Noah Lyles: “We behind the 8 ball here": As Noah Lyles doubles down on his remarks, Markieff Morris admits USA players need to step up

American athletics star Noah Lyles is standing firm on his dissenting take on NBA champions being called “world champions” just as veteran forward Markieff Morris admits American players need to step up their game.

Lyles’ comments remain a hot topic around the sport and recently he doubled down on what he said, saying that people should remember the core point of his statement.

The track-and-field sprinter said to TMZ:

"At the end of the day, it was talking about how I see what we do to our national championships -- I just want the same thing for our world champions. And we're a sport where we're bringing in the most medals every year -- and it's like nobody even knows because they don't pay attention."

While not directly addressing the issue, Dallas Mavericks forward Markieff Morris said that for players in the United States to be considered global, and to better compete against international players in the NBA, they have to shape up and work on their skills.

In the recent episode of the "All The Smoke" podcast where he and his twin brother Marcus guested, he said:

“Their [international players] game is different, We behind the 8 ball here. But we gonna catch up."

Noah Lyles and Markieff Morris’ comments strike a cord

These comments by Noah Lyles and Markieff Morris resonate more of late after Team USA fell short at the 2023 FIBA World Cup held in Asia.

Composed of young NBA stars, the US squad finished in fourth place. USA battled Canada in the bronze medal game but lost, 127-118.

While the fourth-place finish was better than the seventh spot it ended up with in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, many pundits and observers were of the opinion that Team USA could have done better if it sent more seasoned players to compete.

In the aftermath of another disappointing finish by the national men’s basketball team, a call has been made for superstars like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant to banner the team for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.