Is Noah Lyles wrong, though? Ever since his controversial jibe about NBA stars being “world champions,” Lyles has gone on to build his own case on the track, adding two Olympic medals and securing his fourth consecutive 200m world title at the 2025 World Athletics Championships. And now, after his latest Diamond League win in Rome on June 4, 2026, where he beat Letsile Tebogo, Jordan Anthony, and others, he is once again at the center of attention. But once again, it’s for the same old reason, as he doubled down on his earlier stance about what it means to be a “world champion.”

Just moments after producing a season-best 9.88 seconds to win the men’s 100m at the Golden Gala meeting in Rome, Lyles appeared in a post-race interview shared by Citius Mag and was asked about the ongoing NBA Finals. With the New York Knicks taking on the San Antonio Spurs in the championship series on June 5, the American sprinter didn’t hesitate when asked who he was backing.

“I’m going to be honest. I want the Knicks to win. Okay. I definitely want the Knicks to win. I would love to see New York go crazy if they win. That would be a sight to behold,” he said. Then came the follow-up question that brought back memories of WC debate. “But they won’t be the world champs, right?” the interviewer asked sarcastically. Lyles smirked, knowing exactly where the question was headed. “I mean, they got to face the world first.”

While the exchange lasted only a few seconds, it was enough to reignite a debate that has followed him since 2023. Even while backing his pick in the NBA Finals, Lyles stood on the same argument he made nearly three years ago.

The controversy began at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, where Lyles established himself as the face of men’s sprinting. Competing against athletes from across the globe, he captured gold in the 100m with a time of 9.83 seconds before returning five days later to win the 200m in 19.52 seconds. He also helped Team USA secure victory in the 4x100m relay, completing a three-gold-medal haul.

After the race, he questioned why NBA champions are referred to as “world champions” despite competing in a domestic league.

“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?” Lyles said. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the U.S. at times, but that ain’t the world. We are the world. We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving, putting on their flag to show they are represented. There ain’t no flags in the NBA.”

He drew criticism from several NBA players. Kevin Durant retweeted the statement on his X account and joked, “Somebody help this brother.” Draymond Green joined in with a post that read, “When being smart goes wrong,” while Devin Booker reacted with a facepalm emoji.

Nearly three years later, not much has changed. Lyles still stands by his definition of a world champion, and many NBA players back theirs, as we saw during the Paris Olympics.

Olympic gold reinforced Noah Lyles’ world champion argument

World champion controversy followed Noah Lyles all the way to the Paris Olympics, where several members of Team USA’s men’s basketball squad, including Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum, and Joel Embiid, were in attendance for the track events at Stade de France. Even after watching Lyles become the first American man since Justin Gatlin in 2004 to win Olympic gold in the 100m, some NBA stars still weren’t convinced by his argument.

“I still don’t agree with [Lyles’] comment,” Booker told The Athletic after the race. “I feel like all the best talent in the world is in the NBA, and this is coming from an Olympic gold medalist who believes that being an NBA champion is probably harder to do.” New York Knicks star Josh Hart also weighed in, joking on social media that Lyles could “talk for life” after backing up his words with Olympic gold.

Ironically, the Olympics may have strengthened Lyles’ original argument rather than weakened it. While Lyles never backed down from his criticism of NBA teams calling themselves world champions, he had no issue recognizing Team USA’s basketball players as world champions once they defeated the rest of the world on the Olympic stage.

Led by LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and more, Team USA defeated France to win another Olympic gold medal. Lyles later praised the achievement and pointed to the tournament as proof of what he had been saying all along.

“And they saw how difficult it is,” Lyles said. “Of course, they came out on top, and of course, I knew they would. Because we have some of the greatest athletes, but they saw you can’t just slap everybody together and say, ‘This is a great team.’ You know, there was a ton of countries out there who said, ‘Hey, we’re not lying down just because we don’t play in the NBA.'”

“It’s not a thing of if I consider it or not,” Lyles said when asked whether Team USA were world champions. “They are. They’re Olympic champions, and in the Olympic champions, you face the whole world.” That distinction has always been at the heart of Lyles’ argument.