Team USA basketball dig at Noah Lyles backfires as fans point out glaring error

Team USA's basketball squad clinched the Olympic gold in Paris , outplaying France with a score of 98-87 in a thrilling final to bag their fifth straight gold on Saturday.

Despite the deafening support for the home team, the Americans maintained dominance, ending the first quarter five points ahead. They briefly lost momentum in the third quarter but sealed the deal with another five-point lead by the fourth, dashing any French hopes for a comeback.

The victory sparked a cheeky response from USA Basketball's social media, seemingly poking fun at America's 100-meter sprint champion Noah Lyles' earlier criticism. Lyles had questioned NBA teams calling themselves 'World Champions' when the league is primarily North American.

READ MORE: LeBron James gives nickname to Team USA's 2024 Olympics gold medal basketball team

READ MORE: Caitlin Clark point made as Team USA makes hard work of Olympics gold medal match

"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 remarked. "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' stance ruffled feathers among basketball die-hards, and despite his own Olympic triumph, some fans were irked enough to root against him during his track events in Paris. The USA basketball team's social media page couldn't resist a cheeky dig following their Olympic victory, posting an image of the elated players with the caption: "Are we the World Champs now? ".

Yet, international fans were quick to point out that while Team USA can proudly wear the title of Olympic champions, it's Germany who holds the crown as the reigning world champions after their historic win at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. The German squad triumphed over Serbia in the final, leaving the U.S. in fourth place after a defeat by Canada for the bronze.

In athletics, Lyles showed remarkable resilience despite health challenges. Following his 100m win, he secured a bronze in the 200m but was visibly spent at the finish line, later revealing: "I do have Covid," and detailing his experience.

"I still wanted to run, they said it was still possible so we stayed away from everybody and took it round by round. I have definitely had better days but I am walking around again," Lyles shared.

He described feeling light-headed with chest pain post-race, but assured, "I was quite light headed after that race and the chest pain was definitely active. After a while I was able to catch my breath and get my wits about me. I am feeling a lot better now. It definitely affected my performance."