Noah Lyles Can't Seem To Give Up His Schtick And Is Now Trying To Pretend He Doesn't Know Who Nikola Jokic Is

Ah yes, as you can see we're still doing the whole "NBA Champions calling themselves World Champion" thing. Why, nobody knows, but apparently this nonsense will not die. But this isn't a blog about that, enough has been said on that subject and I think at this point any rational person is over it.

Instead, this blog is about the fact that there is a 0.0% chance Noah Lyles does not know who Nikola Jokic is. Zero chance. For starters, all you have to do is look back to when his initial comment took place

"I had to watch the NBA Finals"

You know what NBA Finals he was watching? This one

Joe Murphy. Getty Images.

Call me crazy, but I find it impossible to watchn the Denver Nuggets play in the NBA Finals and not have any idea who Nikola Jokic is. Seems like he'd be mentioned a time or two over the course of those 5 games.

Then, during a celebration Noah Lyles says he watches, he still somehow doesn't come across this Nikola Jokic fella? The one who was named Finals MVP in that very same celebration? Even if you're not a huge basketball fan, if you're watching something and on the TV screen you hear/see the name Nikola Jokic, at the very least you know he's a player for the Denver Nuggets. Suggesting you don't know who that is a year later, when he also happened to win yet another MVP and is someone who just had a great Olympic run, is pretty stupid. What's the end goal there? To be one of those "I don't watch the NBA" hardos? 

Mind you, Noah Lyles pays enough attention to the NBA to know that Anthony Edwards has never made a Finals, but doesn't know who Jokic is? 

I could understand the angle if someone didn't watch sports at all let alone the NBA, but that's clearly not the case here. If you follow the NBA close enough to know the Wolves haven't made the Finals with Anthony Edwards, then I find it to be impossible that you do not know who Nikola Jokic is. Suggesting otherwise just makes you look like an idiot if you ask me. Plus, what's even the point of something like this? You aren't somehow more cool because you try and suggest you don't know who Jokic is all because you're beefing with NBA players.

Obviously Lyles is take cornered about this whole NBA player/World Champion thing, and I guess this is what you call "leaning into" the bit, but we're reaching the point where this isn't cool or funny, it's just disrespectful. Now you can sort of understand why some NBA players wanted him to lose in the Olympics

And hey, if Noah Lyles somehow doesn't actually know who Nikola Jokic is (gigantic eye roll), then he's in for a real treat because he's the best basketball player on the planet and must watch TV whenever he's on the court. In some ways I'm kind of jealous that he could be learning about Jokic for the first time. It's sort of like when your friend starts watching an all time great TV show for the first time and you wish you could feel that feeling again. 

So Noah, allow me the privilege of introducing you to a basketball genius. His name is Nikola Jokic and he's one bad motherfucker

P.S.

On the flip side, I'd say there's a 90% chance Nikola Jokic has zero idea who Noah Lyles is. Given he doesn't give a shit or pay attention to anything outside of his family, basketball and horse racing, that's something way more believable in my opinion.