Joakim Noah ended his six-year exile from Madison Square Garden in February when he visited his former hometown team, the The New York Knicksdefeated the Memphis Grizzlies 123-113.
But Noah, who was born and raised in New York, couldn’t tell whether he supported the Knicks or Memphis. His longtime teammate, Derrick Rose, played for the Grizzlies, and Noah himself played for the Grizzlies.
“More than the teams, I support the players now,” Noah told Fox News Digital during an interview at NBA Night in the Emirates Suite at the US Open last week.
Noah and Rose played together on the Chicago Bulls, where they began their careers in 2007 and 2008 respectively, before both players joined the Knicks in 2016.
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Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah, center, reacts to a block by Miami Heat’s LeBron James during the first half of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Fla., on Wednesday, May 6, 2013. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/MCT)
Their shared stay in New York did not last long, however, as Rose left the following year and Noah was released in 2018.
For Noah, moving to New York in 2016 was a childhood dream come true. He was joining the team he had watched growing up, the team that had inspired him in the ’90s. But it also put him in a position where he couldn’t quite be who he wanted to be.
“It was disappointing not being able to play 100 percent for the Knicks,” Noah said.
“It was a tough experience, because I wasn’t able to compete the way I wanted to, I wasn’t able to express myself on the court the way I wanted to, and that was my childhood dream. So, something I want people to know… it’s an experience that didn’t go the way I wanted it to, and that’s life.”
The Knicks signed Noah to a four-year, $72 million contract in 2016, but they ultimately waived him during the 2018 preseason with two years and $37.8 million remaining on his contract.
The previous season, an incident occurred in January, when Noah had to be separated from former Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek. The two men got into a fight that was allegedly started by the coach. He did not play another game for the Knicks after that.
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Joakim Noah drives to the basket during the game against the Washington Wizards on January 31, 2017, at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Noah’s First Season In 2016-17 in New York, the then-veteran started his career averaging 8.8 rebounds, 5 points and 2.2 assists for the Knicks, which is similar to his previous two seasons in Chicago, but certainly not as good as the numbers he put up as an All-Star in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
But in March 2017, Noah was suspended 20 games without pay for violating the league’s drug policy after testing positive for a drug called LGD-4033. Noah, having not played since Feb. 4, was likely to miss the Knicks’ final 10 games of the season with a left knee injury anyway. The suspension was carried over to the first 10 games of the 2017-18 season.
Then, in April, Noah had to have surgery for a torn rotator cuff on his left side and needed four to six months to rehab.
As a result, Noah’s sophomore season, even before the incident with Hornacek, marked a steep decline for the veteran. He played just seven games for the Knicks that year, all as a backup, averaging just 2 rebounds, 1.7 points and 0.6 assists.
Before long, Noah’s dream of playing for the Knicks was officially over. He spent the last two years of his career as a backup, playing one productive season for Memphis in 2018-19 and then just five games for the LA Clippers in 2019-20.
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Former NBA player Joakim Noah before the Betclic Elite match between Paris Basketball and AS Monaco at Accor Arena on January 13, 2024, in Paris, France. (Franco Arland/Getty Images)
Still, that tough breakup didn’t stop the childhood Knicks fan from enjoying his trip to Madison Square Garden this year and he couldn’t help but be excited for the players, especially star point guard Jalen Brunson.
“It was a great feeling to see the energy in the crowd, to see the love that these players are getting, it’s well deserved because this team is truly special,” Noah said.
“I remember looking at Jalen Brunson. His father [Rick Brunson] “I was my coach with the Bulls. I remember watching Jalen play when he was 11 or 12 years old in Chicago, and now, seeing what he does, the humility with which he does it and the way he’s brought stability to basketball in this city, especially as a point guard, it’s so much fun to watch.”
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