USA sprinter Noah Lyles capped off a successful World Athletics Championships in Budapest, anchoring the U.S. men's 4x100m relay. It was his third gold medal of the meet, following his victories in the 200-meter and 100-meter sprint.
With his haul of medals, the 26-year-old can rightly call himself a world champion, but he doesn't see that title fitting the bill for just anybody, using his final press conference to take a sly dig at U.S. sports teams that call themselves "world champions" after winning their respective titles, specifically calling out the NBA.
While the logic of his comments makes sense, his press conference didn't exactly go over too well with a host of NBA players including Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and Devin Booker, along with NBA-adjacent rapper Drake, each of whom took to the comment section on social media to let Lyles know exactly what they thought.
MORE: Ranking the top players at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup
What did Noah Lyles say?
Following his relay win, Lyles ruffled a few feathers by giving his take on what a world champion really is.
“I watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head. World champion of what? The United States?” he asked.
"Don’t get me wrong. I love the U.S. at times, but that ain’t 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."
MORE: World Track & Field Championships medal count for every country
Durant, Booker and Drake hit back at Lyles on social media
After ESPN shared the clip of Lyles' press conference, it didn't take long for the hoopers to join the comment section.
"Somebody help this brother," Kevin Durant wrote. His Suns teammate Devin Booker chimed in with a facepalm emoji, while Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, fresh off his "world champion" win in the NBA Finals, wrote, "Whatever... I'm smoking buddy in the 200m."
Even Drake got in on the conversation.
"He thought this speech was gonna be so hard in the mirror the night before," he wrote. "Now the whole league doesn't rate (you)."
Drake reacts to Noah Lyles’ comments about the NBA Championship 😳‼️
— RapTV (@Rap) August 28, 2023
“He thought this speech was gonna be so hard in the mirror the night before… now the whole league doesn’t rate u 😂😂😂” pic.twitter.com/g0W3rdHaCt
Stephen A. Smith calls Lyles 'flagrantly ignorant'
The next day on First Take, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith addressed Lyles' comments, siding with the NBA players, citing the league's global relevance and its international stars.
"Congratulations to your greatness and continuing to represent this country the way that you did. Major props to you,” Smith said. “He came across as flagrantly ignorant. And that needs to be said,” Smith said.
.@stephenasmith reacts to Noah Lyles' recent comments 👀 pic.twitter.com/Xn7tVgu5nK
— First Take (@FirstTake) August 28, 2023
With the last five MVP award winners coming from outside the United States, the NBA has never been more international, headlined by the likes of Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic. Stephen A. brought the receipts with him in his retort.
“According to a NBA news release posted last October, the NBA currently features 120 players from 40 countries and six continents. That is for last season and it's increased now. How is that not global? How is that not the world champion?” Smith said.
“The best players from around the world descend upon America to join the National Basketball Association. Of the 450-plus players, nearly a third are international players ... They want to come to the NBA because it is the best basketball league on the planet.”
“Almost a third of the players are from around the world. One could easily argue that NBA players compete more against international competition than he does.”
MORE: Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid headline TSN's top 30 NBA players
So, what's the verdict?
The NBA is by far the best basketball league in the world and attracts the best players across the globe to compete, so in this argument of semantics, the hoopers have a point.
The NFL's "world champion" status is harder to defend, given the U.S.-centric nature of the sport, while baseball's World Series could make the same argument as the NBA. Let's not forget Shohei Ohtani just led Japan to victory in the World Baseball Classic, defeating the USA.
If only there were a way to determine who was the best basketball nation in the world. Fear not, the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup is happening right now in Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan … so there's that.
