Team USA‘s run for the gold medal ended on Friday as Germany handed them a massive 113-111 upset. Amidst the loss, the track and field champion’s “World champions of what” comment is doing rounds in social media again. Noah Lyles had sent shockwaves through the hoops community when he took a dig at the NBA. After winning his third World Championship, Lyles called out NBA players for referring to themselves as world champions. This was because they just competed within the US. His bold assertion attracted a lot of hate from notable personalities including, Kevin Durant, Drake, Draymond Green, and Damian Lillard. Now, after Team USA’s embarrassing exit from the title contention, it looks like Noah Lyles has something more to add to exacerbate the USA’s shocking exit from the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Noah Lyles gets the final word

Back in August, Lyles thrashed the NBA after winning the 100m and 200m events at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. In doing so, he became the only male athlete to win both races since Usain Bolt. Naturally, he received a lot of pushback from the NBA world. And the majority agreeing that NBA champions are world champions since the best players in the world play for the NBA. However, after facing two humiliating defeats, it seems like Noah Lyles is having the last laugh.

While in conversation with GQ Sport’s Chris Cohen, the inevitable question about his comment came up. Responding to the question, Noah said, “A lot of air balls [laughs]. It’s just a situation where they finally decided to listen. I’ve been saying—the whole world, truly, has been saying that for years. It’s just this time they paid attention, and had an opinion.”

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Even rap sensation, Drake commented on the statement. He said, “He thought this speech was gonna be so hard in the mirror the night before… now the whole league doesn’t rate u”. In the process of explaining his statement, Noah Lyles took a hilarious dig at Drake, asking him to “Go back home.”

Noah Lyles acknowledged the NBA’s impact on the basketball world, but he remained firm in his statement. According to him, to be termed as a world champion, they need to compete with players from all over the world and participate in international competitions. He stated, “There’s the national side and there’s the world side, and you can’t have the world championship title without facing the rest of the world.”

Team USA’s 2023 FIBA World Cup exit corroborates Noah Lyles’ statements

After dominating Italy in the quarter-final match, Team USA appeared to be ready for another dominant win in the Semifinals. However, Germany, led by  Dennis Schroder and Co. set the tone for victory in the first quarter itself. Noah Lyles’ remarks about the NBA champions make more sense after the defeat because Germany only features 4 NBA players, while the USA has 12 NBA players on its roster. Therefore, the upset at the hands of the German squad validates Lyles’ statements that the NBA champions cannot be considered world champions unless they are fighting for the title on an international stage.

Read More: “USA Gets Exposed”: Stephen A. Smith Forced to Eat His Own Words as Noah Lyles’ ‘World Champion’ Claim Resurfaces After Shock FIBA World Cup Exit

However, there is still a glimmer of hope to win a medal as the USA will battle it out with Canada for the bronze on Sunday. We can only hope that Team USA can turn things around and bring home some hardware.

Watch this story: Despite 6’11 NBA DPOY Jaren Jackson Jr. Leading Their Front, Veteran Reporter Points at Team USA’s Weakness: “They Just Didn’t Have Enough Size”