Noah Lyles Wants to Grow Track and Field. Even if It Means Taking on the NBA (Exclusive)

Noah Lyles ran the fastest time of his life at the World Championships. Then he walked to the press podium to speak his mind.

The 26-year-old American sprinter pulled off a stunt no one had accomplished since Usain Bolt in 2015, winning gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100 relay at the 2023 World Track and Field Championships in Budapest, Hungary. He even set a personal best in the 100m, clocking 9.83 seconds. But it was his press conference statements that set off the big fireworks.

In an act that was one side conviction and one side business, Lyles — after winning the third 200m world title of his career —  used his time on the podium to call out the NBA’s custom of calling the league’s champion “World Champions.” Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker and an entourage of other NBA stars clapped back at the Olympic bronze medalist with a storm of social media jeers.

But for Lyles, the viral responses were just the spoils of victory. 

“It lets me know that people are paying attention, especially since this wasn't an Olympic year,” Lyles told The Messenger. “Seeing that there was an effect definitely tells me that people are watching.”

Lyles says this led to a revelation. While he has often heard that track and field is a “dying sport,” what he realized in Budapest is that the problem isn’t what’s happening on and around the 400m oval. It’s all about the marketing. 

So speaking up about who is a world champion and who isn’t? Lyles knows there is value in starting a discussion. 

Lyles' comments pushed him and his sport into the mainstream conversation. He was debated on ESPN’s “First Take” and Stephen A. Smith even changed his stance to support Lyles after the U.S. men’s basketball team failed to win a medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. 

Smith may not be the only one on Lyles’ side now. He says international NBA players have reached out to say they agree with his stance.

“They'll be like, oh yeah, he's right. Why is everybody in such a fuss?” Lyles said of his interactions with the international players. “And then you'll go into the US and then all of a sudden you see people going wild, making up claims and everything.”

Lyles holds a unique position of influence within track and field and has the ability to drive conversation. He has over 522,000 followers on Instagram, where he flaunts endorsements with Adidas, Coca Cola, Visa, Xfinity and Intel. Peacock, the streaming service of Olympic broadcaster NBCUniversal, has produced an original docu series on Lyles' life and career. 

“I want to transcend the sport. I want people to know my story. I want to be known as more than just a fast guy,” Lyles said. “I want people to enjoy what they see. I want them to see the entertainment of my sport. I also want the sport to be put in different positions that it hasn't been. I know if some people aren't going to do it, then I will.”

Lyles knows his success — and the endorsements and platform that come with it — gives him an opportunity to shine a light on the fact that track and field isn’t a full-time job for many elite athletes. World titles, and the bonuses that come with them, are life changing. But making a world championship team isn’t usually enough to secure financial stability. He knows that bringing attention to his sport, even it means starting arguments with other stars, can in-turn bring more viewership. Bringing in more viewership means bringing in more revenue, thus creating more opportunities for track and field athletes to pursue their goals professionally.

“I'd like us to have multiple paths of being successful,” Lyles said. “I don't want somebody to have to be so dependent on getting a medal, and that's how they know they're going to eat for the next two years. If they want to be able to just run on the circuit, and that's it, and do well, and do decently well, they can survive like that.”

And Lyles isn’t done picking fights or sparking conversations to gain this attention either.

“If I see an opportunity, I’m going to take it,” he said when asked if he will look to engage more athletes from other sports moving forward. “I believe that there are some situations that need to be taken advantage of.”

Taking aim at the NBA to promote track has already proven to be one effective publicity strategy. Still, Lyles has nothing against the NBA on a personal level.

"I wanted to be an NBA player when I was a kid," Lyles said. "I definitely did. It was my first love for sure as a sport. But then there came that point where I was working harder than everybody else and nobody really wanted to have the ambition or goal of getting higher. And I said, you know what? I can't do this anymore. I'm done with team sports. Let me go give this track a try."