Noah Built an Ark
Throughout the off-season, the team at Bulls Confidential is going to reveal our picks for the top 25 best players in Chicago Bulls franchise history. We are measuring overall impact on the organization, community, and how they impacted their team. Follow along on Twitter by searching #BC25.
25. Mickey Johnson
24. Guy Rodgers
23. Orlando Woolridge
22. Charles Oakley
21. Taj Gibson
20. Bob Boozer
19. Elton Brand
18. Ben Gordon
17. Tom Boerwinkle
16. Reggie Theus
15. Toni Kukoc
14. Horace Grant
13. Kirk Hinrich
12. Joakim Noah
Think back to where you were the night of the 2007 draft. I was working my job as a bagger at my local Jewel. Since this was before everyone had a smartphone, I didn’t know who the Bulls selected ninth until I got in my car after my shift. I was able to deduct from the interview going on that the Bulls had taken center Joakim Noah, who had just won back-to-back national championships with Florida.
Anyone watching on TV though shook their head. How could a guy who looked like Bozo the Clown’s distant cousin possibly help the Bulls? His stock wasn’t even as high as it would have been had he entered the draft the year before. Maybe he could talk, but there’s no way he’ll be able to walk.
Noah’s critics appeared to be vindicated during a lackluster rookie year. His relationship with his teammates was rocky too, especially after he got into a confrontation with assistant coach Ron Adams. He initially was suspended for one game, but the team unanimously voted to give him a second straight benching. It only added to a bad season in which the Bulls had already fired coach Scott Skiles and were on their way to missing the playoffs for the first time in four years.
Thanks in part to landing Derrick Rose as the top pick in the next draft, the Bulls returned to the playoffs in 2009 and drew the defending champion Boston Celtics in the first round. What followed was an epic seven-game battle many are still waiting to see a 30 for 30 on. Though the Bulls lost the hard-fought war, there was one play by Noah in Game 6 that all but guaranteed the series was going to its limit. It not only changed the course of Noah’s career and the fan base’s opinion of him, but is one of the most memorable moments in team history:
From there, Noah blossomed into a key role player and eventually, one of the most intense and best defensive in the NBA. It started when he was named to the All-Defensive Second Team for the 62-win Bulls in 2010–11, the franchise’s best post-Jordan team. His value became appreciated more when a sprained ankle knocked him out of the 2012 first-round playoff series in which Rose tore his ACL. Even more shorthanded, the top-seeded Bulls were eliminated by the Philadelphia 76ers in six games.
With Rose out the entire next season and most of the following one with a torn meniscus, Noah carried the Bulls on his back and ascended his game even further. He earned two straight selections to the All-Star Game and the All-Defensive First Team. In his best season, 2013–14, he assumed a “point center” role with the offense running through him. Coupled with his usual terrific play on the other end, he was named Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-NBA First Team.
Noah earned praise for his actions away from basketball too. His Noah’s Arc Foundation, founded in 2010, works to foster the passion and develop the confidence children have through art and sports with positive self-expression. He also has worked hard on anti-violence initiatives such as the Rock Your Drop: The Drop of Consciousness campaign and a video called You’re Not Alone, directed by There Are No Children Here author Alex Kotlowitz. His work in combating violence earned him the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award following the 2014–15 season.
Noah’s lone season under Fred Hoiberg was tumultuous. Injuries and losing his starting spot to Nikola Mirotic in the preseason limited his contributions during the year. What turned out to be his last game for the Bulls came on Jan. 15, 2016 when he re-injured his left shoulder that had sidelined him for three weeks not long before. As a free agent, he followed Rose to the New York Knicks that offseason, ending the best Chicago tenure for a center since that of Bill Cartwright.
In nine seasons with the Bulls, Noah averaged 9.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks a game. His value over replacement player (VORP) of 26.7 ranks fourth in franchise history behind Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Artis Gilmore. He’s the Bulls’ all-time leader in offensive rebounds (1,910), ranks third in blocks (803), fourth in total rebounds (5,387) and ninth in steals (481), games played (572) and minutes (16,848). When you play for a team as long and as well as he did, you’re bound to crack quite a few leaderboards.
Noah’s passion for the game and intensity every night defined the type of player Bulls fans love to see. His blue-collar approach and subsequent big results made him difficult not to fall in love with. That’s what first comes to mind for people who think about him now, not the suit he wore on draft night. He’s living proof that first impressions aren’t always the right ones.
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