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U.S. superstar sprinter Noah Lyles backed up his infamous "world champion" remarks by winning gold in the 2024 Paris Olympic men's 100-meter final. According to New York Knicks wing Josh Hart, he was rooting against his fellow American, but Lyles prevailing earned his respect.
Lyles made numerous enemies in the NBA world at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. After securing gold medals in the men's 100-meter, 200-meter and 4x100-meter relay, he unexpectedly took a shot at NBA title-winning teams dubbing themselves "world champions."
The sprinter highlighted how NBA squads don't face opponents based outside of the U.S., making them undeserving of the title.
"You know the thing that hurts me the most? I have to watch the NBA Finals, and they have 'world champion' on their heads," Lyles said. "World champion of what? The United States? We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving and putting on a flag to show that they are represented. There ain’t no flags in the NBA."
Lyles' hot take immediately sparked controversy, with many NBA stars calling him out on social media, including Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker and Draymond Green.
Nearly a year later, many across the NBA landscape were seemingly rooting against Lyles at this summer's Olympics. That includes Hart, who jokingly spoke about his desire to see Lyles fall short of his goals during Thursday's "Roommates Show" episode.
"I feel like for most of these Olympics, I was very patriotic. I wanted Team USA to win gold in almost every event. ... [But] I really wanted him to lose," Hart said. "Damn, I wanted him to lose, boy. I think this was the first time all of NBA Twitter banded together and was just hating. I was hating."
Despite facing immense pressure to back up his comments, Lyles finished the men's 100-meter final with a personal-best time of 9.79 seconds. Meanwhile, he narrowly defeated Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by only five-thousandths of a second.
According to Hart, after witnessing Lyles win his first Olympic gold medal in dramatic fashion, he gave up hating on him.
"I was just like, 'Damn, you know what? Respect. I can't even hate anymore,'" Hart said.
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Josh Hart defended Noah Lyles from NBA fan pushback after he won Olympic gold
Josh Hart's latest comments about Noah Lyles align with his immediate reaction after the latter's gold medal win.
Shortly after seeing Lyles prevail in a thrilling men's 100-meter final, Hart took to X/Twitter to defend the sprinter from further NBA fan pushback. He quipped that Lyles earned the right to voice his opinion on other sports.
"Lol, nah, he's an Olympic gold medalist. He can talk for life," Hart said.
However, it's unclear if other NBA players who were rooting against Lyles had the same change of heart.
