Gold Medalist Questions the NBA Champs Being Deemed "World" Champs

[Calvin Klein]

Americans live in their own world so it makes sense. For everybody else outside the bubble it’s completely stupid and arrogant.

[eyeatoma]

Americans live in their own world so it makes sense. For everybody else outside the bubble it’s completely stupid and arrogant.

And if you bring it up, most still just say "does it matter" , get defensive and say the rest of have an inferiority complex.

[Nuntius]

The best team in the league in the best league in the world are absolutely entitled to be called world champion. Shade thrown by a dude who isn’t good enough to be in the league is inconsequential.

Huh????

The athlete in question, Noah Lyles, isn't a basketball player. He's a sprinter. This interview was a few days after he competed in the World Athletics Championship and he actually won a Gold in the 200 meters Sprint in that World Championship. Noah Lyles is a literal World Champion which is probably why he was asked to comment on that.

The point he is making is a valid one. The NBA is an international league (due to the inclusion of a Canadian team) but it definitely cannot compare to a world event like the World Athletics Championship or the Olympics. And that's not its role either. It is essentially a domestic league, not an international competition.

I don't mind the fact that they call themselves World Champions, don't get me wrong, but he is hard to argue against the point that Lyles is making. He is factually correct.

[pilkoids]

Who is this

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[Nuntius]

Who is this

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It says right in the title. A gold medalist. As in someone who just won a gold medal (for the US) in an actual World Championship. In other words, a literal World Champion.

[BrianFitz]

But would the #1 team in the NBA beat the best Olympics teams? Probably not.

LOL

Why is that funny? There is no way in hell the Denver Nuggets can beat a typical Team USA in a 7 game series

What the hell? You're still talking about NBA players. The Nuggets would beat any non-USA Olympic team. I know you champion the Euroleague on here so this really rubs you the wrong way. But you're just gonna have to deal with it.

[BrianFitz]

Who is this

Sent from my SM-S918W using RealGM mobile app

It says right in the title. A gold medalist. As in someone who just won a gold medal (for the US) in an actual World Championship. In other words, a literal World Champion.

Be real, most people don't know who he is.

[gavran]

Who is this

Sent from my SM-S918W using RealGM mobile app

It says right in the title. A gold medalist. As in someone who just won a gold medal (for the US) in an actual World Championship. In other words, a literal World Champion.

Be real, most people don't know who he is.

Even my mum knows who he is, and we're not even American.

[cam24thomas]

LOL

Why is that funny? There is no way in hell the Denver Nuggets can beat a typical Team USA in a 7 game series

What the hell? You're still talking about NBA players. The Nuggets would beat any non-USA Olympic team. I know you champion the Euroleague on here so this really rubs you the wrong way. But you're just gonna have to deal with it.

But Team USA have lost in the Olympics/World Championships, so there are non-USA Olympic teams whom might beat Denver.

[MoneyTalks41890]

G League Ignite would beat any other team in the world outside the US. The disparity is just massive. NBA champs are world champs.

[Hornet Mania]

Why is that funny? There is no way in hell the Denver Nuggets can beat a typical Team USA in a 7 game series

What the hell? You're still talking about NBA players. The Nuggets would beat any non-USA Olympic team. I know you champion the Euroleague on here so this really rubs you the wrong way. But you're just gonna have to deal with it.

But Team USA have lost in the Olympics/World Championships, so there are non-USA Olympic teams whom might beat Denver.

7 game series is the difference there. The single-elimination knockout rounds of international tournaments create far more volatile results than an extended series, just look at March Madness compared to the NBA playoffs.

Beating Team USA one time is tough but possible. Beating Team USA four times out of seven is much more difficult. A good international team could likewise upset the Nuggets on a bad afternoon, but I struggle to see any of them doing it consistently over an extended series.

[MoneyTalks41890]

Why is that funny? There is no way in hell the Denver Nuggets can beat a typical Team USA in a 7 game series

What the hell? You're still talking about NBA players. The Nuggets would beat any non-USA Olympic team. I know you champion the Euroleague on here so this really rubs you the wrong way. But you're just gonna have to deal with it.

But Team USA have lost in the Olympics/World Championships, so there are non-USA Olympic teams whom might beat Denver.

That’s not the conversation. It’s players in the NBA versus players outside the NBA. There is no team outside the NBA that can hang with the worst NBA team.

That’s the difference from other sports like football where that’s not true for any particular league.

[eyeatoma]

What the hell? You're still talking about NBA players. The Nuggets would beat any non-USA Olympic team. I know you champion the Euroleague on here so this really rubs you the wrong way. But you're just gonna have to deal with it.

But Team USA have lost in the Olympics/World Championships, so there are non-USA Olympic teams whom might beat Denver.

That’s not the conversation. It’s players in the NBA versus players outside the NBA. There is no team outside the NBA that can hang with the worst NBA team.

That’s the difference from other sports like football where that’s not true for any particular league.

So what, you can say the same about football (the actual football, not the NFL). The best American teams (MLS) would be demolished by most decent football clubs abroad, doesn't even need to be a national team. You don't hear them calling themselves world champions.

[MoneyTalks41890]

But Team USA have lost in the Olympics/World Championships, so there are non-USA Olympic teams whom might beat Denver.

That’s not the conversation. It’s players in the NBA versus players outside the NBA. There is no team outside the NBA that can hang with the worst NBA team.

That’s the difference from other sports like football where that’s not true for any particular league.

So what, you can say the same about football (the actual football, not the NFL). The best American teams (MLS) would be demolished by most decent football clubs abroad, doesn't even need to be a national team. You don't hear them calling themselves world champions.

No I’m talking about football (soccer) there are other teams in other leagues that can beat for example teams in the premier league. There is no one football league that has a monopoly on the best teams like the NBA does.

[eyeatoma]

That’s not the conversation. It’s players in the NBA versus players outside the NBA. There is no team outside the NBA that can hang with the worst NBA team.

That’s the difference from other sports like football where that’s not true for any particular league.

So what, you can say the same about football (the actual football, not the NFL). The best American teams (MLS) would be demolished by most decent football clubs abroad, doesn't even need to be a national team. You don't hear them calling themselves world champions.

No I’m talking about football (soccer) there are other teams in other leagues that can beat for example teams in the premier league. There is no one football league that has a monopoly on the best teams like the NBA does.

I agree, but that doesn't mean you get to tout yourself as world champions lol? Just use NBA champions, why is it so hard for people to just do that. Just seems like the NBA, and US major sports leagues like the MLB are compensating for something. World has a global connotation to it. By global, many countries participating. Like the Olympics, the Winter Olympics, the FIBA world championships, the Cricket World Cup, the Rugby World Cup, the World Chess Championships, the FIFA Football World Cup.

Note the operative word here is "World", and in all cases you have many countries participating.

Look, everyone agrees that the NBA is the best collection of basketball players in the world, however, it is still a US national league, that despite it's global status, mainly markets itself to the United States. This is something that has been done for the last 60-80 years, and I think it's mostly done because it was done in the past. (The MLB originally did it because they wanted to globalise the game, and were hoping the world series would involve many countries. Props to them for trying, but imo they should remove that part of the championship) There was fairly weak logic to it. Trying to rationalise in this day and age just comes off as being overly sensitive and defensive.

The fact that a US athlete says this shows that the problem is mainly coming from the United States and the dominating mentality they have had since World War I and II. I for one love many things about America, my wife and kids are American, my sister is an American citizen, and I will always be connected to that country, but as an outsider looking in, there are so many things that the US does right, but just as much that it can improve on. Trying to tone down the rhetoric, and appearing to be more humble would be a great first step.

[Nuntius]

Who is this

Sent from my SM-S918W using RealGM mobile app

It says right in the title. A gold medalist. As in someone who just won a gold medal (for the US) in an actual World Championship. In other words, a literal World Champion.

Be real, most people don't know who he is.

I didn't either. But it says what he is right in the title (gold medalist) and the embedded tweet has his full name. So, you can google it in less than a second.

[Nuntius]

G League Ignite would beat any other team in the world outside the US. The disparity is just massive. NBA champs are world champs.

The G-League Ignite can't even beat other G-League teams. They're not beating any major professional team. And that's normal. The Ignite's goal isn't to win games but to showcase and develop players.

[Tony15]

So what, you can say the same about football (the actual football, not the NFL). The best American teams (MLS) would be demolished by most decent football clubs abroad, doesn't even need to be a national team. You don't hear them calling themselves world champions.

No I’m talking about football (soccer) there are other teams in other leagues that can beat for example teams in the premier league. There is no one football league that has a monopoly on the best teams like the NBA does.

I agree, but that doesn't mean you get to tout yourself as world champions lol? Just use NBA champions, why is it so hard for people to just do that. Just seems like the NBA, and US major sports leagues like the MLB are compensating for something. World has a global connotation to it. By global, many countries participating. Like the Olympics, the Winter Olympics, the FIBA world championships, the Cricket World Cup, the Rugby World Cup, the World Chess Championships, the FIFA Football World Cup.

Note the operative word here is "World", and in all cases you have many countries participating.

Look, everyone agrees that the NBA is the best collection of basketball players in the world, however, it is still a US national league, that despite it's global status, mainly markets itself to the United States. This is something that has been done for 40-50 years, and I think it's mostly done because it was done in the past. That doesn't mean that there was ever any logic to it. Trying to rationalise it just comes off as being overly sensitive and defensive.

The fact that a US athlete says this shows that the problem is mainly coming from the United States and the dominating mentality they have had since World War I and II. I for one love many things about America, my wife and kids are American, my sister is an American citizen, and I will always be connected to that country, but as an outsider looking in, there are so many things that the US does right, but just as much that it can improve on. Trying to tone down the rhetoric, and appearing to be more humble would be a great first step.

If I could +infinity this, I would. Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Heat3]

The NBA doesn’t call its champion the world champion so what does it matter? No surprise this is pushed by a European source as they are always hung up about what Americans think and say for some reason. Right up there with “it’s called football not soccer”. Live your own lives and stop worrying about this stuff…

[MoneyTalks41890]

So what, you can say the same about football (the actual football, not the NFL). The best American teams (MLS) would be demolished by most decent football clubs abroad, doesn't even need to be a national team. You don't hear them calling themselves world champions.

No I’m talking about football (soccer) there are other teams in other leagues that can beat for example teams in the premier league. There is no one football league that has a monopoly on the best teams like the NBA does.

I agree, but that doesn't mean you get to tout yourself as world champions lol? Just use NBA champions, why is it so hard for people to just do that. Just seems like the NBA, and US major sports leagues like the MLB are compensating for something. World has a global connotation to it. By global, many countries participating. Like the Olympics, the Winter Olympics, the FIBA world championships, the Cricket World Cup, the Rugby World Cup, the World Chess Championships, the FIFA Football World Cup.

Note the operative word here is "World", and in all cases you have many countries participating.

Look, everyone agrees that the NBA is the best collection of basketball players in the world, however, it is still a US national league, that despite it's global status, mainly markets itself to the United States. This is something that has been done for 40-50 years, and I think it's mostly done because it was done in the past. That doesn't mean that there was ever any logic to it. Trying to rationalise it just comes off as being overly sensitive and defensive.

The fact that a US athlete says this shows that the problem is mainly coming from the United States and the dominating mentality they have had since World War I and II. I for one love many things about America, my wife and kids are American, my sister is an American citizen, and I will always be connected to that country, but as an outsider looking in, there are so many things that the US does right, but just as much that it can improve on. Trying to tone down the rhetoric, and appearing to be more humble would be a great first step.

Yeah these are good points I just don’t think it’s all that deep and the NBA is somewhat unique in being the best teams in the world without real competition that I don’t think it matters that much if they want to call themselves world champs. Another team can step up and issue a challenge to NBA teams if they don’t like it. Would be a great marketing opportunity for everyone. I think this is kind of like that Mad Men meme to be honest.