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Track and Field fans supported Noah Lyles after the USA lost to Lithuania in the group-level match at the FIBA World Cup on Sunday. Although the country lost to the European power, it has managed to advance to the quarterfinals and qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics with a 4-1 record.
On September 3, Team Lithuania took the top spot in its group after defeating Team USA with a 110-104 victory. The neck-to-neck match saw the European team take a 52-31 lead by the end of the first half. Moreover, Lithuania will next see Serbia in the quarterfinals, while the USA will face Italy.
As soon as the match ended on Sunday, the internet saw track and field fans going bonkers, remembering Noah Lyles’s controversial statement on NBA’s ‘world champion’ remark in a recent press conference.
After winning three gold medals at the 2023 World Athletics Championship, Lyles took a jab at how the NBA decides that they are world champions.
In a Twitter video shared by Eurosport, he said:
"You know the thing that really hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head," he said.
"World Champion of what? The United States?, he questioned.
Furthermore, he explained how the ‘world champion’ in track and field made more sense:
"Don’t get me wrong. I love the US at times, but that ain’t the world. That is not the world. We are the world. We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving, putting on their flag to show that they are represented. There ain’t no flags in the NBA."
Remembering Lyles’s statement, fans related it to the USA’s loss at the international tournament and concluded that the 100m and 200m world champion was right.
One of the fans reckoned on Twitter:
"Noah Lyles looking real good rn"
Another fan wrote that Lyles’s video made a point:
"Lmao, this video aged so well World Champions of what ?????"
Here's what other fans wrote:
Noah Lyles opens up on his NBA remark
After Noah Lyles’s NBA remark stirred controversy in the sports world, the athlete recently shared his views again. In his latest interview, he analyzed the debate and expressed that it was important to raise the issue. The six-time world champion said:
"It's funny if you look at my comment you'll have people in the U.S. v/s the World," said Lyles.
He explained that everybody in the world agreed with his opinion except for his country. Lyles added that it showed how the USA views itself. However, the athlete was glad people started to discuss the long-standing issue. Noah Lyles believed that as more dialogues are created on this topic, it will help change the view of many sports lovers.
