'Avengers assemble': Gauff thanks Lyles for inspiring men's USA basketball super-squad

Tennis star Coco Gauff has thanked American sprinter Noah Lyles for “assembling the Avengers” – in other words, inspiring USA Basketball to put together its most lethal squad for this summer’s Olympic Games.

Lyles infamously questioned the NBA for calling its title winners “world champions”, explaining how the term is inaccurate for a North American league that only includes teams based in the USA and Canada.

The track star, who won gold in the 100m and 200m at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last year, faced a great deal of criticism from NBA playersfor those comments, with many dismissing his rationale by saying the NBA features the very best basketball players in the world.

Team USA then underperformed at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, placing fourth after losing to Germany in the semi-finals and Canada in the bronze-medal match, but have since assembled a super-squad for the Paris Olympics that features the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards and Kawhi Leonard.

Gauff is in awe of the star power on USA’s men’s basketball team, which is Abu Dhabi-bound this July to take part in two exhibition games ahead of the Olympics.

“I’m super stoked for the Olympics – our squad is unbelievable,” said Gauff, the reigning US Open women's champion and a serious medal contender in singles, doubles and mixed doubles in Paris this summer.

“If we lose man … if we lose, I don’t know, the world has stopped rotating. With that squad, I don’t know how many Hall-of-Famers are on that squad.

“Noah Lyles, I haven’t met him, but people like to say that he kind of started that super squad because of his comment about NBA [champions] being world champions. So, thank you,