Joakim Noah

Ayahuasca allows you to have real conversations with your ancestors in another realm

You go back, you go back and you have real conversations with your people. You know, you go to another realm... The medicine brought me places that definitely put me at peace with things that were, I had turmoil in my system.

Alperen Sengun is a problem and I really like this Rockets team.

I really like the Rockets. I think that guy [Sengun] is a motherfucker. He's a problem.

Chemistry is the most underrated aspect of sports

Something very underrated about sports in general. People always underestimate chemistry. You know, we could talk about stats and the star player and this and that, but when you enjoy playing with somebody, I think those guys look, there's eight guys scoring 10 points on the bulls.

The rest of the NBA is in big trouble because of what Victor Wembanyama is doing.

We're seeing something that we've never seen before. And we better appreciate what this is... Big, big trouble for the rest of the league.

Draymond Green is special because he brings a fearlessness and energy that goes beyond stats

What Draymond [Green] brings to the team is so much more than just what you see on a stat line. It's so much more than just the surface. You know, he's the one who's bringing the energy and making sure that everybody's ready to go. Steph [Curry] can be Steph. Nobody's fucking Steph up because Draymond is gonna be right there putting you in a choke hold if you try.

The European basketball development system is superior to the US AAU system

Great development system out there [in France]... They coach it as a team sport. It's not the superstar thing. And if you have a shot to be an NBA prospect, you have like the top French general managers coming to your house... For the development of the game, there needs to be a change [in the US].

The Celtics are the heavy favorites in the East, but the Cavaliers will make it a battle

Boston is definitely the heavy favorite. Until somebody beats Boston, they're the team to beat... but do not disrespect the Cleveland Cavaliers because they're ready to rock and roll. And if you think there's gonna be an easy sweep, no, no, no, no. Don't get it twisted. You're in for a real battle.

A healthy 2011-2012 Bulls team would have beaten the 'Heatles' in a playoff series

I really felt like if we were healthy we would've got 'em, you know? But it was cool 'cause it wasn't, it wasn't, it was a thing where it wasn't just Chicago that was rooting against them. It was the whole, the whole country was rooting against the heat. and we were the team that kind of had a shot.

Victor Wembanyama is the real deal but will face early growing pains

He got the whole, you know, he's like, kid's the real deal, you know, left pull up everywhere. Left. Right. You know, handle seven foot three. I mean, we haven't seen anything like that. I think there's gonna be, you know, some growing pains. But he got the perfect coach with Pop who's gonna just sit him down and be like, yo young fella, just take it easy.

Jimmy Butler once went an entire summer without watching TV to focus on his game

Jimmy's probably the toughest competitor I've ever been around. And you know, it started right away. He worked his ass off and you know, the sacrifices that he made in the summers were just unbelievable. I mean, people don't know this, but he was going whole summers, no tv.

The Chicago Bulls would have won the 2012 NBA Championship if Derrick Rose hadn't suffered an ACL injury.

If Derrick Rose doesn't go down... I think we're holding the trophy. We're the best team in the league. We got the job in my mind still to this day. There's no question. Nobody was fucking with us.

My tenure with the New York Knicks failed because I was 'too lit' to play in my hometown.

I was in New York City getting paid. What do you want me to do? Sorry, I was lit. It didn't work out for a lot of reasons, but it was a dark time, not a good time in my life. I wanted to bring something to my hometown and it didn't work out.

Kevin Garnett's refusal to be friendly on the court changed Joakim Noah's career and taught him 'no love in battle'.

I remember asking [KG] a question... just trying to be cool like I would just wanted to be I just want to say something to my idol and he just like looked over and he was like... who the fuck you think you talking to... that moment right there changed everything... I learned that there's no love in battle.

To reach elite levels of greatness, you have to be borderline crazy and believe you can win everything at age 19.

Derrick Rose would be 19 years old and be like, 'Yo, I'm going to win MVP and I'm going to win six championships.' His mindset was just on some other shit. To be great you almost have to be like that.