The relationships between LeBron James And Joakim Noah were often tense, especially during their first clashes, when the King played for the Cavs and then the Heat. There were numerous clashes between the two men, even if relations subsequently calmed down, since LBJ even praised the keen competitive spirit of his best enemy.
Guest of the podcast “Pardon my take”, the former emblematic pivot of the Bulls from 2007 to 2016 returned to this rivalry, slipping in passing that he had done his best to encourage LeBron James to sign in Chicago while the latter was was preparing to leave Cleveland, in the summer of 2010. When asked what he thought of the rumors of the King possibly coming to the Windy City, his response was immediate.
” How so ? I tried to recruit him! », he retorted. “I tried to bring him to Chicago, all three of them, since Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade too.”
Epic duels
History has decided otherwise and Joakim Noah does not harbor any particular regrets. The clash between Chicago and Miami then became more than a simple rivalry, but a duel between two very distinct philosophies.
“In the end, I think everything was great, just our battles against them. I really thought that if we had been healthy, we would have gotten them. But it was cool. There was also this thing where it wasn’t just Chicago that was against them, it was the whole country! Every time we went somewhere, people would say “F**k the Heat”! » And we were in a way the team that had a chance, especially since we could be really proud of having built ourselves through the Draft. We were like brothers, we received our first salaries together. And we were going to face the other side of the story, made up of “free agency” and “super teams”. They beat us every time in the playoffs, but there were definitely fights that I will never forget.”
The Lakers prefer Dwight Howard to Joakim Noah
A few years later, during the 2019-2020 season, Joakim Noah again had an opportunity to team up with LeBron James, this time with the Lakers. There too, rumors came out, but LA then opted for Dwight Howard, while Joakim Noah landed at the Clippers for the last stint of his NBA career. Here again, even if he would have liked to taste good bottles from LeBron James’ cellar, fate would have it otherwise.
“It didn’t happen, and that’s probably a good thing.”he added. “Maybe it’s better this way. But at that moment I was just trying to survive. I was just trying to get a contract. It was March or April, I didn’t have a team. I hadn’t played in a few years, and when you take all that away…I would have gone anywhere.”
