Joakim Noah clears air on beef with LeBron James & catching strays for hating Cleveland
LeBron James has maintained his dominance across multiple seasons since first arriving in the league, forming several rivalries such as one with former 2014 Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah. During an interview on "The OGs Show" with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller the former Chicago Bulls center cleared the air on the tension between him, LeBron James and Cleveland.
Back then, Noah's Bulls often went up against James' Eastern Conference teams, whether the Miami Heat or the Cleveland Cavaliers. Originally, his 2010 post-game interview went viral as he shared his dislikes about the city of Cleveland following a playoff loss.
"(1:06:45) I think this is deep right because still to this day, when I see somebody from Cleveland, like they not happy about this s***," Noah said. "People have to understand, it had nothing to do with Cleveland. It had everything to do with that motherf***er, LeBron James ... LeBron was so good he was stunting on us like he over here dancing before the game."
Interestingly, it was never anything personal about LeBron James and Cleveland. It all simply stemmed from fierce competition on the basketball court. Considering that Noah also garnered a reputation for talking a lot of trash on the court, it was common nature for him to dislike the city that the opposing team was representing.
The 20-time NBA All-Star was often Noah and the Bulls' main hurdle to get to the NBA Finals. The four-time MVP made it difficult regardless of the prominence of Derrick Rose and the defensive tenacity of the Chicago Bulls.
Joakim Noah previously thought that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh would join the Chicago Bulls
Speaking on JJ Redick's "The Old Man & The Three Podcast," Noah thought that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were all going to join the Chicago Bulls before the Miami Heat's "Big Three" was formed.
"I'm thinking they're coming to Chicago," Noah said. "Chris Bosh basically told me, 'Yo, I'm coming to Chicago.' ... I tried to recruit all of them. I didn't care. Whatever it took to get the Bulls better, I was doing it. But yes, I did try to recruit LeBron. I did try to recruit D-Wade. And I think that's where a lot of the animosity came from."
At the time, the Bulls were an up-and-coming team looking to build on what their core players accomplished.
Despite getting the word-of-mouth confirmation from Chris Bosh, the three NBA All-Stars ended up joining forces in Miami, fueling Noah's competitive fire and animosity toward them in the ensuing years.
Be that as it may, the Bulls were able to thrive under Derrick Rose and the coaching of Tom Thibodeau despite still falling short of the ultimate goal.