back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007, Joakim Noah
quickly became one of the most recognizable faces in college sports.
Since being drafted by the Chicago Bulls, Noah has improved in each of
his years with the team and now finds himself in a starring role.
Rolling out caught up with Noah to discuss his community work in Africa
and helping the Bulls reach the postseason.
–gavin philip godfrey
Describe your style and tell us where in the world you find clothes to match your quirky taste.
Well, you know when you’re 7 feet tall, [there aren’t] a lot of places
you can go shopping. I lived in Paris for 10 years. I’m from New York.
I’m African and my mother’s Swedish, so I’m from a lot of different
cultures. Wherever I go, I just take a part of that culture and take
what I like and usually you can see that in the way I dress. A lot of
people in the locker room say my swagger’s a little too crazy, but …
that’s just the way I am.
Tell us more about your activism in Africa.
My grandmother built a school … there, and then we built a basketball
court. [The kids] have these views of America — for them everybody’s
[house looks like those on] MTV’s ‘Cribs’ because that’s all they see,
so you know I try to help them understand there’s a lot of good over
here, too. Hopefully, one day [I’ll] build a foundation where kids from
Cameroon can come to America — come to Chicago. [And] kids from the
city, whether it’s New York or Chicago, [can] go and visit Cameroon [to
see] what Africa is all about.
Describe your role in the Bulls’ postseason push.
My role really hasn’t changed much. I think coach Del Negro has more
confidence in me. …We’re making that push right now and we’ve just got
to keep it up and take it one game at a time because there [are] a lot
of teams [in the mix].
