The United States won their fifth straight Olympic men’s basketball crown on Saturday, holding off a battling France 98-87 to take their tally of Olympic golds to 17. After the famous win, however, the USA basketball team’s official X account became the subject of social media trolling over the post “Are we the World Champs now?” This post was seemingly a direct swipe at the country’s own sprinter, Noah Lyles, who had questioned why the NBA champions call themselves ‘world champions.’
Lyles, who earned the ‘fastest man on the planet’ title at the Paris Olympics by winning the 100m gold medal, doesn’t agree with NBA winners giving themselves the ‘world champions’ tag. After winning the Olympic medal, USA’s basketball team shared the post.
***GOLD OLYMPIC CHAMPS
FIBA World Cup makes you the world champ
— Alejandro Leyva (@Alejandr0Leyva) August 10, 2024
Nope, Germany are world champs
— EL Gran’ Osvaldo (@Vizzy_rayven) August 10, 2024
Germany Men’s Basketball team is still the World Champions, while the USA Men’s Basketball team is the Olympic Gold medal Champions. Noah might have been rude, but he was right.
— Jagaban_MCFC (@mcfc_jagaban) August 10, 2024
He really got into your minds…
Noah Lyles won the gold in the 100 meters, the most noble event of the Olympic Games.
In addition, he won a bronze while he was sick with Covid.
He won SIX world championships, now that’s winning the world. pic.twitter.com/NBkIWuhM9p
— Sincero Jordan (@SinceroJordan) August 10, 2024
Earlier, Noah Lyles had said: “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,” he said. “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…We are the world.”
“I love the U.S… but that ain’t the world!”
Noah Lyles throws shade at the NBA’s ‘world champions’pic.twitter.com/BRCJagckcK
— Eurosport (@eurosport) August 27, 2023
In a rematch of the Tokyo Olympics final three years ago, LeBron James and the US team stacked with NBA stars once again proved too much for France, despite the efforts of sensational NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama.
France sliced a 14-point deficit to three with 3min 04sec to play on Wembanyama’s put-back dunk, but Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry drilled a three-pointer — one of four from him with less than three minutes remaining — and the United States relentlessly powered to the finish.
Curry finished with eight three-pointers — including a rainbow over a leaping Wembanyama — and led the US scoring with 24 points.
With AFP Inputs
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