The Olympics may be finished, but the drama remains. Josh Hart of the New York Knicks confessed on the Roommates Show, while discussing with teammate Jalen Brunson, that he was cheering for American sprinter Noah Lyles to lose in the Paris Summer Olympics. Lyles hasn't won over many NBA fans since his remarks last year, when he mocked NBA players for claiming to be world champions after winning the NBA Finals, famously saying, "World champion of what?"
According to Pink Villa, “I feel like for most of these Olympics I was very patriotic and I wanted Team USA to win gold,” Hart started, as Brunson quickly caught on to where Hart was heading with his remarks. “You can save yourself and just let it slide and keep it pushing, bro. There’s no reason,” Brunson advised.
Josh Hart first appeared to agree, but the video cuts to Brunson starting the discussion again. “I really wanted him to lose,” Hart admitted. “Damn, I wanted him to lose. I think this was the first time that all of NBA Twitter banded together just to hate. I was hating, and then I was like, damn, you know what, respect. I can’t even hate anymore.”
“I really wanted him to lose.” 😅
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 15, 2024
- Josh Hart on Noah Lyles
(Via @Roommates__Show / https://t.co/rgqcqEELxR) pic.twitter.com/R5UUQ9HPHB
Noah Lyles won two Olympic medal
Noah Lyles, on the other hand, won two medals in Paris: gold in the 100-meter final, making him the fastest man on the planet, and bronze in the 200-meter dash, while suffering from COVID-19. After Lyles won the gold medal, Devin Booker publicly thanked him, but he made it plain that he still didn't agree with the sprinter's opinions about the NBA. Furthermore, Noah Lyles added some remarks to a June Timepiece in which he discussed his feelings on an invitation to an Adidas function starring Edwards.
It's interesting to note that several NBA players and coaches truly hold the opinion for which Lyles has received harsh criticism. One of the most prominent people to support Lyles was Giannis Antetokounmpo, who expressed similar views in an interview conducted last summer following the eruption of the scandal.