'World champion of what?' Noah Lyles' criticism sparks backlash by NBA players

Track and field superstar Noah Lyles sparked a bit of a brouhaha on social media during the weekend with his claim that NBA champions are undeserving of the "world champion" title.

Lyles, 26, won three gold medals at the track and field world championships in Budapest, Hungary last week, including victories in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash. At a news conference Friday, he was asked about how to grow or improve his sport and responded, in part, by drawing a distinction between track world champions like himself and those in American pro sports leagues, such as 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," Lyles said. "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."

Naturally, several current and former NBA players – including Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant – were none too pleased with Lyles' comments. And in response to social media posts with his comments, they chirped back.

"Somebody help this brother," Durant wrote in an Instagram comment Sunday evening.

"Can't make this (expletive) up," Philadelphia 76ers forward P.J. Tucker added in another.

Retired NBA player and ESPN commentator Kendrick Perkins wrote of Lyles: "Put his brain in a bird and the bird will start flying backwards!!!"

Free agent guard Austin Rivers was among those making the argument that because the best basketball players in the world play in the NBA, "winning (an) NBA championship qualifies as world champs."

"(I don't know) what's more cringe," Rivers added, "(Lyles') comment or his voice and delivery."

Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, meanwhile, was more curt: "Whatever… I’m smoking buddy in the 200m."

Lost in the online discourse, of course, is the fact that the two sports are just structured completely differently. Track and field is predominantly an individual sport in which athletes represent a country and, at elite levels, an apparel sponsor. The NBA is, of course, a team sport, in which athletes largely represent their team and host city.

While both sports attract elite talent from every corner of the globe, NBA games are played in the United States and Canada and don't involve teams from top leagues in other countries, such as Spain or France. Track competitions are held at locations around the world, requiring its athletes to compete against the world's best on their own turf.

After referencing the NBA, Lyles argued that track's leaders need to do a better job of drawing this distinction and trumpeting the truly international nature of their sport.

"We've got to do more," he said. "We've got to be presented to the world."