USA - Change of allegiance for Noah?

CHICAGO (NBA) - There's a very good chance that Joakim Noah could end up a Chicago Bull after the NBA Draft later this month.

If he does, he's going to have to put behind him his childhood loyalties.

Noah, who has French, Cameroonian and American citizenship, was born and raised a New York Knicks fan.

Now he has a chance to follow in the footsteps of Bulls legend Michael Jordan, something he could never see himself doing as a child.

"Damn," Noah told the Chicago Tribune. "I hated Michael Jordan."

Noah, a two-time NCAA national champion with Florida, remembers well from his youth the fierce feelings between the Knicks and the Bulls, a rivalry that was born when Jordan came up against the Knicks' "Tenacious D" in the 1992 NBA Finals.

The Bulls eventually prevailed in seven games, and they would continue to enjoy the upper hand over the Knicks in the years to come.

The two teams met in the play-offs in each of the next four years, and the only time the Knicks were victorious was in 1994 - when Jordan was absent during his first retirement.

In all, Jordan helped the Bulls to win six NBA titles and two three-peats, in 1991, 92 and 93, and again in 96, 97, and 98. Every one of them hurt for the young Noah.

Even so, Noah - who has been in the Windy City this week to work out for the Bulls - would be ready to put aside his Knicks sympathies if the Bulls call his name on June 28.

"As a kid, the Bulls made me cry a few times," he said.

"But you have to give credit where credit is due. I would love to come and play here. It's a team that has a lot of tradition in a city that expects winning, and winning is what's important to me."

Ian Parker
FIBA