It's easy to forget Joakim Noah came in fourth in MVP voting for the 2013-14 season. There was a swift decline from there, though, culminating in a forgettable stint with the New York Knicks that featured a heated incident with former head coach Jeff Hornacek, multiple surgeries and a 20-game PED suspension. There was even a point where he considered retiring, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
But Noah didn't give up the fight, and now he's finding some success again with the Memphis Grizzlies. He explained why he didn't decide to hang up his sneakers for good:
“The main reason I didn't retire is I just didn't want to leave the game like that,” Noah said, referencing his shoulder and knee surgeries and a 20-game PED suspension in 2017. “I feel like I worked too hard my whole life to end it all like that. I hadn't had peace on the court in years and I wasn't enjoying playing basketball anymore. And I've always been somebody who loved basketball, loved to compete, loved to be in the locker room with my teammates. So I wanted to find that again and I worked my ass off to be in this position.”
Noah was one of the most underrated players in the NBA during his time with the Chicago Bulls. He wasn't much of a scorer, but he could gobble up rebounds and was an extremely gifted passer. That, coupled with his elite defense (2013-14 DPOY) made him exceptionally valuable.
That 2013-14 season was incredible. It saw Noah average career highs in points (12.6), rebounds (11.3), assists (5.4) and steals (1.2) per game. He also averaged 1.5 blocks while appearing in a career-best 80 games.
While the end of Noah's time in Chicago went poorly and his Knicks stint was disastrous after signing a four-year, $72 million deal, he's now looking healthier than he has in a while in Memphis. It has led to a resurgence in his game, averaging 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds despite playing just 14.3 minutes per contest.
There has been an encouraging upswing in his play lately, starting with a terrific 19-point, 14-rebound night against the New Orleans Pelicans last weekend.
Joakim Noah will never again be that MVP-type player he was in Chicago, but he's still a solid contributor and someone many teams would love to have in their locker room. Good thing he didn't retire, because it appears he has a few more years left in him.
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