Nicolas Batum sends amusing World Cup congratulations to 'planet earth' champ Germany
Noah Lyles opened a whole can of worms when he complained about NBA teams being called world champs after winning an NBA title.
NBA players immediately rebuked the comments on social media, making it quite obvious how much they disagreed with his rant. And while many fans also disagreed with Lyles, there were just as many in agreement, ready to let the jokes fly when the U.S. loss to Germany in the World Cup semifinals.
Well, that same Germany team went on to win the World Cup gold medal Sunday with a win over Serbia. And apparently not every NBA player disagreed with Lyles, as Nicolas Batum congratulated Germany with an obvious call-back to the “world champion” debate.
Congrats Planet Earth’s champs Germany
— Nicolas Batum (@nicolas88batum) September 10, 2023
“Congrats Planet Earth’s champs Germany,” Batum said, which I take as a joke about the whole situation. Because if NBA teams are “world champs,” then what do you call the actual world champs?
It’s all silly in my opinion, and a conversation I would rather end. But Batum — whose France team was eliminated in the first round — got one last shot in before it hopefully does.