![Why the NBA Champions are "World Champions"](https://sundevilscoop.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/uihygfd.jpeg)
Should the winner of the NBA finals be called the “world champions?” This is a debate that struck the world when six-time world champion track runner, Noah Lyles, an American, made comments about the topic.
“Champion of what?” Lyles said in a press conference. “You know the thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head.”
Many NBA players argued against Lyles, including Chris Paul and Devin Booker. This begs the question, who else would be better than the best NBA team?
This argument from Lyles had some reasoning, however. The Team USA basketball team played in the FIBA World Cup. Almost 80 percent of NBA players are American, although this team was eliminated in the semifinals against Germany. This would make you think that the NBA are not World Champions, but this Germany team was led by Franz Wagner, Moritz Wagner, Daniel Theis, and Dennis Schroder, who are all NBA players. The NBA is not just an American-only league. Almost 22 percent of the league are non-American, international players. Also, for the past five years in a row, an international player has won the Most Valuable Player award. These players are Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetekoumpo, and Joel Embiid.
In my opinion, the winner of the NBA should 100% be called World Champions. This is because there are many international players who dominate the league. Also, for any leagues outside the US, there are NBA scouts who search around the entire world for talent, and will offer stand out players to come play in the NBA. Therefore, how I see it is that the NBA champions are undoubtedly the world champions.