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Joakim Noah, a Chicago Bulls great, returns to the United Center and receives a warm tribute from fans: ‘There’s just so many dope moments’

paul sullivan, chicago tribune
·6 min read

There have been greater athletes in Chicago that were less beloved than Joakim Noah, the Chicago Bulls great who returned to the United Center on Thursday night to be honored during a game against the New York Knicks.

Noah won’t go into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He didn’t win a ring here. His number is unlikely to hang from the rafters.

His popularity in Chicago was a byproduct of hard work and a nonconformist attitude, two reasons why Bulls fans gave him a long and loud salute during his return to the West Side.

Why did his career resonate so much in Chicago?

“I think every season has a different story,” Noah said before the game. “But I think that playoff run early on really set the tone and I had great vets that really taught me the ropes. I think of Kirk (Hinrich), I think of Ben Wallace, I think of guys, Brad Miller — these are solid people.

“I think it resonated also because when the adversity hit, that’s when you see what people are made of. I think through our adversity, we fought, and I think people respected that.”

The old gang was all there for the party, which began with a dinner Wednesday night, thanks in part to the Bulls’ decision to honor Noah during a game with the Knicks, who are coached by Tom Thibodeau and include former Bulls great Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson on the roster.

Those three players were part of the post-Jordan glory years for the franchise, reviving the organization after the loss of the greatest player ever and doing it in their own style. Rose, Gibson and Thibs also received loud ovations because Bulls fans remember what they did here. They even dusted off the “M-V-P” chants for D-Rose.

Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Ben Gordon and other former teammates showed up, and Noah was particularly delighted to see Thabo Sefolosha, who flew in from Switzerland.

Noah was the ninth pick in the 2007 draft and spent the first nine of his 13-year NBA career with the Bulls. He was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2013-14, was a two-time All-Star and finished fourth in MVP voting in 2014 behind Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Blake Griffin.

Knee and shoulder injuries curtailed the end of his career, and he retired after being in the 2020 bubble with the Los Angeles Clippers.

“You have to be honest with yourself,” he said. “I shot every bullet in my gun and I have no regrets. I gave it everything I got. And you know what, (Wednesday) it felt great to spend some time with teammates I hadn’t seen in a long time, and I feel like that is what it’s all about, being able to talk about the memories and the good times, the hard times.

“I look at Kirk Hinrich’s face and right away I was thinking about Game 2 in the Boston Celtics series, and I messed up an assignment on a switch and Ray Allen hit a 3, and we talked about it (Wednesday). I swear I had tears in my eyes just talking to him about it because that’s how much I cared about him. I was like, ‘Damn, I let “Cap” down.’

“Just so many guys, I think about moments like that. ... And I haven’t spoken to Cap in a long time and there’s just so many dope moments.”

Noah said he has “a lot less anxiety” since retirement.

“I sleep a lot better, I’m getting married this summer, I’m really excited about that,” he said. “I take my kids to school. It’s a slower pace, but I love it. I have a lot of things. I have a lot of purpose.

Bulls coach Billy Donovan watched Noah mature at the University of Florida, going from an unknown player to a hero of their championship teams in 2006 and ‘07 and then a first-round draft pick.

“Sports Illustrated wanted to put him on the cover,” Donovan said of his final season. “‘Who is this kid with this energy?’ He’s 6-11, pony-tailed (with) energy, enthusiasm, and he was kind of like this lightning rod in college basketball that a lot of people didn’t even know about.

“And pretty soon, because our whole title team came back and we were ranked No. 1 in the country, he immediately turned into a villain, and I think for him that was really, really difficult to handle because there was nothing that he did that created that, other than the fact that he was incredibly successful. He learned how to deal with that.”

Noah could play the role of villain, as he showed during his career in Chicago. He said things others were thinking but never dared to say, like taunting James in Cleveland and proclaiming “Cleveland sucks” during the 2010 playoff series against the Cavaliers. After being booed nonstop, he answered back to the fans.

“You think Cleveland is cool?” Noah said. “I mean, I never heard anyone say I’m going to Cleveland on vacation. What’s so good about Cleveland?”

That kind of honesty endeared Noah to Bulls fans. Bulls vice president John Paxson, in the video tribute, called Noah “the most genuine player I’ve ever been around — there’s no phoniness.”

The Bulls neglected to gift Noah with a round-trip ticket to Cleveland during Thursday’s tributes, but they did name him a team ambassador. Noah said he’ll be in Chicago more often and became emotional talking about “turning left on Ogden” Avenue, the diagonal street that leads to the United Center.

‘I’ll work with the Bulls on some initiatives … do some things for the kids,” he said. “I’m working closely with NBA Africa as well, watching the development of basketball over on the continent, working with Luol. And that’s something I’m really proud of as well.

“So I feel like basketball, especially the Bulls, have given me an unbelievable platform, and now I’m able to move to the next step.”

His father, Yannick Noah, flew in from Africa, and his mother and sister were also on hand for the night. He said he doesn’t care about having his Bulls jersey retired. This was his moment, and he said he cherished spending it with his family.

“When you’re playing, you’re caught up in so much other things,” he said. “So to have a moment like this to me is bigger than anything.”