Former Bulls player Noah will reportedly sign a ceremonial contract with the Bulls and then officially retire as a Bulls player, who will pay tribute to Noah in the game against the Knicks. After being cut by the Clippers in the 2019-2020 season, he hasn't been signed to play by any team for a whole season. In the end, the 36-year-old Noah announced his decision to retire and sign a ceremonial contract with the Bulls, who had played for nine seasons, to retire as a Bulls player. It is worth mentioning that the Bulls' opponent in this game, the Knicks, was also noah's old club.
Noah was selected by the Bulls with the 9th pick in the first round of the 2007 draft, and although he was a lotto show, he was not valued by the team in the first two seasons of his career, averaging only 6.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in both seasons. However, in the 2008-2009 Bulls-2009 series against the Celtics, facing the best defensive player Garnett, Noah played an amazing game, averaging 10.1 points, 13.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, and played a very good performance at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, so from the third season of his career, Noah gradually became highly valued by the team. With the increase of playing time, he can already average 10.7 points, 11 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, and gradually grow into the team's absolute interior core.
From the beginning of the 2012-2013 season, Noah really entered the peak of his career, when he averaged 11.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, and shot 48.1% from the field, becoming one of the top interior lines in the league. He was named to the All-Star Team that season and was named to the Defensive Team of the Season. In the following season, Noah went further and played in 80 of the 82 games of the season, again in the All-Star Team and the All-Defensive Team, and successfully selected for the All-Star First Team and the Best Defensive Player of the Season.
However, the good times were short-lived, and after several consecutive seasons of becoming the league's top interior lineman, Noah began to be plagued by injuries, coupled with the higher requirements of the team's inner shooting ability in the small-ball era, Noah was eventually abandoned by the Bulls and joined the Knicks in the summer of 2017 with a big contract of 4 years and 72 million US dollars. But after joining the Knicks, Noah still did not overcome the problem of injury, playing only 53 games in two seasons, averaging only 3.3 points per game, completely losing his former dominance. After being cut by the Knicks, Noah joined the Grizzlies with a one-year base salary, and in this season, Noah played a fairly good performance. As a result, noah was chased by a number of championship-contending teams after becoming a free agent again, but in the Clippers he did not play a performance that fans expected, and was quickly cut by the team. Subsequently, Noah did not sign with any team and eventually announced his retirement.
From the perspective of his entire career, Noah is an extremely well-rounded inside player, on the offensive end, he has a certain degree of independent offensive ability on the inside line, and he also has a very strong finishing ability under the basket, although the shooting posture has always been a topic of discussion among fans, but he also has a fairly good outside shooting. In addition, Noah at his peak was one of the most agile interior players in the league, often sending out brilliant passes to empty teammates on the field. According to statistics, at his peak, he averaged about 5 assists per game in multiple seasons. On the defensive end, Noah at his peak was one of the league's best defensive players, both on the inside and against opponents, and on the outside through speed and arm span.
Noah is one of the greatest stars in Bulls history, and the individual accolades he has received during his career with the Bulls have been earned. In his nine seasons with the Bulls, he was named to the All-Star Team and All-Defensive First Team twice, to the First Team of the Season and to the Second Team of the Season Defensive Team. To this day, Noah is still the offensive rebounding king in the entire Bulls history, which is the best proof that he has tried his best in almost every game. Speaking about his career, Noah said: "I ran out of every bullet I could, I don't have any regrets, I gave it all. ”
If Noah has any regrets in his career, it is that he has never won the championship. In fact, while playing for the Bulls, they had great hopes of reaching the championship. After all, that Bulls team has a roster of Rose + Butler + Ruhr Dun + Boozell + Noah, has been a strong team in the league for many consecutive seasons, and maintains a very iron-blooded style, almost every team is reluctant to meet this Bulls team in the playoffs. Although facing the Heat Big Three at their peak, they have never conceded defeat and can often create huge problems for their opponents. However, as Rose suffered an injury to the cruciate ligament, the Bulls eventually disintegrated. If Rose is not injured, Butler is the current Butler, noah is not plagued by injuries, then they are very promising to win the championship.
In any case, Noah's spirit of daring to fight will always remain in the Bulls, which is the greatest wealth he has left to the team. It is worth mentioning that I don't know if this game is Noah's retirement ceremony, and all the members of the Bulls have shown a tougher style than usual. At one point in the final moments of the game, the Bulls trailed by 12 points and saw little hope of winning. But instead of giving up, they continued to defend aggressively, making consecutive opponent turnovers, and with scoring after making opponents' mistakes and Randle's two free throws, the Bulls had chased the point difference to just one point in the last five seconds. Although they lost the game due to DeRozan's last-minute failure, the Bulls' tenacity and hard work in this game made all fans very happy.
In any case, Noah has retired and all the glorious years have become history. For him, he very much hopes that the Bulls will be able to play well this season and re-enter the playoffs, which will be the best retirement gift the Bulls have given him.