"You want to invite me to [an event for] a man who has not even been to an NBA Finals?" - When Noah Lyles took a dig at Anthony Edwards

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Aug 12, 2024 10:11 GMT

Noah Lyles' controversial comments regarding the NBA are well known. However, few people may be aware that the American sprinter once made a jibe at basketball star Anthony Edwards, who recently contributed to another Olympic gold medal for the USA in the men's basketball event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The controversy spawned from Lyles' interview with Time Magazine in June 2024, in which he talked about Edwards, the rising NBA star.

In the interview, Lyles shared that during negotiations over extending his professional contract with Adidas in early 2023, he was invited to Edwards' shoe-release event. Lyles shared his reaction at the time, [via Time Magazine],

"You want to do what? You want to invite me to [an event for] a man who has not even been to an NBA finals? In a sport that you don't even care about? And you're giving him a shoe? No disrespect: the man is an amazing athlete. He is having a heck of a year. I love that they saw the insight to give him a shoe, because they saw that he was going to be big. All I'm asking is, 'How you could not see that for me?' "

Edwards, nicknamed 'Ant Man', is a professional basketball player, who currently plays for Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA league. He has been a part of the NBA All-Star Team twice in 2023 and 2024 consecutively.

He represented the USA in the men's basketball competition at the Paris Olympics, where they won their eighth consecutive gold medal. The USA now has 17 Olympic gold medals in men's basketball, the highest for any team sport.

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Noah Lyles' comments on the NBA finals

Noah Lyles of the USA after winning the men's 100m at the 2024 Paris Olympics - Getty Images

Noah Lyles has been often in the news for his no-holds barred approach. However, this approach once put him in trouble. After his victory at the World Championships last year in the men's 200m, Lyles said [via Time Magazine],

"The thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA finals, and they have world champion on they head. World Champion of what? The United States?"

This led to a furor among NBA players and the NBA fanbase, who criticized Lyles for his statement. Some fans spoke out against him following his second-place finish in the heats of the men's 100m at the Paris Olympics 2024. However, Lyles let his feet do the talking, replying in some way with his gold medal in the men's 100m in a photo finish.

However, after Lyles won a bronze in the 200m at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the controversy resurfaced as NBA star and fellow USA Olympian Kevin Durant posted on Instagram,

"World Champion of 3rd place?"

It was later revealed by Lyles that he ran the 200m final despite battling COVID-19.

USA Basketball also took a jibe at Lyles after winning the Olympic gold medal. However, this did not go down well with many social media users, and they criticized the former for its comments.