world champions

Giannis Antetokounmpo Co-Signs Noah Lyles’ “World Champions” Comment

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Giannis Antetokounmpo has come to the defense of Noah Lyles after weeks of backlash for the American sprinter. “He received so much backlash for saying, like, the obvious, but some people don’t understand it. I don’t know, maybe it’s like an arrogance thing,” Giannis told the 48 Minutes podcast. “I don’t think in any other sport you are called the world champions. Like in soccer, which is way bigger than the NBA, more popular than the NBA, when the Champions League, the UEFA Champions League champions … they don’t say [they’re] world champion. When they win the World Cup, they play against the USA team, they play against the teams around the world, countries around the world. Then they say world champs.”

Despite the backlash, Lyles was somewhat vindicated. While he was not rooting against Team USA at the FIBA World Cup, his comments rang true. Team USA finished fourth, missing out on a medal for the second World Cup in a row. While some of the NBA’s top stars have begun to express interest in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Lyles’ “World Champions of what?” has rung truer than ever in recent weeks.

Read More: Kai Jones goes on Instagram rant about his Hornets teammates

Dwight Howard Joins Olympic Interest

Meanwhile, Dwight Howard has become the latest player to express interest in representing the United States at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. In the late 2000s, Howard was a go-to pick for the national team. He won a gold medal at the Beijing Games in 2008 as well as a World Cup bronze in 2006. However, he is likely on the outside looking in when it comes to 2024. Despite this, Howard is adamant that he be selected.

Furthermore, he has gone as far as to say that if he isn’t selected, he will play for Taiwan and “drop 85”. There’s just one problem with this – Taiwan (or Chinese Taipei) can’t qualify for the Olympics. Taiwan is not one of the 24 remaining teams competing for one of the four remaining Olympic spots.

Read More: Noah Lyles finally responds to Drake, tells him to “go home buddy”

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Drake Flames U.S. Track & Field Star Noah Lyles For Hot Take On NBA Championships

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Drake’s athletic prowess might not be worthy of entering any professional sports team but he certainly feels his trash-talking abilities are up there with the best of them. Last night, the Canadian rapper shared his thoughts after U.S. Track & Field star Noah Lyles shared his take on the NBA finals, claiming that it’s out of pocket for the league to describe the season’s winners as “world champions.” In Lyles opinion, it’s inaccurate for the NBA to describe the victors as such since the teams solely represent cities in the U.S. (with the exception of the Toronto Raptors, of course).

“You know what 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?” said Lyles. “Don’t get me wrong. I love the US – 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’re represented. There are no flags in the NBA.” As NBA stars like Kevin Durant and Devin Booker chief in on the matter, Drake similarly followed suit.

Read More: Drake Walks Out With LeBron James & Bronny At Los Angeles Tour Stop

Drake On Noah Lyles’ Comments

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by DJ Akademiks (@akademiks)

As fans and athletes chimed in on the matter, many of which pointed out the number of international stars in the NBA, Drake didn’t spare Noah Lyles’ feelings. The Canadian rapper slid into the comments of Akademiks’ post where he trolled Lyles for his commentary. “He thought this speech was gonna be so hard in the mirror the night before…now the whole league doesn’t rate u,” he commented with three laughing emojis. We could imagine that Lyles isn’t sweating Drake’s commentary too much but we’ll have to see if he responds.

A number of NBA stars also called out Lyles. Kevin Durant commented, “Somebody help this brother,” while Damian Lillard simply wrote, “Tf,” followed by two laughing emojis. However, Aaron Gordon took it a step further, claiming that he would be “smoking buddy in the 200m” if he had the opportunity. Juan Toscano-Anderson wrote, “Last time I checked, the NBA was the best competition in the WORLD.” We’ll keep you posted on anymore updates on Lyles’ commentary.

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