Former NBA star and long time Chicago Bulls’ forward sat down with Barstool’s lead podcast Pardon My Take on Friday. The now retired NBA vet touched on several topics including his time with coach Tom Thibodeau, his mental health post basketball, and his impact on the community. When asked about his go to pre-game meal, Noah said he was eating avocados, rice and chicken.
“Yo, trying to win at a high level is f****** boring guys,” Noah revealed. “If you think like ‘Oh, wow its a champion’, if you think that this guy has the most interesting life… no. He’s going to bed at 9:00 at night, he’s eating healthy… It’s not that interesting.”
Noah spent his first nine seasons with Chicago, highlighted by a 2014 season in which he played 80 games, averaging 12.6 points and 11.2 rebounds per game.
“It’s doing the same thing over and over and over again, to get better,” Noah added. “For some people that’s interesting… I need more. Just because you’re a champion doesn’t make you interesting.”
Noah Admits He Couldn’t Watch Basketball For Three Years After Retirement
Joakim Noah announced his retirement in 2020, right before the NBA moved to the Orlando bubble. He admitted that following the retirement, he could not bring himself to watch basketball for three years following.
“I-I didn’t feel comfortable,” Noah said. “It’s a weird thing. Competition is a weird thing, I had to completely change my mind set when I was done. Okay, everything that I thought that I was… like I had to change my entire mindset.”
Noah continued his introspective monologue.
“You’re not playing in front of 20,000 people anymore. Like the gladiator s*** is over with.”
Though Noah affirmed that through it all, he never got too low.
“Depression? I wouldn’t say depression,” Noah responded. “My life is pretty awesome.. You know its actually the best sleep I’ve ever had. My anxiety just went down 10 notches. But as soon as I started watching (basketball), those feelings would come back. And they weren’t always good thoughts, you know? They were negative. I didn’t like the way it made me feel watching basketball.”
What’s Next For Noah
Noah told PMT that he is shifting his focus to helping the next generation.
“Now it’s about trying to talk to the next generation and hopefully you can inspire them through your experience to be able to be the best player they can be,” Noah boasted.
He closed the interview by shouting out his foundation Noah’s Arc. He also on his violence prevention basketball league.
“We’re working with 28 different violence prevention groups playing basketball against each other,” Noah promoted. “Very proud of the work we’re doing here, we’re growing.”
He concluded with announcing that former NBA player Tony Allen has joined the team as the commissioner of the violence prevention league. Together the duo has shifted their attention to social work with a focus on impacting the Chicago community.
