Joakim Noah was a guest on the ‘Out The Mud’ podcast. He spoke about his rivalry with LeBron James during his time with the Bulls. Noah noted that James was a showboater during their matches, poking fun at the Bulls when they were losing. And that added to the competitive fire, as seeing your rival mock you during games makes you hungrier to defeat them.
“He was arrogant and he was a stunter… And there were moments when you’re down 20 points, you’re shooting a free throw with your left hand, you’re dancing all over the court, I wasn’t feeling it…”
“You lose to somebody five times in the playoffs, there’s nothing funny about that…I don’t want something bad to happen to him, I’m just a competitor. Every year you’re losing and you know you have to get through him, that’s where it came from.”
Noah was perhaps the biggest agitator of LeBron James during the early years of his career. Playing on the Bulls, Noah was part of one of the strongest teams in the Eastern Conference. And that meant he would face the King on several occasions.
LeBron James would more often than not get the better of Noah. But Joakim would be able to get under LeBron’s skin in a way that almost no other player in the league was able to at that time. This added a layer of intensity to their match-ups at the time, whether it was James on the Cavaliers or the Miami Heat.
In the end, LeBron would end up besting Noah when it mattered most. While they were not on the same level as players, the French-born star was perhaps the one player who could unnerve LeBron James during big games.
Joakim Noah Gives LeBron James His Flowers
A few months ago, Joakim Noah seemed to abandon his hostilities towards LeBron James and showered him with praise. He was in awe of his ability to continue dominating as a player despite being 39 years old (at the time). The longevity that James has shown in his career truly impressed Noah.
Joakim Noah is not to be considered a low-level rival of LeBron James. He was a two-time All-Star during James’ peak years and was even named the Defensive Player of the Year in 2014. So he was one of the toughest players that James played against during those years.
Between 2007-08 and 2014-15, LeBron James played against Joakim Noah 24 times, and he averaged 29.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks, while shooting 48.5% from the field, 31.7% from the three-point line, and 77.4% from the free-throw line.
Even with all the animosity and bad feelings the two had towards each other, it is good to see that Noah has gotten over it and has given LeBron James his flowers, especially with LeBron being in the twilight of his legendary career.
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