Ex-NBA star Joakim Noah talks about his playing career at US Open
Former NBA All-Star Joakim Noah talks about his playing career at 'NBA Night' in the Emirates Suite at the U.S. Open on Wednesday.
The Indiana Fever are heading to the WNBA playoffs for the first time since 2016 and the first time in the Caitlin Clark era. The 22-year-old rookie has rewritten sections of the league's record books over the last month, all while making the Fever one of the highest-temperature teams in the WNBA.
Indiana currently holds a top-six seed in the playoffs. Clark's supporting cast of Aliyah Boston, Nalyssa Smith and Kelsey Mitchell are all playing some of the best basketball of their careers during the recent stretch, as well.
However, a former NBA All-Star claims the team is not yet complete and there is a critical missing piece.
Many of the newest fans Clark has brought to the WNBA have been highly critical of several flagrant fouls and other questionable hits that have been committed against her this year. In four games against the rival Chicago Sky alone, Clark has been hit by three different players on three different flagrant foul calls that drew visceral backlash from fans on social media.
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Diamond DeShields of the Chicago Sky runs into and is charged with a flagrant foul against Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Aug. 30. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Clark has avoided major injuries and hasn’t let the hits prevent her from playing like an MVP candidate. But according to former NBA All-Star Joakim Noah, the team should still look to address the issue in the offseason by signing a player who can dish the punishment back against opponents who are too physical with Clark.
"If I was the owner of the Indiana Fever, I would get a real enforcer in there to protect her," Noah told Fox News Digital during an interview at "NBA Night" in the Emirates Suite at the U.S. Open in New York on Wednesday.
Noah acknowledged that Clark may be getting hit by opposing players because they are aware of the talent she brings as a difference-maker on the court.
"Sometimes I feel like she is getting hit because she is a very talented person," he said. "But at the end of the day, we’re in the business of winning games, so if I’m the owner [of the Indiana Fever], I’m getting a real enforcer in there."
Many new and longtime WNBA fans have been highly critical of opponents who attack Clark. Sky rookie Angel Reese, who struck Clark in the head with her arm while trying to block a pass during a game on June 16, opened up about attacks from Clark fans dating back to their college careers during her podcast on Thursday. Fellow Sky player Diamond DeShields committed a flagrant-1 foul against Clark, knocking the rookie to the floor, in a game on Aug. 30, then posted the hate comments she got on Instagram.
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Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter, left, struggles with Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on June 1. (Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
However, Noah believes that the physical treatment Clark has received has been great for the WNBA.
"I think it’s great," Noah said when specifically asked about the fouls that have occurred against Chicago. "I think it’s all entertainment."
ESPN broadcaster Holly Rowe issued a similar sentiment to Noah’s in an interview with Fox News Digital last month.
"I think it's good for the game," Rowe said. "I kind of love it because it is supposed to be salty, that's why it's competitive, that's why it's sports."
Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever reacts after a flagrant foul committed by Diamond DeShields of the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Aug. 30. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
But even with the entertainment value that come with the hits, Noah insists the Fever should address the issue by getting an enforcer-type player as soon as they can. It’s a role that he himself is very familiar with.
When Noah was a second-year player for the Chicago Bulls in 2008, the team used their first overall pick on star point guard Derrick Rose. Like Clark, Rose was an ascendant rookie who stunned the league with his talent, and was often given rough treatment by opposing veterans. He was knocked to the floor dozens of times, especially on trips to the basket.
Noah, as one of Rose’s longtime teammates on the Bulls and when the duo joined the Knicks in 2016, would often come to the defense of his teammate.
But Noah has also been on the other end of physical play against transcendent talents.
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Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls, center, reacts to a block by LeBron James of the Miami Heat during the first half of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami on May 6, 2013. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/MCT)
Noah, as the team’s defensive anchor at center, progressively became one of Chicago's most confrontational players, particularly when playing against superstar LeBron James. During his tenure with the Bulls, Noah played in 21 playoff games against James’ Clevelan Cavaliers and Miami Heat teams, and became infamous for committing fouls and often getting up and yelling in James’ face. Many altercations required referees to intervene and separate the two players.
Not only that, but Noah tried to make it a priority to tell other teammates not to give James any special treatment because of his talent.
"I feel like people get mesmerized by that and knowing that he had fans on the court, so that is something that would just frustrate me. So if I saw one of my teammates have that energy toward him, I was the guy to kind of say, ‘You better stop that s--- right now. So that was my role, people thought that I was a hater for it," Noah said in the suite, while promoting Emirates as the official global airline partner of the NBA and the first title partner of the Emirates NBA Cup.
So, for Noah, as someone with experience on both sides of the situation, he believes that it’s a position the Fever are currently sorely lacking in.
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