All the best clubs in the world are playing in the Champions League (or are competing to play in the champions league). You won't here them call themselves world champions. And I am not sure, if not the best european teams would be able to beat the worst NBA teams - not because of talent, but because of the way they play. And even then, that's not the point. Madrid could go on a spending spree and buy Doncic, Giannis, Jokic and LeBron and have the best team on paper - they wouldnt have a chance to beat an NBA team. If you want to call yourself champion of something, you have to compete for that something.
You're conflating club teams with nations. If multiple basketball leagues were competitive, then I would have a problem with the NBA champion calling themselves World Champion. The remainder of your post is incorrect about how I feel but go off. Not the South American clubs. There are only a few up there but there are some. The Nuggets don't even call themselves World Champs anyway, this entire thing is a strawman from Lyles to try to downplay the more popular sports leagues in the US and boost his own accomplishments. There is a "club world cup" or something to that affect but there's only one MLS team (host city) represented. So I could easily say "well whoever wins that didn't have to face the Dynamo so they can't call themselves world champs" but that would be ridiculous. We can revisit this topic if something like that actually happens. But as it is now, all those international talents you mentioned are in the NBA. The Nuggets competed against the best players in the world, from all over the world. If they are someone wants to casually call them World Champs, that's fine by me because they're unquestionably the best team in the world.
Because to the normal Euro - World means World Cup esp. in soccer. I want you to know that. If Americans think World means NBA North American league with the best International players be my guest. But the world does not consist of just American fans (Fans of American culture) who think like that.
Basically it boils down to this: For me, world championship at the club level means: winner of tournament with best teams in the world, no matter the location. For you and others, world championship (club level) means: winner of tournament with teams representing multiple geographic regions of the world, no matter their level. We're clearly not gonna convince each other so no point in continuing to post about this.
I am cool with it, hey, man, we just chill, I am not going to fetch the security guy, name is not Kevin. I might add. (national team level) and mostly with teams of different skill level/high variety of levels
You realize there is a qualification to enter the NBA right? So all these players failed to enter the qualification to get in the NBA. It's the same logic. Houston Rockets would destroy all these teams if they didn't have their NBA players. Who cares if they make the qualification? Their qualification is their own country peers they didn't beat nba teams to get thru. The NBA champion isn't the team that spends the most, they are the best team in the world.
Who cares doesn't change the fact NBA champs are the world champs. People can say the Emperor has clothes doesn't change the fact he's naked.
You asked how the Germans can call themselves world champions even though they haven’t beaten the Philippines - they can because every country in the world was part of the competition, either in the tournament or before in the qualification rounds. the NBA champ isn’t even always the best team of that year. Other teams have better records in the regular season. You can have luck or bad luck with matchups. That’s why we play the games - not to give the title to the team with the highest winning percentage, but to the team that can win head to head games. And in the end it is semantics. They are the champion of the by far best league in the world. I don’t even think many people would care if they say, they are the best team in the world. But world champs in every single other sport is reserved to those, that have played against international competition.
Well, it is a kids story, normal Emperors are not naked. And most countries do not have an Emperor anyhoot.
I am 99% with you, except for your last sentence. Major League Baseball's championship series is called World Series. LOL In an earlier post of mine, I pointed out that the Little League World Series actually involved some international teams. The adults should learn from the kids. Yeah, I don't know why some people find it so hard to distinguish best from champion. It seems like there is some emotional block that denies them such simple understanding. The NBA champion in a given year might not even be the best team in the NBA.
2019 Warriors vs Raptors. Everyone would bet on the Ws. 2023 USA vs Lithuania. Everyone would bet on the USA. look who came out on top? That's why we play the game. Everyone here still conveniently forgets the team of one-NBA-player soundly beating the team of full-NBA-roster. Anthony Edwards said "we're not worried about those guys". Lithuania is missing their top players but overperformed for the USA game. Edwards shut up and gave credit. Folks here still don't learn. That's why we play the game.
That is why sports is not politics. Politics you can lie your way around, Sports is all about performing and less talking. This World Champ thing is also a kind of Trash talk.
Every country is also part of NBA qualifications. Anybody can be in the NBA if they are good enough doesn't matter what their nationality is. These other players are all part of the NBA draft they just weren't good enough and didn't get drafted and thus got eliminated. To play in the NBA is to play against international competition, are you also like DatRocketFan and think Giannis is from Milwaukee and Jokic is from Denver? I'm not sure how you can compete against the best players in the entire world and then claim it's not an international competition, that's like the opposite of the definition. If you play against Giannis you are playing against a Greek not an American and he is the goat Greek bball player, I dunno how you still think that's a local competition.
NBA has the world's best players full stop. What does culture have to do with anything? The Euro MVP is only worth 7M in the NBA.
First off Raptors and Warriors are both NBA teams, they aren't joke country teams. Secondly what does winning one game prove? Why don't we just shorten the NBA season to single elimination and crown the champion in 2 months? Playing the game one time doesn't mean ****, did you know Corey Brewer scored 51 pts one time? You think Brewer is a scoring champ because of his one 50 pt game? Yeah ok Lithuania had the game of their lives vs a bunch of kids who didn't even play together before the tournament. Doesn't mean anything otherwise these Lithuanian players would be good enough to play in the NBA. In fact Lithuania got owned in their subsequent games so that proves these single elimination crap is primarily dependent on luck. How many NBA teams are salivating to sign these Lithuanian players? Omg they beat max contract Anthony Edward's, so where's the NBA offers? Are these NBA teams smart or you just dumb? If Lithuania beats the Nuggets in a 7 game series, the maybe that will prove something. Until then these single elimination games are just a joke.they might as well just play rock paper scissors.
For me it is easy. Put the NBA champ against the Champs of other leagues around the world and the NBA Champs would demolish them. Thus, World Champs.
could be done in 1 week in the off season. like a quickie champions league single elimination tourney of like the top 8 league champions around the world.
