Knicks guard Josh Hart was “hating” on Noah Lyles during the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Hart admitted as much — without explicitly naming the track star — during Thursday’s episode of the “Roommates Show” podcast that he does with teammate Jalen Brunson as the pair discussed the recently completed Olympics in Paris.
Lyles has not made many friends in NBA circles after his comments last year in which he derided the fact NBA players call themselves world champions when they win the NBA Finals, uttering the now infamous line “world champion of what?”
Naturally, Hart and Brunson found themselves talking about Lyles in a clip posted from the show.
Josh Hart opened up about Noah Lyles on his podcast.Roommates Show/X
“I feel like for most of these Olympics I was very patriotic and I wanted Team USA to win gold,” Hart started saying as Brunson seemed to quickly realize where he was going with his comments.
“You can save yourself and just let it slide and keep it pushing bro. There’s no reason,” Brunson said.
While Hart seemed to initially agree and was ready to move on, the clip then jumps to Brunson opening the topic back up.
“But if you were going to continue your statement what would you have said? If you were going to,” Brunson added.
Noah Lyles of United States reacts after winning bronze before receiving medical attention.REUTERS
Bronze medalist Noah Lyles of Team United States competes during the Men’s 200m Final on day thirteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 08, 2024 in Paris, France.Getty Images
“I really wanted him to lose,” Hart replied. “Damn I wanted him to lose. I think this was the first time that all of the 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.”
Lyles did come away with two medals during the Olympics in Paris when he won gold in the 100-meter final, and became the fastest man on earth in the process, and bronze in the 200-meter dash, which he competed in with COVID-19.
Brunson had previously jumped into the fray on the topic on social media when he responded to a post about previous comments Lyles had made that seemed to take a swipe at Anthony Edwards of the Timberwolves.
Josh Hart admitted he was not rooting for Noah Lyles at the 2024 Olympics.Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Lyles had made comments in a Time article that was published in June when he discussed being invited to an Adidas event headlined by Edwards.
“You want to do what? You want to invite me to [an event for] a man who has not even been to an NBA Finals? In a sport that you don’t even care about? And you’re giving him a shoe?” Lyles said.
The comments came off in a way that Brunson joked online that he thought that they had been posted by a parody NBA account.
After the U.S. men’s basketball team won gold, Lyles clarified his earlier statement on Edwards.
“There is a rumor going around that I did not go to [Anthony Edwards’] shoe release because he didn’t deserve it,” Lyles wrote on X. “That is not the case he definitely deserves his shoes he is an amazing player. The problem was finding time based on my prior engagements.
“Congratulations on Becoming an Olympic champion!”
