Joakim Noah's short tenure with the New York Knicks was an utter disaster from start to finish, but the big man says he learned from it and is a better person and player now.
Noah signed a lucrative four-year, $72 million free agent deal with the Knicks in the summer of 2016. Noah was born and raised in New York and was so excited to play for his hometown Knicks.
There was just one problem: Joakim Noah wasn't ready to be back home and play for the team he grew up rooting for.
The two-time All-Star played in just 53 games in New York. He had shoulder surgery, a 20-game drug suspension, verbal altercation with head coach Jeff Hornacek and was ultimately banished from the team.
Now with the Memphis Grizzlies, Noah says his experience with the Knicks was humbling and that he should have listened to his dad.
“Failing at home on a real public level was very humbling,” Noah told Sam Smith of Bulls.com. “We had a lot of success in Chicago, but what happened in New York also made me grow as a person and focus on what was important because a lot was thrown at me in New York in a really short time.
“It's tough to play at home. Something people don't realize is being young and that successful and having to deal with home. People can't relate. I remember my first game in New York against Memphis. I played well, the whole Garden was chanting my name, I was in tears and it was crazy. I had like 50 people in my apartment after the game and my father was looking at me shaking his head like, ‘This is a going to be a long year for you.' I was like, ‘I got this.' But I wasn't ready. I thought I was ready and I was not ready.”
The Knicks waived Noah on Oct. 13, 2018.
He signed with the Grizzlies on Dec. 4.
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