• Giannis Antetokounmpo has supported Noah Lyles’ statement about NBA champions not being world champions
• Giannis represents Greece internationally
• He didn’t participate in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
Noah Lyles’ fiery statement about NBA Champions not being the champions of the world upset many NBA players. His statement ended up being prophetic, as Team USA failed to medal at the FIBA World Cup. Giannis Antetokounmpo has now come out in support of what Lyles said.
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“I wanted to back him up so bad. He received so much backlash for saying the obvious. I think some people don’t understand it. Maybe it’s an arrogance thing,” Giannis began. “I don’t think in any other sport you’re called the world champions. In soccer, which is way bigger than the NBA and more popular than the NBA, the UEFA Champions League champions don’t say they’re world champions.”
Antetokounmpo went on to explain how the FIBA World Cup winners are the true world champions and that he agrees with Manu Ginobili for having expressed that sentiment. Gregg Popovich, Ginobili’s coach on the Spurs, had echoed similar sentiments earlier as well.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Clarifies His Position
Antetokounmpo went on to further explain that the NBA is the best league in the world and that no team in the world can likely beat the Denver Nuggets. But he maintained that everyone is a champion of a national league unless they’re the reigning World Cup champions.
“At the end of the day, in order to be the world champ, you’ve got to beat the world. I understand the NBA is the best league in the world and the talent in the NBA is the best you’ll ever see in your life. It’s not even close, it’s the best league in the world, but we cannot say you’re the world champ because you’re playing in the best league in the world. I don’t say that there are other teams in the world that can beat the Denver Nuggets, for example, I’m not saying that. But you have to respect those teams. You say ‘I’m the NBA champ, I’m the ACB champ, I’m the EuroLeague champ, I’m the Greek champ, I’m the Spanish champ, I’m the French League champ.'”
Giannis also gave credit to Germany for winning the World Cup and recognized them as the reigning world champions of the sport. As a foreign player, Giannis clearly seems to value bringing glory to your nation and competing under a flag to decide who’s the best.
Germany may have won the World Cup but it’ll be interesting to see if they can repeat their win over the USA next year at the Olympics. LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry are expected to participate and lead the US to glory.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Gives Props To Noah Lyles
Giannis wasn’t done with just his defense of Lyles’ statement but went on to defend the reigning 200m Olympic Gold medalist for being among the greatest in his field.
“I might get some backlash from this, but I do not care, I totally agree with him,” Giannis shared. “I feel like he’s at the world stage, he’s the best in the US, and then he goes and competes against other athletes from other countries, he thrives in that, so that’s when you are the world champ – when you compete against everybody in the world. Long story short, I totally agree with him.”
Antetokounmpo didn’t represent Greece in the 2023 FIBA World Cup as he was healing up from injuries suffered over the regular season. He hopes that Greece can make the Olympics so he can bring glory to his nation next summer. Otherwise, he will be heading into a do-or-die season with the Milwaukee Bucks that will decide whether he has a long-term future with the franchise.
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