Track and field fans were glued to their televisions this week for what was arguably the most exciting 9.79 seconds of the 2024 Summer Games so far. Noah Lyles secured a gold medal for the USA on August 4 in the men’s 100-meter final, edging out silver medalist Kishane Thompson from Jamaica by just five-thousandths of a second.
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Although social media was loaded with supportive comments from fans sending love to the sprinter for pulling off such an amazing win, the internet wouldn’t be the internet if people didn’t take a moment to mention that Lyles’ race was a mic drop moment directed at people who gave him flack for comments he made in August 2023 about NBA Finals champions claiming to be the best in the world.
“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,” Lyles said at the time. “World Champion of what, the United States? Don’t get me wrong, I love the U.S. at times, but that ain’t the world.”
Lyles’ comments got backlash from NBA players Like Kevin Durant and Devin Booker and sports journalist Stephen A. Smith, who said Lyles’ statement came across as “flagrantly ignorant.”
On one hand, Lyles has a point. The Olympics is truly an international stage. He beat out some of the fastest athletes representing Italy, Jamaica, Botswana and South Africa to earn the right to be called “the fastest man in the world.” (Although some might take issue with giving him that title, considering that Usain Bolt’s 9.63-second record he set at the London Games in 2012 still stands, but we digress).
But he also isn’t exactly right when it comes to the NBA. The league’s reach goes beyond the 50 states. In 2023, the league reported that a record 125 international players from 40 countries and territories were on opening-night rosters for the 2023-24 season, including 26 from Canada and 14 from France. It’s also worth noting that for the past two years, the number one NBA draft picks have been from France – Victor Wembanyama in 2023 and Zaccharie Risacher in 2024. Additionally, in five of the last six NBA seasons, the league’s Most Valuable Player Award has gone to an international player.
It doesn’t seem like NBA players are holding a grudge. LeBron James and other members of the U.S. men’s basketball team were in the stadium to watch Lyles’ epic run, and New York Knicks player Josh Hart gave him a shout out on X.
“Lol na he an Olympic gold medalist. He can talk for life,” Hart wrote.
But the memes are still giving us lots to laugh about today:
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