Former New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is urging Team USA’s Olympic track and field gold medalist to flee this battle.
Anthony is the latest to enter the war of words with Lyles, who drew the ire of NBA fans and players when he questioned the legitimacy of NBA Finals winners calling themselves “world champions” when all but one of the teams reside on American soil. Lyles was criticized again for declining an invitation to an Adidas event center around current Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.
Speaking on his web series “7PM in Brooklyn,” Anthony advised Lyles to end his battle with the Association while pledging to support his continued efforts on the track.
“Why do you keep shooting at the NBA?” Anthony asked rhetorically. “If you want to shoot, shoot the fact that you don’t have your own league. Shoot that. They’re not putting money into this sport, and they should be.”
“You want to be a world champion, an Olympic gold medalist. Fine, we support you 1,000 percent. But don’t compare that to everything else (that) we have here. It’s incomparable. You can’t compare that… Let’s do this together. Let’s support everybody. We’re all in this together. When we’re (at the Olympics), we support everybody.”
Lyles’ original comments certainly wouldn’t apply to Anthony: in addition to the three gold medals he won at the Olympic level, he also won a title at the FIBA Basketball World Cup (then known as the FIBA World Championship) in 2006.
Although Anthony asked Lyles to step down, the two may have more in common than they realize: In a recent interview with BasketNews’ Domantas Urbonas, Anthony admitted he wouldn’t trade his Olympic gold for an NBA title, It may be the only thing missing from an accomplished NBA career that included six-plus seasons with the Knicks (2011-17).
“It’s a different level of pride, I would say, that you have to feel when you have the United States flag on your chest or the Lithuanian flag on your chest,” Anthony said of the biggest difference between an Olympic medal and a Larry O’Brien Trophy. “It’s a totally different feeling than having the Knicks or New York on your chest.”
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