Over the weekend, one US Olympic athlete took a shot at the NBA. Sprinter Noah Lyles doesnt not like how the league portrays its champions.

While speaking to the media, Lyles let out his major gripe with the NBA. That being that every year a winner is crowned with the title ‘world champions. He feels that is off-putting because the league only consists of team in the United States except for the Toronto Raptors.

“The thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the finals and see world champion on they head,” Lyles said.

“I love the U.S. at times, but that aint the world. That is not the world… We have almost every country out here fighting and thriving, putting on their flag to show they are represented. There ain’t no flags in the NBA.”

Lyes is fresh off winning the 200-meter title as he looks to represent the United States in the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Should the NBA remove the title of world champions?

Noah Lyles has a point that there are no flags when it comes to the teams, but the NBA is still represented globally. Over the past decade, the basketball talent from all over the world has grown tremendously.

At the moment, the league is dominated by international talent. Look no further than the most recent champions, the Denver Nuggets. Their top two players, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, are from Serbia and Canada.

Lyes might not like it, but the league should stick with the title of world champions. Because at the end of the day, all of the best talent around the globe strives to play in one league. Because of this, they’ve earned the right to crown their champions with that title.

The Nuggets are not an outlier either. A handful of the league’s top players hail from places other than the United States. In fact, the past five MVPs are international players. Those being Jokic, Giannis Antetokoumpo and Joel Embiid. Other notable foreign stars include Luka Doncic, who is currently leading the charge for Slovenia in the FIBA World Cup.

At a time where the league is dominated by non-US players, world champions is fitting for the last team standing. Even though the games are all played in the United States, there is no denying the fact that countless countries are well represented.