Joakim Noah before his big day in Chicago remembers his time with the Bulls and his friend and fellow teammate Derrick Rose’s heartbreaking injury.
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It is going to be a big day for Joakim Noah, one of the best Centers of the Chicago Bulls, the big man will be honored in front of a packed United Center. There will be plenty of familiar faces for the two-time All-Star in Chicago’s home battle with the Knicks, with Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson, and coach Tom Thibodeau in action.
Noah with Derrick Rose had a tremendous run with the Bulls for a couple of years. Both of them won multiple All-Star appearances and All-NBA first-team selections.
Rose was the league’s sensation at the time, he won the Most Valuable Player award of 2011 over the likes of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dirk Nowitzki. But the 3-time All-star’s knees gave in on him, during the first round of the 2012 NBA playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers, Rose tore his ACL in his left knee.
“I had the same feeling of when I saw the plane hit the tower.”: Joakim Noah
Rose’s teammate Joakim, still remembers it as if it was yesterday. On a recent podcast on ESPN Zach Lowe asked Noah what he remembered about the ACL injury Rose suffered. Noah described how he felt when he heard that news in vivid detail.
“There are moments in your life where you just know when it happened you know exactly what you were doing. You knew exactly where you were. And when I found out that Derrick had tore his ACL. Like I remember the smells. I remember who I was with, I remember where… I remember everything.”
The 2014 Defensive player of the year compared it to how he felt when he saw the plane hit the World Trade Centre on 9/11. “I had the same feeling of when I saw the plane hit the tower.”
Obviously, he knows that it sounds absurd to compare those two situations but one can understand the pain he and the Bulls players and fans must have had when they got the news of a career-ending injury to their franchise’s new face after Michael Jordan, who gave them new expectations.
Noah explained himself “That’s the same feeling I had, like, people will say he’s like uh he’s crazy for saying something. No, I’m telling you how I felt. This is how I felt. I had the same feeling when I saw the plane hit the towers when I heard that.”
After that injury Rose never reached the heights everyone expected him to reach. Following that he did make comeback and had a meniscus injury, after which it was looking like it was over for the dynamic guard.
But he recovered again and after being traded from 4 teams he’s has found home in New York, reuniting with his former coach Tom Thibodeau. In the 2020-21 season, coming off the bench for the Knicks, Rose averaged around 15 points, 5 assists, and closed out big games, his average went up to 19.4 points in the playoffs.
“What if Rose never tore his ACL” is one of the NBA’s biggest “What if’s” which still breaks many hearts.
