Noah Lyles leaves NBA Twitter in the dust as he secures the world's fastest man title with 100m gold

PARIS, FRANCE: Noah Lyles was recently crowned the world’s fastest man with his 100m gold. He is definitely feeling on top of the world, however, we cannot say the same about NBA fans on social media.

About a year ago, Lyles made a distasteful comment about the NBA world champions, which was not taken very kindly by fans. The incident has now resurfaced as he earns glory on his Olympic journey. The 27-year-old will compete in the 200m sprints, as well as the 4x100m relay at the 2024 Paris Games.

Noah Lyles' victory highlights complex relationship he has with NBA fans

While the majority of Americans were elated to see Noah Lyles win gold on Sunday, August 4, in Paris, this enthusiasm does not extend to all. NBA fans have a complex relationship with Lyles. On one hand, he is recognized as one of the top athletes of his generation. On the other hand, he challenges the notion that NBA teams, including the Boston Celtics, are true "world champions". 

Following the World Championships in Budapest in 2023, Lyles made a statement that resonated within the context of track and field but not necessarily with basketball, "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? Don't get me wrong, I love the US at times, but that ain't the world...We are the world." 

This comment sparked a strong reaction from NBA fans after the 27-year-old world Number  1 sprinter clocked a personal best time of 9.79 seconds to win first place at the Stade de France during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Lyles narrowly defeated Jamaican sprinter Kishane Thompson, who earned the silver medal, and Team USA's Fred Kerley, who finished in third. 

This victory marks Lyles' first Olympic gold medal and is the first time Team USA has won gold in the event since the Athens Games in 2004. Lyles had previously earned a bronze in the 200-meter final at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics.

To celebrate his achievement, he raised his racing bib to showcase his last name. "To be honest, I just believed in myself," Lyles told reporters about his strong finish after being in seventh place halfway through the race due to a slower reaction time. "That goes to prove that reaction time does not win races." 

Noah Lyles could not believe he won 100m gold 

Lyles admitted he thought Thompson had won, and as they awaited the results, he told Thompson, "Bro, I think you got that one, big dog." When Lyles' name appeared as the winner, he said, "Oh my gosh, I'm amazing." He confessed, "I'm gonna be honest, I wasn't ready to see it. And that's the first time I've ever said that in my head, like I wasn't ready to see it. He was quite a few lanes down, so it was hard for me to picture where we were, but I guess that was a good thing," as per People.

Noah Lyles' win leaves NBA Twitter seething

Following Noah Lyles' victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics, NBA fans faced some serious ribbing online. 

One social media user said, "Me watching noah lyles win knowing there’s a bunch of nba fans hate watching."

Another asked, "Are they srs still mad bc he said they weren’t world champions????" 

One person tweeted, "Why? He's American and he brought back the gold."

Another commented, "His own country rooting for him to fail and he comes up with the gold. Insane."

One individual wrote, "The Noah Lyles hate from Americans is crazy.And I feel like it’s really NBA twitter.. mad because he said winning an nba championship doesn’t make you a world champion 😭😂."

While one NBA stan on X wrote, "Tell him to take back what he said last year and we won’t ever hate on him." 

One X user shared a meme mocking Lyles' critics and said, "NBA Twitter watching Noah Lyles for the next few days."

Another shared, "He backed up the talk. Most annoying athlete we have but you gotta hand it to him."

One person claimed, "Noah Lyles wearing his gold medal at Team USA breakfast in front of the NBA players.

Another asked, "WHERE ALL THE HATERS?? CHAMPION OF WHAT? THE WORLD AHHHHHHHHHHHH."

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