Joakim Noah defends, passes and rebounds well but must stay healthy
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The Knicks have signed center Joakim Noah. The deal is reportedly a $72 million dollar contract over four years.
“Acquiring Derrick Rose through a trade and securing Joakim Noah through free agency has given us a great ability to choose players that complement the incumbents Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis,” Knicks President Phil Jackson said. “As an organization, we look towards our next challenge of blending the skills of this talented group.”
Noah’s 2015-16 season was limited due to an injured left shoulder, appearing in just 29 games and averaging 4.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.00 block in 21.9 minutes per outing. He came off the bench for 27 of the 29 games that he did play last season.
After nine seasons in Chicago, Noah comes home to New York, bringing with him a highly decorated playing career, highlighted by winning the 2014 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, while finishing fourth in the Most Valuable Player voting. At 6-11, 230-pounds, the center appeared in two consecutive NBA All-Star Games (2013, 2014), was named to the All-NBA First Team (2014) and three NBA All-Defensive Teams (2011-second, 2013-first, 2014-first) and garnered the 2015 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.
In 572 career games, Noah has averaged 9.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.40 blocks in the regular season, and has appeared in 60 NBA Playoff games to average 9.7 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.77 blocks. He has recorded at least 250 assists in three consecutive seasons (2012-13 through 2014-15), becoming just the third center in the last 20 years to accomplish the feat (Vlade Divac, Hakeem Olajuwon). Noah has recorded seven career triple-doubles, including four during the 2013-14 season, joining the ranks of Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and David Robinson as the only centers in league history with at least four point-rebound-assist triple-doubles in a single season.
Noah was originally selected by Chicago with the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, following three seasons at the University of Florida where he was a member of two NCAA Championship teams. He played high school basketball at United Nations International School (Manhattan), Poly Prep Country Day School (Brooklyn) and Lawrenceville School (NJ). He was born in Manhattan to tennis star Yannick Noah and Cecilia Rodhe, Miss Sweden 1978.
