USA Basketball Appear to Aim Dig at Noah Lyles After Winning Gold at Olympics
The USA basketball team appear to have thrown a dig at Noah Lyles following their Olympic gold medal triumph. The team, comprised of stars like LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, beat France in the finals of basketball event at the Paris 2024 Olympics to win gold. It marked the fifth straight Olympic Games that the United States won gold in the men’s basketball event.
After winning the final against France 98-87, you’d be forgiven for expecting the side and everyone involved with them to be in celebration mode. Instead, the social media team seemed to use the victory to aim a dig at sprinter Lyles instead. The American, who won the 100m final in one of the closest races in Olympic history earlier in the event, also finished third in the 200m final.
Despite both parties being from the United States, there was some tension between them and the basketball team couldn’t resist taking a shot at Lyles once their gold medal was secured.
The USA Basketball Team Poked Fun at Lyles on Social Media
One of their posts included reference to him
In the past, Lyles went viral in an interview when he criticised NBA teams for calling themselves the world champions whenever they won the NBA Championship. The sprinter commented on the fact that the league strictly consists of teams based in the United States and Canada, so calling themselves the world champions didn’t make sense.
The comments caused controversy with fans of the sport who criticised Lyles for what he said. They responded by claiming the best talent in the world were playing in the league, so they should be allowed to call themselves the best team in the world. It wasn’t just fans who took issue with it, though. Players and the media have also taken offence to Lyles’ comments and that could be seen when the X account for the USA basketball team took a shot at him when they won the gold medal.
Asking whether they are the world champs now following the Olympic triumph was a clear shot at Lyles’ previous comments about the NBA champions not being world champions. Some basketball fans shut that down, by emphasising the fact that the team who won the FIBA World Cup are classed as the world champions. Regardless of the digs at Lyles, but sides of the argument had strong Olympic showings, so there are no real losers.
Both Parties Won a Gold Medal
Lyles also won a bronze with Covid
Despite the USA basketball team taking a dig at Lyles following their gold medal triumph, it doesn’t take away from the fact that the sprinter had a great showing at the Olympics this summer himself. First, the American won gold in the 100m finals, taking part in the closest contest in the history of the games when he won by five thousandths of a second.
He then had the chance to add a second gold medal to his tally in the 200m finals. Lyles tested positive for Covid-19 before the event, but decided to take part anyway. Unfortunately, his gamble didn’t pay off and he finished third in the race. Still, a bronze medal while dealing with Covid is still quite an impressive achievement.
