Much has been made over the last year or so about United States track and field Olympics star Noah Lyles, whose comments about the NBA champions crowning themselves the “world champions” ruffled some feathers. Lyles' assertion was that NBA champions, or champions of any national sports league, for that matter, cannot truly assert themselves as world champions unless they do so on an Olympics stage.
While Lyles' comments can be easily refuted by the fact that the best players in the world almost always take their talents to the NBA, that didn't stop folks on X, formerly Twitter, from watching closely on Sunday as Lyles took the track for the 100 meter dash, with some hoping that he would slip up and not be able to call himself world champion by his own lofty definition.
Evidently, one of those people was New York Knicks guard/forward Josh Hart, who took to his own X account to send a message prior to the event.
“I’m a hater just so yall know,” Hart wrote alongside a laughing emoji.
However, fans who were hoping to watch Lyles fail had no such luck, as the American sprinter took home the gold medal by a mere fraction of a second.
Afterward, Hart made sure to show his respect to the gold medalist.
“Respect,” he wrote simply.
Hart also responded to a post from another user who was hoping to watch Lyles fail in the upcoming 200 meter race.
“Lol na he an Olympic gold medalist. He can talk for life,” wrote Hart.
The question of whether an NBA team can be considered a “world” champion is one that doesn't really have a clear answer. As previously noted, most of the best players from countries outside of the United States tend to opt to play in the NBA, and it is highly, highly unlikely that any team comprised of non-NBA players would be able to keep it within 30 against the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics, let alone beat them.
However, the Olympics are the closest thing we have to determining a true “world” champion, and Lyles cemented himself as such on Sunday.
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