World champion of what? Noah Lyles' memetic question became significant again after Boston's social media account claimed the Celtics were world champions.
June 18 was a special day for the Boston Celtics.
Right inside TD Garden, Finals MVP Jaylen Brown and Game 5 pivotal player Jayson Tatum led the Cs to a record-setting 18th NBA title.
The Boston Celtics were, essentially, the winningest league in the NBA--breaking the tie with Los Angeles Lakers.
[ALSO READ: Jayson Tatum steers Celtics to record-setting 18th NBA title with Game 5 romp of Mavericks]
Eighteenth title--the most in the league. The Celtics earned their title on the 16th anniversary of lifting its last Larry O'Brien trophy in 2008.
Boston went 80-21 overall, a .792 winning percentage that only ranks second in team history (only the 1985-86 squad can claim a higher one with an 82-18 record or .820).
Joe Mazzulla, at age 35, became the youngest coach since Bill Russell in 1969 to lead his team to a title.
They can lay claim to a number of things. Instead, the Celtics social media account laid its stake on one declaration: world champions.
The community notes of X (formerly known as Twitter) was quick to point out the correction. The N in NBA stood out for NATIONAL Basketball Association after all.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup social media account was quick to react with a single emoji, as long with photos of the Boston Celtics and the German national basketball team.
You know, the winner of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup which took place in the Philippines.
The team with the actual label of WORLD CHAMPIONS during the trophy presentation.
Even German basketball league DBB chimed in, "Congrats and all but... world champion of what?"
It's pretty much the same way how the MLB, a US baseball league, branded its finals as the World Series.
FYI, Japan beat the United States in the 2023 edition of the World Baseball Classic.
Bring back track and field world champion Noah Lyles of the United States--who made this extremely memetic declaration a few days into the group stage of the FIBA World Cup.
"You know what hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head. World champion of what? The United States?" The US sprinter asked.
"Don’t get me wrong. I love the US--at times--but that ain’t the world. That is not the world. We are the world," he said. "We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving, putting on their flag to show that they are represented. There ain’t no flags in the NBA. We gotta do more. We gotta be presented to the world," he said.
A few NBA players were quick to react, including Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Aaron Gordon, PJ Tucke, Udonis Haslem, and Kendrick Perkins last year.
"Last time I checked, the NBA was the best competition in the WORLD," added Juan Toscano-Anderson, a Mexican-American who won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors and suited up for Mexico in FIBA competitions.
After Noah Lyles' declaration, the United States eventually finished fourth in the FIBA World Cup.
The Dennis Schroder-led Germany eliminated Team USA in the semifinals, while the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-led Canada pushed the Americans aside for the bronze.
To be fair, the Boston Celtics aren't all Americans. In fact, the 2024 NBA Finals contains a record 13 international players on both the Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks lineup.
For the Celtics, there's Al Horford from the Dominican Republic, Oshae Brissett from Canada, Svi Mykhailiuk from Ukraine, Neemias Queta from Portugal, and of course Kristaps Porzingis from Latvia.
[ALSO READ: 'Showcasing globality of our game': NBA welcomes Finals-record 13 international players for Celtics, Mavericks]
One social media account kindly fixed the poster for the Celtics--one dedicated to football (read: not soccer).
Who knows, maybe the dream team lineup of Team USA--which features Boston's Brown and Tatum--can defend its gold medal in the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
It's still a global competition... right?