Joakim Simon Noah ( ; born February 25, 1985) is a former professional basketball player. Born in New York, Noah was a member of the France national team and 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 Manhattan, New York, 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.Joakim Noah Recruiting Profile
College career
Noah accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Billy Donovan's Florida Gators men's basketball team from 2004 to 2007.Florida Men's Basketball 2014–2015 Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 2, 4, 5, 6, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 79, 80, 83, 85, 86, 95, 130, 138, 139, 140, 141, 150, 153, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 167 (2014). Retrieved March 19, 2015. Noah was a member of Donovan's 2004 recruiting class, a group that included four freshmen who would have a dramatic impact on the Gators basketball program during the next three seasons. During his 2004–05 freshman year, he played 9.4 minutes per game and averaged only 3.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.
During Noah's 2005–06 sophomore year, he was listed as power forward but was moved to center to replace Al Horford, and in that position he led his team in points (14.2 ppg) and blocks (2.4 bpg), while ranking second in rebounds (7.1 rpg) behind teammate Al Horford (7.6 rpg). Almost unknown at the beginning of the season, Noah's projected draft position improved over time. By the end of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, he had declared for the 2006 NBA draft. However, Noah, along with teammates Horford and Corey Brewer, announced at the Gators' national championship celebration that they would return for their junior seasons. Noah and the Florida Gators would go on to repeat as 2006–07 national champions.
Noah was named the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the NCAA Tournament's Minneapolis Regional after leading the Gators over top-seeded Villanova in the final game with 26 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks. On April 3, 2006, 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game Noah paced the Gators to a 73–57 victory over the UCLA Bruins for the school's first NCAA basketball championship and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.Associated Press, "Gators clamp down on UCLA to win first NCAA title", ESPN.com (April 3, 2006). Retrieved March 19, 2015. In the final game, he scored 16 points, made 9 rebounds, and blocked a championship game record 6 shots.
The next year after the Gators won the 2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, they went forward to the next year with five returning starters. Noah started off the tournament with 17 points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes of play in a win vs. the Jackson State Tigers. In the second round, Noah scored nine points and had nine rebounds in a win vs. the Purdue Boilermakers. The Purdue game, Butler Bulldogs game, and Ohio State championship game were the only three games he did not have double digit rebounds in the tournament; although he had nine rebounds in two of those games. He had a tournament high, 14 points and 14 rebounds in the Elite Eight in a win vs. the Oregon Ducks. In the championship game vs. the Ohio State Buckeyes, he was in a match-up against the future 2007 NBA Draft number one pick, Greg Oden. Regardless, he was still able to score eight points and grab three rebounds, although getting into foul trouble. He also was perfect from the free throw line, making six shots on six attempts. With the help of Noah on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, the Florida Gators were able to win their second championship in two years.
Professional career
Chicago Bulls (2007–2016)
Early years (2007–2012) The Chicago Bulls selected Noah as the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. Noah and his teammates at Florida, Corey Brewer and Al Horford, became the highest-picked trio from the same college in the history of the NBA. Horford was chosen third overall by the Atlanta Hawks, and Brewer was chosen seventh overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves. On November 6, 2007, Noah made his regular season debut off the bench after missing the first three games with a sprained ankle. He scored 2 points and had 4 rebounds. Noah had a rocky start with his team after being given a suspension by a unanimous vote from his teammates in January 2008 following a confrontation with assistant coach Ron Adams.
Noah averaged 6.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game during the 2008–09 regular season. Noah played a key role in Game 6 of the 2009 Eastern Conference first-round playoff series between the Bulls and the Boston Celtics. In the final minute of the game's third overtime period, with the score tied at 123–123, he stole the ball from Paul Pierce and dribbled down the court (unusual for a center) for a dunk, drawing Pierce's sixth foul in the process. The Bulls went on to win the game 128–127, though they would lose the series in Game 7.
During the 2009–10 season, Noah averaged 10.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. He only played 64 games due to injury. The Bulls once again made the playoffs, securing the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, Noah averaged 14.8 points per game and 13.0 rebounds, but the Bulls lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round in five games. On October 4, 2010, Noah signed a five-year, $60 million contract extension with the Bulls.Fiedell, Nick. "Bulls' Joakim Noah to Sign Extension." ESPN.com. October 4, 2010. Accessed May 23, 2011. On December 15, 2010, the Bulls announced that due to ligament damage in Noah's hand, he would have surgery and miss 8 to 10 weeks. Noah was averaging 14 points and 11.7 rebounds in the 24 games prior to his injury. He returned to action in the 55th game of the season on February 23 after recuperating from right thumb surgery. He scored 7 points and had 16 rebounds in just over 24 minutes. He returned to the inactive list for games 74, 75 and 76.
On February 22, 2012, Noah recorded his first career triple-double with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks. It was the first triple-double by a Bulls center since Artis Gilmore recorded one in 1977.
First All-Star selection (2012–2013) On December 7, 2012, Noah recorded his career highs of 30 points and 23 rebounds in a win against the Detroit Pistons. On December 18, 2012, he recorded his second ever triple-double, scoring 11 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and providing a career-high-tying 10 assists, in a 100–89 victory over the Boston Celtics. On January 24, 2013, Noah was named as a reserve in the 2013 NBA All-Star Game, representing the Chicago Bulls alongside teammate Luol Deng. He became the Bulls' first All-Star center since Artis Gilmore in 1982. He played 16 minutes in the game, scoring 8 points and collecting 10 rebounds in the East's loss. On February 28, 2013, Noah recorded his third career triple-double, scoring 23 points, collecting 21 rebounds and blocking a career-high 11 shots in Chicago's 93–82 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. In doing so, Noah joined Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shawn Bradley, Shaquille O'Neal, and Elvin Hayes as the only players to record a triple-double of 20-20-10 in points, rebounds, and blocks since blocks began being recorded, and the only player among them to do so while shooting 65 percent from the field.
Defensive Player of the Year award (2013–2014) From December 28, 2013, to February 1, 2014, Noah had an 18-game streak of 10 or more rebounds, averaging 13.9 rebounds during that stretch. The streak ended on February 3, 2014, in a game against the Sacramento Kings as Noah was ejected from the game after complaining due to a controversial foul call against him. Noah erupted and verbally abused the referees, resulting in a $15,000 fine from the NBA. On January 30, 2014, Noah was named a reserve in the 2014 NBA All-Star Game for the second time in his career. He played 21 minutes in the game (including the entire fourth quarter) and scored 8 points, collected 5 rebounds and had 5 assists while helping the East to win 163–155. On February 11, 2014, Noah recorded his fourth career triple-double in a 100–85 win against the Atlanta Hawks, finishing the game with 19 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists. On February 19, 2014, Joakim accounted for 13 assists in a 94–92 road win against the Toronto Raptors. 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.
On March 2, 2014, Noah recorded his fifth career triple-double with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists in a 109–90 win over the New York Knicks. Noah's 14 assists was the most ever by a Bulls center, and the most by a center in the NBA since 1986.Notebook: Bulls 109, Knicks 90 Three days later, in a 105–94 win over the Detroit Pistons, Noah recorded yet another triple-double finishing the game with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Joakim finished the month of March with 120 assists, the most by an NBA center since Wilt Chamberlain had 155 in March 1968.Twitter / nbastats On April 9, 2014, Noah had 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a 102–87 road win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, his fourth triple-double of the season. On April 21, 2014, Noah was awarded the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award for the first time in his career. He is the second Chicago Bull to win the award, after Michael Jordan who won it in the season, he also became the first Frenchman to win the award, the 4th international to win, and the second European overall to win. He finished the 2013-14 campaign fourth in MVP voting.
On June 4, 2014, Noah was named to the 2014 All-NBA first team.
Final years in Chicago (2014–2016) On January 27, 2015, Noah had a season-best game with 18 points and 15 rebounds in a 113–111 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors. He finished the season averaging 7.2 points and 9.6 rebounds, his lowest averages since the 2009–10 season.