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Fact Check: Did Anthony Edwards Really Call Noah Lyles 'Failed Usain Bolt Wannabe'? Exploring Viral Tweet
Did Anthony Edwards really call Noah Lyles a failed Usain Bolt wannabe? Here’s all you need to know.
Short answer? No, Anthony Edwards didn't actually call Noah Lyles a failed Usain Bolt wannabe. But given the shade Lyles threw at Edwards, it's easy to see why so many people thought the tweet was legit!
For those who missed it, here’s the backstory. Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles was invited to an Anthony Edwards event in 2023, hosted by Adidas. Unfortunately, things went south when Lyles took offense at the offer. This all came to light in June 2024 after TIME Magazine’s Sean Gregory dropped an article on the athlete’s Olympic preparation.
According to Gregory, Lyles was in the middle of negotiating a contract extension with Adidas last year. During the talks, Adidas thought it would be smart to invite Lyles to an event for the Minnesota Timberwolves star. But the sprinter wasn’t having it—he felt insulted by the offer because, in his eyes, Edwards isn’t on his level.
"You want to do what?" Lyles said. "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?
"No disrespect; the man is an amazing athlete. He is having a heck of a year. I love that they had the insight to give him a shoe because they saw that he was going to be big. All I’m asking is, 'How could you not see that for me?'"
Both Lyles and Edwards are still signed with Adidas, though Edwards is quickly becoming one of the brand’s key figures and the face of their basketball division, following in the footsteps of Derrick Rose and James Harden. Neither of those players won a championship either, but they played a crucial role in keeping Adidas relevant in the basketball world during their peak.
Lyles might be the fastest person in the world right now, but that doesn’t change the fact that the NBA is way more popular than track and field, which most people only pay attention to during the Olympics.
Noah Lyles’ comment gets even funnier when you consider his history with other NBA players. The sprinter isn’t exactly loved in the NBA community, especially after he arrogantly mocked NBA teams for calling themselves the World Champions of basketball in a national league. He clearly had a grudge against the NBA, and this was the perfect moment for him to make his point.
So, when the tweet in question started making the rounds online, people genuinely believed it was true! But for those still in the dark, the post was actually made by NBA Centel, a parody account that shares funny, fake NBA news for laughs.
The post read, "Anthony Edwards responds back to Noah Lyles: 'I didn’t even know who this guy was before he said world champs of what; he’s a failed Usain Bolt wannabe.'"
People chimed in with, "I badly wish that this was real."
X (formerly Twitter) is known for trolling, especially when it comes to NBA players. But in this case, they made an exception for Noah Lyles.
Edwards and Lyles were both in Paris for the Olympics as part of Team USA. “Ant-Man” helped the USA win a gold medal, while Lyles took home the gold in the 100m and added a bronze in the 200m.
As we’ve previously reported, Team USA’s basketball account did take a jab at Lyles after he won the bronze. Anthony Edwards is known for being outspoken, so it’s likely he’ll have something to say about the track star’s comments soon.
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