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Refreshingly Honest Joakim Noah Admits He Was "Too Lit" to Play in New York

Things got so lit that even his younger fellow Knicks, including Frank Ntilikina, were warned against partying with him.
Joakim Noah on Chris Vernon Show.
Screen capture via YouTube/Grind City Media

It's really endearing to think of new Memphis Grizzlies center Joakim Noah as a party animal, because he puts out such a chill-ass vibe. But that's apparently how the man thinks of himself, along with a lot of other people, too.

In an interview on the "Chris Vernon Show" in Memphis, Noah talked about his hardship finding his place in New York from 2016 until the Knicks unceremoniously waived him this October. But when Vernon asked him to pinpoint why he struggled, Noah landed on one particular thing that he thought dragged him down:

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“I can look back at it and say I was ready for New York City," Noah said with a bit of a smile. "But I wasn’t. Not just the pressure. I remember after the first game I had 60 people in my house. I’m too lit to play in New York City. Memphis is perfect for me.”

Aside from the fact that now it's a dad joke (he is a dad) for the 33-year-old to use the word "lit," Noah also said that it was different from his turnt days with the Bulls. “We were lit in Chicago but I was young so you recover faster," Noah said almost wistfully.

And while Noah's lower profile only grabbed a couple of party-related headlines about his penchant to rage, apparently his teammates were afraid to accept an invite to 1 Oak or whatever. Per the New York Daily News:

Noah’s partying was well known and young players, including fellow Frenchman Frank Ntilikina, were told not to go out with him, according to a source.

On December 4, Noah was picked up by the Memphis Grizzlies, and seems to be grateful for being plucked from the New York Party scene. Here's more from his chat with Vernon:

“When I got kicked off the team, it was New York Fashion Week and I was getting paid a lot of money and I had no direction,” he said. “And so I really had to make a decision of how I wanted to live my life because if I kept going in the direction I was going and staying in New York I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”

Well, it's only been ten days since he moved to Memphis, let's just hope he doesn't discover that they have clubs there too.