Several years ago, Joakim Noah was one of the best centers in the NBA, not to mention one of the most unique players they had at the position.
He made back-to-back All-Star teams in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons as a member of the team. The Chicago Bullsand despite his poor shooting performance, he managed to shoot 49.1 percent of his shots over his 13 seasons. He was named Defensive Player of the Year for the 2013–14 campaign, and in addition to being a solid rebounder and defender, he could also rack up assists.
In the summer of 2019, as his career was coming to an end, Noah wanted to join the team The Los Angeles LakersThe Lakers needed another center, especially after signing a free agent DeMarcus Cousins suffered a torn ACL shortly after arriving, but they decided to go with another former Defensive Player of the Year by the name of Dwight Howard.
Noah spoken to NBA insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson opens up about his desire to join the Purple and Gold.
“I tried, but they chose Dwight instead,” Noah joked.
“You can’t beat that!”
Howard’s reputation was at an all-time low, but he played his part well. He accepted a reduced role and gave LA plenty of defense and rebounding while cheering on his teammates as they won the 2020 NBA Championship.
Noah said he doesn’t regret not being able to play for that team.
“I don’t think so,” he said.
“Everything happens for a reason. It was a great team. I think LeBron James “He’s done a really good job leading this team, especially in the bubble. You’re away from your family or you don’t have family. I think he’s done a really good job.”
If Noah had been drafted by the Lakers, it’s questionable whether he could have given them what Howard did. He averaged 2.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.2 blocked shots per 10 minutes as a member of the team. The Los Angeles Clippers in 2020 (he only played five games that season).
Howard, on the other hand, recorded 7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 18.9 minutes per game that season for the Purple and Gold while appearing in 69 regular season games and 18 postseason games.
This article was originally published on LeBron Wire: Joakim Noah says he wants to join the Lakers in 2019