Video: Noah Lyles Defends NBA World Champion Comment amid Criticism; Calls Out Drake

American sprinter Noah Lyles expressed how he believes "that the point was lost" when he discussed his frustration with pro athletes in the United States, including those in the NBA, claiming the title of world champions.

"At the end of the day, it was talking about how I see what we do to our national championships—I just want the same thing for our world champions," he told TMZ Sports. "And we're a sport where we're bringing in the most medals every year -- and it's like nobody even knows because they don't pay attention."

Basking in his gold medal-winning performances at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Lyles aired what has been a personal grievance. He said he took issue with how the winner of the NBA Finals would, for example, be labeled the "world champions" despite the league being based almost exclusively in the United States.

Not surprisingly, that drew a swift response from a number of NBA stars including Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and Devin Booker. Even Drake joined the ranks, saying in reference to Lyles that "now the whole league doesn't rate u."

In his TMZ Sports interview, Lyles told the music star to "just go home, buddy," echoing comments he made to GQ's Chris Cohen.

"There are a bunch of funny things that come from it, like having Drake notice it," he said to Cohen. "Like, Drake, what are you doing here? Go back home. This is an NBA conversation."

As much as Lyles might like seeing his compatriots succeed on the international stage, it appears a small part of him did enjoy Team USA's semifinal loss to Germany in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. The United States eventually settled for fourth place after falling 127-118 in overtime to Canada.