Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant has suggested that Noah Lyles is 'jealous' of NBA players after the American sprinter questioned why they call themselves world champions.
Lyles, 26, was met with an angry response last month when hitting out at the association and its teams by insisting that winning a league title is not the same as winning a world championship. The Olympic bronze medalist made the claims while starring at the World Athletics Championships, winning three gold medals.
"I've watched the NBA Finals," Lyles said during a press conference, "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. That is not the world."
Since making those remarks, Team USA failed to medal at the FIBA World Cup. The Americans lost to Lithuania before a semi-final defeat to eventual champions Germany, and then an overtime loss to Canada to miss out on bronze.
In the immediate aftermath, there are reports that Los Angeles Lakers icon LeBron James is willing to lead a star-studded team at next year's Summer Olympics. Durant, alongside former Golden State Warriors teammate Stephen Curry, is said to be committed to the cause.
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Following such speculation, two-time NBA champion Durant has taken to social media but instead of addressing his potential involvement in Paris, he is still concerning himself with what Lyles said weeks ago.
"I still don’t know what y’all lames taking victory laps for... if you're jealous of NBA players, just say that," Durant posted on Monday. The remarks came in response to someone resharing Lyles' comments alongside Durant's previous comment in response to the sprinter on Instagram that read: "Somebody help this brother."
Durant won two NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors (Getty Images)Suns teammate Devin Booker, who played on the US team that won gold at the 2020 Olympics, was another high-profile player to react, replying with a face-palm emoji on the platform when Lyles first spoke. The three-time world champion has since addressed the issue late last month at a Diamond League meet in Switzerland.
After winning the 200m, Lyles said: "To be honest, I'm just glad we're having the conversation. It's been underlying for so long, but no one really wanted to talk about it.
"With everybody actually saying things about it, now you have dialogue. Of course, maybe there will be opinions that will change, and maybe there won't, but at least we're having the conversation.
"It's funny; if you look at my comments, you'll have people in the U.S. versus the world. Everyone in the world is very much on my side, and the U.S. is usually leaning towards the opinion of the NBA.
"But that just goes to show how we view ourselves in the U.S., and I'm just glad we're having the conversation." As Durant has shown, he is only too keen to continue the conversation, but do not expect his opinion to be changing.
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