Like most Americans watching the 2024 Paris Olympics, New York Knicks guard Josh Hart felt an overwhelming sense of pride in the Stars and Stripes. That is, except for one Team USA athlete.
During Thursday’s episode of the “Roommates Show” podcast with teammate Jalen Brunson, Hart admitted that there was one event, more specifically one person, that he was hoping would go home empty-handed.
Josh Hart walks off the court after losing to the Indiana Pacers 130-109 in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Second Round Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 19, 2024 in New York City. (Elsa/Getty Images)
“I feel like for most of these Olympics, I was very patriotic. I wanted Team USA to win gold in most every event,” Hart began.
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“Oh my God,” Brunson, seemingly already aware of what he was going to say, interrupted. “You can save yourself and just let it slide and just keep it pushin, bro, because there’s no reason..”
“There’s no reason to do this right now. Just be patriotic, shut the hell up, and move forward,” Brunson added, before egging Hart on. “You already said what you had to say. But if you were going to continue your statement, what would you have said?”
“I really wanted him to lose,” Hart laughed. “I think it was the first time all of NBA Twitter banded together and was just hatin. I was hatin, and I was just like ‘Damn. You know what, respect. I can’t even hate anymore. You can talk as much as you want.’”
Josh Hart of the New York Knicks looks on in the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Second Round Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 19, 2024 in New York City. (Elsa/Getty Images)
So who was the mystery athlete the Knicks’ duo referenced? American track star Noah Lyles.
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Lyles, 27, took home gold in the men’s 100-meter sprint before settling for bronze in the 200-meter final after he contracted COVID-19, ending his Olympic journey there. However, the apparent beef between Lyles and Hart goes back to the dig Lyles made about NBA players last year.
After winning three gold medals in the 2023 world championships, he received backlash for suggesting that other athletes, like NBA players, do have the right to call themselves world champions.
American track star Noah Lyles celebrates winning the gold medal after winning the men’s 100-meter final at the 2024 Paris Olympics. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
“I have to watch the NBA Finals, and they have ‘world champion’ on their head. World champion of what?” Lyles said at the time. “The United States? Don’t get me wrong. I love the U.S. at times, but that ain’t the world. That is not the world.”
The comments did not sit well with the NBA community at the time, and apparently those feelings are still lingering.
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While Lyles walked away with the United States’ first gold medal in the men’s 100m since 2004, the men’s basketball team continued their dominance, winning a fifth-straight gold medal. It marked their 17th gold medal in 20 Olympics.
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