noah Lyles have a point about NBA champions being called world champions?
There's a perfect explanation for why the NBA champions are also referred to as world champions. The NBA is the best basketball league in the world, so it makes sense to call them champions of the world.
The best international players are also in the league like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. However, for people like Noah Lyles, there's a way to make the "world champions" claim more legitimate.
Some fans have proposed the possibility of the NBA champions facing the EuroLeague champions. However, it's difficult to see a team from Europe beat an NBA team, more so the NBA champions, in a game with a lot at stake.
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