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Knicks Star Jokingly Defends Olympic Winner Noah Lyles

New York Knicks star Josh Hart was one of many wowed by the speedy efforts of American track star Noah Lyles.

Geoff Magliocchetti

Aug 4, 2024; Paris Saint-Denis, France; Noah Lyles (USA) celebrates after winning the menís 100m final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade de France. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 4, 2024; Paris Saint-Denis, France; Noah Lyles (USA) celebrates after winning the menís 100m final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade de France. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY Sports / Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY Sports
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New York Knicks star Josh Hart showed some love to one of the United States' most prominent Olympic heroes.

Noah Lyles literally ran away with headlines at the Paris Games on Sunday, winning the renowned 100-meter final by five thousandths of a second over Jamaica's Kishane Thompson.

Lyles has gained a checkered reputation among NBA players for comments following his victorious run at last summer's World Athletics Championships, in which he questioned the legitimacy of NBA Finals victors referring to themselves as "world champions," reasoning that the participants almost exclusively hail from the United States.

Josh Hart
Feb 27, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) reacts during the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Some NBA fans and players took exception to Lyles' comments but Hart remarked that Lyles has more than earned the right to talk.

"(He's) an Olympic gold medalist," Hart said on X when one NBA fan account said that Lyles would have to run the 200-meter race. "He can talk for life."

Hart capped his post with a laughing emoji, keeping his fun-loving nature alive.

Debate around the hardwood champions' designation will likely continue to rage, there's no doubt that Lyles has earned every global accolade he'll be attached to in the coming weeks: with the win, Lyles earned his first gold medal, became the first American to triumph in the 100-meter final since Justin Gatlin in 2004, and gained the title of "world's fastest man."

According to several reports, members of the United States men's national basketball team, who embark on knockout tournament duties later this week. Some viewers took note that Team USA star Joel Embiid (Philadelphia) appeared to leave the stadium almost immediately after Lyles crossed the finish line. If anything, though, it appears he has a friend in Hart who previously partook in Team USA's FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023.

Time will tell if Lyles is willing to return the favor: Team USA men's basketball team, packed with NBA men seeking to add the literal title of world champions to their resume, tips off knockout round play on Tuesday against Brazil (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC).

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Geoff Magliocchetti
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI

Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks

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