Olympian Noah Lyles Facing Backlash Over Controversial Nikola Jokic Statement
![Aug 4, 2024; Paris Saint-Denis, France; Noah Lyles (USA) reacts after competing in a men's 100m semifinal during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade de France. Aug 4, 2024; Paris Saint-Denis, France; Noah Lyles (USA) reacts after competing in a men's 100m semifinal during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade de France.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5764,h_3242,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/inside_the_nuggets/01j5nvmy9109bcv3zpdq.jpg)
American sprinter Noah Lyles went viral last summer with his comments about using "World Champions" to describe the winner of the NBA Finals.
"You know what hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘World Champion’ on their head," Lyles said last summer. "World champion of what? The United States? Don’t get me wrong, I love the U.S. 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."
"You know the thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have 'world champion' on their head. World champion of what? The United States?"
— ESPN (@espn) August 27, 2023
—Noah Lyles on how hard it is to win a world title in track and field pic.twitter.com/rvb1np3KPb
Competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Lyles was back in the spotlight. As Lyles took home a gold medal in the 100-meter and a bronze medal in the 200-meter, The U.S. Men's Basketball Team went undefeated en route to a gold medal.
This reignited the "World Champion" debate, which always includes an emphasis on the level of international talent in the NBA. This includes arguably the league's best player, Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.
When asked on the Night Cap show if Jokic is one of the best players in the world, Lyles said, "I’m gonna be honest, I don’t know who that is."
Shannon Sharpe: “Is Nikola Jokic one of the best players in the world?”
— Jeremy Nicolls (@JeremyNicolls) August 18, 2024
Noah Lyles: “I’m gonna be honest, I don’t know who that is”
🤔 Interesting. pic.twitter.com/i4VZI3V2ZO
Lyles has been facing backlash from fans over these comments, with many arguing if he is not familiar with Jokic, who just led Serbia to a bronze medal after winning NBA MVP, then he clearly does not understand the level of international talent the league has.
Noah Lyles tried to say the NBA doesn't deserve the world champion title then proceeds to not know arguably the most popular international player, typical https://t.co/u8PZaeMROj
— Jacob Moreno (@jmoreno76ers) August 18, 2024
This has been the most common argument, with NBA fans saying there is no reason to listen to Lyles if he does not know arguably the league's best player.
why does the nba community listen to anything he says https://t.co/9Wgg3fYim7
— Nuggets Lead (@NuggetsLead) August 19, 2024
With Jokic being Serbian and arguably the NBA's best player, basketball fans feel Lyles' lack of knowledge about the Nuggets star invalidates his argument.
and this is why I never took anybody seriously that tried to argue his point lol just say you don’t know basketball or how the NBA works https://t.co/K6vAPeGyQd
— niles (@NILES100) August 18, 2024
There are hundreds of comments like these in response to Lyles' statement on Jokic.
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