The ongoing feud between U.S. sprinting sensation Noah Lyles and the NBA continues to intensify.
It all started when comments Lyles made during a June interview with TIME Magazine resurfaced following the conclusion of the Paris Olympics. In the feature, written by Sean Gregory, Lyles expressed frustration over an invitation he received from Adidas to attend a shoe-release event for Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards. Both athletes are signed with Adidas, but Lyles felt overlooked, believing he deserved his own signature shoe as well. His remarks, which were seen as a slight toward Edwards, quickly gained traction online.
In the interview, Lyles didn’t hold back. “You want to invite me to an event for a man who hasn’t even been to an NBA Finals?” Lyles questioned. “In a sport that doesn’t even care about track and field? And you’re giving him a shoe?”
Lyles continued, clarifying that his issue wasn’t with Edwards’ talent. “No disrespect, the man is an amazing athlete,” he acknowledged. “He’s having a phenomenal year, and I admire that Adidas recognized his potential. But I can’t help but wonder, ‘Why didn’t they see that in me?’”
Lyles’ candid remarks didn’t go unnoticed. By Sunday, social media was buzzing, and one of the first high-profile responses came from New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson. Expressing his disbelief, Brunson humorously tweeted, “Damn I thought this was Centel,” a nod to NBACentral, a popular basketball aggregator on X, and its fictional parody page, NBACentel, which is known for spreading false information.
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In the original TIME interview, Gregory highlighted that Lyles was in the midst of negotiating a contract extension with Adidas when he was invited to Edwards’ shoe-launch event.
Despite the tension, Lyles and Adidas eventually came to terms, securing a deal that Gregory described as the most lucrative track-and-field contract in the post-Usain Bolt era.
Lyles, who clinched gold in the men’s 100m race at the Paris Olympics, has had a rocky history with NBA players. Last year, he sparked controversy by criticizing the use of the term “world champions” for NBA Finals winners, a comment that didn’t sit well with many in the basketball community. Team USA even took a playful jab at Lyles after they secured Olympic gold over the weekend.
While Lyles is undeniably one of the greatest sprinters of his generation, his critique of Edwards’ achievements seems rooted in a deeper frustration. Edwards, though only 23, is emerging as a prominent face in the NBA and is already significantly more marketable than any current track-and-field star.
Yet, Lyles remains unpersuaded, and the tension between him and the NBA seems unlikely to dissipate anytime soon.
