“Shaq, Dirk, Kobe, Michael Jordan and White Chocolate!”: Joakim Noah named a highly entertaining, scintillating starting 5 on the Knuckleheads Podcast

Joakim Noah named Shaq, Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Jason ‘White Chocolate’ Williams as his favorite all-time starting 5.

Kids who grew up watching basketball during the 1990s and 2000s will always have a soft spot for that era. Offenses may not have been efficient. Boneheaded plays, in addition to tactical fouls, were way more common in those days than today.

The best guards of the day had very little spacing to operate with, while skill in the big men had plateaued. Despite all of this, the sheer amount of talent in the NBA was such that it had immense watchability.

The likes of Steph, LeBron, Jokic and Giannis wow crowds with their skill and athleticism today. This same role was filled by Big Diesel Shaq and ‘Frobe’ Kobe on the Lakers, Dirk with the Mavs and Vince Carter with the Raptors, among others.

One of the other blacktop legends whom millions of kids worldwide tried to copy was Jason Williams.

The human highlight film…Mr. Jason Williams. #SoundOn #basketball pic.twitter.com/UIGCyx2rff

— Lloyd Legalist (@LloydLegalist) December 9, 2021

The former Kings point guard had a flair for passing that pretty much no guard displays even in transition today. His handle was a thing of beauty, and when his jumper was wet, White Chocolate was pure entertainment.

Also Read – My first game against Vince Carter made me think I could not play in the NBA! Gilbert Arenas recalls his debut match against the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk champion and Olympics gold medalist.

“Shaq, Dirk, Kobe, Michael Jordan and White Chocolate!”: Joakim Noah’s all-time favorite starting 5

Joakim Noah certainly seems to have grown up on a heavy diet of the 2006 NBA champion with the Heat. Given that he was born in the late 80s, Noah’s childhood was probably spent idolizing Michael Jordan, Kobe and the likes.

This was reflected when Darius Miles asked him to name his all-time favorite starting 5. Joakim had been a guest on the Knuckleheads Podcast at the time. This was one of the closing questions, and much like the rest of the interview, Noah had a wonderfully authentic answer:

“I got Shaq. Then I’m gonna go with Dirk, cuz now you’ve got the stretch and then you’ve got the big fella in there? Boy! And then I got MJ on one wing, I got Kobe on the other wing. Who’s running that? You know we’ve got White Chocolate bringing it up!”

Also Read – “I could fight Lonzo or LaMelo Ball…is Ricky Rubio still in the league? Gilbert Arenas and Josiah Johnson have a hilarious exchange while discussing an NBA star’s mentality during a potential in-game fight.

It is hard to explain to a youngster today how iconic White Chocolate truly was. His draw as a flashy player was truly comparable to that of the Kyries and Stephs of today. I would honestly still prefer Jason Williams donning the Jordan 14s and killing it to most other floor generals of the time. Not to win a game, but certainly a player I’d pay to watch.

About the author

Amulya Shekhar

Amulya Shekhar is a sports junkie who thrives on the thrills and frills of live sports action across basketball, football (the American variant works too), parkour, adventure sports. He believes sports connect us to our best selves, and he hopes to help people experience sports more holistically.

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