Noah Lyles previously declined an invitation to Anthony Edwards' shoe event

New information about Noah Lyles' relationship with NBA stars has been surfacing online since Team USA won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics this summer, and as expected, it's stirring up controversy. Apparently, earlier this year the US athlete declined an invitation to participate in a basketball event.

To give a little context, the gold medalist first caught the attention of the NBA world in August of 2023 when he asked the players who called themselves “champions of the world” after winning the Larry O'Brien Trophy. He believes that this is wrong considering that the league is made up of American teams, as well as the Toronto Raptors.

“You know the thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA finals and they have 'world champions' in their heads,” explained Lyles last year. “What is the world champion? The United States? Don't get me wrong, I love the US sometimes, but that's not the world. “

Noah Lyles wanted his honor after being invited to Anthony Edwards' event

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Recently, information suggests that Noah took a shot at Minnesota star Anthony Edwards when Adidas invited him to a shoe release event earlier this year. “What do you want to do?” Lyles reportedly said. “You want to invite me [an event for] a man who has never even been to the NBA Finals? In a game you don't care about? And you give him a shoe?”

“No disrespect: the man is an amazing athlete. Have a great year. I like that they saw the understanding to give him the boot, because they saw that he was going to be great. All I'm asking is, 'How did you not see that in me? he added.

The American men's national team recently defeated the hosts of France 98-87 mainly because of Stephen Curry, who made a game beyond the arc. The Warriors icon finished the gold medal game with 24 points and 5 assists on 8-of-13 shooting from the range, including a triple-double in the last three minutes.

The American athlete also earned honors during the Olympic Games this summer, taking home gold in the 100m hurdles, and bronze in the 200m run. Although he competed in the 200m race, he was seen struggling after the race as he was later diagnosed with COVID-19.

Lyles finally broke his silence after Team USA won the gold medal in basketball, admitting that they now deserve the title of “world champions”.

According to the gold medalist, there is no doubt now that the American men's basketball team has earned the right to be called “world champions,” as they competed against the best countries in the world. This athlete finally broke the silence after days of controversy, fans and players were wondering what his views were on this issue.

“It's not a matter of whether I think or not. There are… there are. They are Olympic champions and Olympic champions face the whole world,” said Noah. “And they saw how difficult it is. And then they came out on top and of course I knew they would. Because we have the best athletes but they realized that you can't just slap everyone and say 'This is a great team.'

The American athlete confirmed that many basketball players from other countries agree with him, and defended the fact that the game is played differently in other parts of the world. “You know, there were a lot of countries out there who said, “Well, we don't complain because we don't play in the NBA. You know we have unity. We have our own way of playing the game,” he explained.

In the end, Lyles admitted he always believed Team USA would win the gold medal, even though it won't be easy. “And there were a lot of close calls. But also, like me, I trust the American basketball team to succeed,” concluded the athlete.