Joakim Noah

At 39 years old, Joakim Noah has this physical status:

Joakim Simon Noah ( JOH-?-kim; born February 25, 1985) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Born in New York City to a Swedish mother and a French father, he holds American, Swedish and French citizenship.

He played college basketball for the Florida Gators, winning back-to-back NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007.

The Chicago Bulls selected Noah with the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft.

Noah is a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the All-NBA First Team in 2014 when he also was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Early life

Noah was born in New York City, to French singer and former world No. 3 tennis player Yannick Noah, winner of the French Open in 1983, and Cécilia Rodhe, Miss Sweden and fourth runner-up at Miss Universe 1978. His grandfather Zacharie Noah was a Cameroonian professional football player, winner of the Coupe de France in 1961. Noah lived in Paris, France from 1988 to 1998 and returned to New York City at age 13.

He played youth basketball with the youth teams of the French club Levallois Sporting Club, in Paris. He played high school basketball for the United Nations International School, Poly Prep Country Day School and The Lawrenceville School.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Noah was listed as the No. 19 power forward and the No. 75 player in the nation in 2004.

Personal life

Noah holds citizenship with the United States, France, and Sweden.

In 2010, with his mother, an artist, Noah founded the Noah's Arc Foundation to help engage children with positive self-expression through arts and sports. The foundation has a special focus on at-risk youth in Chicago. As a registered United Nations non-governmental organization (NGO), in 2015 the Foundation was granted special consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Noah began dating Brazilian Victoria's Secret model Lais Ribeiro in July 2018. In September 2019, they became engaged at Burning Man. On July 13, 2022, Noah and Ribiero were married in Trancoso in her native country Brazil.

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College career

Noah accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he competed for coach Billy Donovan's Florida Gators men's basketball team from 2004 to 2007. Noah was a member of Donovan's 2004 recruiting class, a group of four newmen with a dramatic effect on the Gators' basketball program over the next three seasons. He played 9.4 minutes per game and averaged only 2.5 rebounds per game during his 2004-05 freshman year.

Noah was listed as power forward during his 2005-06 sophomore year but was later moved to center to replace Al Horford, putting him in second place in rebounds (14.2 ppg) and blocks (11.6 bpg), while teammate Al Horford was second in rebounds (7.1 rpg). Noah's estimated draft position increased over time, although it was still early in the season. He had signed up for the 2006 NBA draft by the time of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. However, Noah, along with colleagues Horford and Corey Brewer, announced at the Gators' national championship championship parade that they would return for their junior seasons. Noah and the Florida Gators are expected to return as national champions in 2006-07.

Since leading the Gators over top-seeded Villanova in the final game with 26 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks, Noah was dubbed the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the NCAA Tournament's Minneapolis Regional. Noah led the Gators to a 73–57 victory over the UCLA Bruins in the school's first NCAA basketball championship on April 3, 2006, and he was named the Most Valuable Player of the Final Four. He scored 16 points, made 9 rebounds, and blocked a championship game record 6 shots in the final game.

The Gators won the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2006, and they have five returning starters to look forward to next year. In a victory over the Jackson State Tigers, Noah started the tournament with 17 points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes of play. In a win over the Purdue Boilermakers in the second round, Noah scored nine points and had nine rebounds. The Purdue game, Butler Bulldogs' game, and the Ohio State championship game were the only three games in the tournament he did not have double digit rebounds; however, he had nine rebounds in two of those games. In the Elite Eight, he had a tournament record of 14 points and 14 rebounds, defeating the Oregon Ducks. In the championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes, he was in a match against Greg Oden, the upcoming NBA Draft number one pick for 2007. Regardless, he was still able to score eight points and grab three rebounds while being thrown into foul trouble, but he was also able to score eight points and get three rebounds. He was also on target from the free throw line, racking six shots on six attempts. The Florida Gators secured their second championship in two years, with Noah's help on both offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

Professional career

Noah was selected as the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls. Noah and his teammates at Florida, Corey Brewer, and Al Horford, became the highest-picked trio from the same college in NBA history. The Atlanta Hawks selected Horford third overall by the Atlanta Hawks, while the Minnesota Timberwolves picked Brewer seventh overall. After missing the first three games due to a sprained ankle, Noah made his regular season debut off the bench on November 6, 2007. He had 2 points and four rebounds. Noah's team had a rough start after being suspended by a unanimous vote of his peers in January 2008.

During the 2008-2009 regular season, Noah averaged 7.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Noah was instrumental in Game 6 of the 2009 Eastern Conference first-round playoff series between the Bulls and the Boston Celtics. He stole the ball from Paul Pierce and dribbled down the court in the final minute of the game's third overtime period, drawing Pierce's sixth foul. The Bulls won the game 128–127, but they would lose the series in Game 7.

Noah averaged 10.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game during the 2009-2010 season. Due to injury, he only played 64 games. The Bulls advanced to the playoffs for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, securing the eighth seed. Noah averaged 14.8 points per game and 13.0 rebounds in the playoffs, but the Bulls lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round in five games.

Noah signed a five-year, $60 million contract extension with the Bulls on October 4, 2010. The Bulls reported on December 15, 2010 that due to ligament damage in Noah's hand, he will need surgery and miss 8 to ten weeks. In the 24 games prior to his injury, Noah was averaging 14 points and 11.7 rebounds. On February 23, he returned to action in his 55th game of the season after recovering from right thumb surgery. In just over 24 minutes, he scored 7 points and had 16 rebounds. He has been recalled to the inactive list for games 74, 75, and 76.

Noah had his first triple-double in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks on February 22, 2012, with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and ten assists. It was the first triple-double by a Bulls center since Artis Gilmore's debut in 1977.

In a victory over the Detroit Pistons on December 7, 2012, Noah set new records of 30 points and 23 rebounds. In a 89 victory over the Boston Celtics on December 18, 2012, he recorded his second straight triple-double, scoring 11 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and giving a career-high 10 assists. Noah was named as a reserve in the 2013 NBA All-Star Game, representing the Chicago Bulls alongside teammate Luol Deng on January 24, 2013. In 1982, Artis Gilmore became the Bulls' first All-Star center since Artis Gilmore. In the East's loss, he played 16 minutes in the game, scoring 8 points and collecting 10 rebounds. In Chicago's 93-82 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, Noah scored 23 points, received 21 rebounds, and blocking a career-high 11 shots for his third triple-double. Noah set a new franchise record for blocks in a regular season game set by Gilmore on December 20, 1977, and Hakeel, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, and Elvin Hayes were the only players to do so while shooting 66% from the field, the only one to do so.

Noah had an 18-game streak from December 28, 2013 to February 1, 2014, averaging 13.9 rebounds per month. Noah was suspended from the game due to a contentious foul call against the Sacramento Kings on February 4, 2014. Noah erupted and verbally insulted the referees, resulting in a $15,000 fine from the NBA. Noah was named a reserve in the 2014 NBA All-Star Game for the second time in his career on January 30, 2014. While assisting the East in defeat 163–155, he played 21 minutes in the game (including the entire fourth quarter) and scored 8 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and had 5 assists. In a 100–85 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on February 11, 2014, Noah earned his fourth triple-double in his career, totaling 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists. In a 94–92 road victory over the Toronto Raptors on February 19, 2014, Joakim accounted for 13 assists. By doing so, he became the first NBA center with 3 games of 10+ assists in a season since Brad Miller of the Sacramento Kings in 2005–06 and the only center with 13 assists in a game since Vlade Divac in April 1996.

Noah defeated the New York Knicks 109–90 on March 2, 2014, scoring 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists for his fifth triple-double in his career. Noah's 14 assists were the most by a Bulls center ever and the most by a center in the NBA since 1986. Noah finished the game with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, three days later, in a 105-94 victory over the Detroit Pistons, to add to his triple-double. Joakim had 120 assists in the month of March, the most by an NBA center since Wilt Chamberlain had 155 in March 1968. Noah had 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 102-87 road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 9, his fourth triple-double of the season. For the first time in his career, Noah was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year award on April 21, 2014. He is the second Chicago Bull to win the competition after Michael Jordan, the first Frenchman to win the award, and the second European overall to win.

Noah was named to the 2014 All-NBA first team on June 4, 2014.

In a 113–111 victory over the Golden State Warriors on January 27, 2015, Noah had a season-best game with 18 points and 15 rebounds. He ended the season with 7.2 points and 9.6 rebounds, his lowest averages since the 2009–10 season.

Noah missed his starting position to Nikola Miroti in the 2015 preseason, starting off the bench in his first 23 games of the 2015–16 season. Starting center Pau Gasol did not travel to New York for the Bulls' December 19 game against the Knicks after a quadruple overtime loss to the Detroit Pistons on December 18. Noah started in his first game of the season and then scored a season-high 21 points. He also grabbed 10 rebounds in the game, six of them offensive, bringing him to his career as the Bulls' top offensive boards' leader in offensive boards, passing Horace Grant (1,888). He was out for two to four weeks after suffering a small tear in his sprained left shoulder during the Bulls' December 21 game against the Brooklyn Nets. In a loss to the Washington Wizards on January 11, he returned to action after missing nine games due to the injury. On January 14, he made his second start of the season by replacing the injured Pau Gasol. In a 115-111 overtime victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, he scored 6 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in 38 minutes of action. Noah re-injured his left shoulder against the Dallas Mavericks in the next game. Since it was determined that he needed surgery to stabilize his left shoulder, he was ruled out for four to six months.

Noah signed the New York Knicks, his hometown team, on July 8, 2016, for four years. At the time, a volatile deal was being dubbed "disastrous" and the "worst signing in franchise history." He underwent a left knee arthroscopy to remove a loose body from his body on February 27, 2017 and was then ruled out for at least three to four weeks. Noah was suspended for 20 games without compensation for breaching the league's anti-drug policy on March 25, 2017. Noah, who hasn't played since February 4, is likely to miss the Knicks' final ten games of the season due to a left knee injury. The suspension continued into the first ten games of the 2017–18 season. Noah, who was unaware of his arrest, did not appeal his suspension. Noah was found to need surgery for a left torn rotator cuff and would take four to six months to recover.

Noah was activated by the Knicks on November 27, 2017, marking his first appearance since February. Noah played his first shot against the Portland Trail Blazers in the second quarter and had a three-minute stint, making his first shot attempt and grabbing a rebound. He was drafted to the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League for a one-day stint, playing for Westchester that night in a loss to the Maine Red Claws two days later. After a fiery verbal altercation with coach Jeff Hornacek in January 2018, Noah went into exile from the Knicks. Noah played in only seven games during the 2017--18 season, averaging 5.7 minutes off the bench.

Noah was released by the Knicks on October 13, 2018 by the stretch-provision waiver. The Knicks will save $12.6 million in cap space in 2019, thanks to the stretch provision. Noah, who had $38 million left on his contract, was reluctant to fork over any money over the remaining two years of his contract. The reason for the delay in waiving him was the Knicks' efforts to convince Noah to fork out more money in the form of a buyout.

Noah joined the Memphis Grizzlies for the remainder of the season on December 4, 2018. In a 99-90 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, he had season highs of 19 points and 14 rebounds on February 9, 2019. In a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on February 22, 2019, he scored 22 points (with 12 free throws) and 11 rebounds.

Noah signed a 10-day deal with the Los Angeles Clippers on March 9, 2020, and then signed a multi-year deal on June 28. The Clippers waived Noah in early December 2020.

Noah declared his resignation in March 2021.

The Chicago Bulls held a "Joakim Noah Night" on October 28, 2021, in honor of Noah, where he was named an ambassador for the team.

National team career

Noah was a member of the French national basketball team, but he may have been eligible for either the American or Swedish teams. "The French National team has unquestionably been on my minds for a while," the French National Team's president said.

In a friendly match against Austria in which Noah scored 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, he made his first appearance for the senior French national team on July 24, 2009, where he scored 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Noah joined the French team at EuroBasket 2011, then joined the French team.

Due to a serious ankle injury suffered during the 2012 NBA playoffs, he did not join the French Olympic team for the London 2012 Summer Olympics. Before he would be able to play again, Noah said he needed more time and rehabilitation before being able to play again.

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