Joakim Noah Gives Props To Dwyane Wade

Noah reflects on Heat vs Bulls rivalry

The Miami Heat considered Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers huge competition in the early 2010s but the rivalry with the Chicago Bulls was one of the most intense ones.  The rivalry included two playoff matchups and multiple on-court altercations.

One of the key players who kept the rivalry heated, Joakim Noah, joined J.J. Redick on his podcast “Old Man and the Three” to discuss the feud and give some background from his perspective.

"It was bad. We were competing against these guys, but it was, like, bad blood. They weren't f**king with us. We weren't f**king with them. It was personal."

Although the Heat and Bulls rivalry died down after the 1990s, when LeBron James joined the Heat in 2010, it boiled back up.  Noah and James had a personal dislike for each other when James played for the Cleveland Cavaliers.  But when James declined Noah’s push to get him and Dwyane Wade to join the Bulls, Noah admits it’s where a lot of the “animosity came from”.

Once James left the Heat to re-join the Cavaliers, the rivalry started to calm down.  However, it wasn’t long after Noah joined the New York Knicks and started becoming labeled as a player who “couldn’t stay on a team”.

Noah recalled a moment when he was working out in a gym and Wade was present.

"I remember him being in the gym. ... I remember him on the sidelines being like, 'Yo, good luck. Keep it up.'"

After the Heat’s “Big Three” split up and the Bulls headed into another rebuilding mode, tempers vanished and it seemed like everyone was getting along.  But the Heat and Bulls rivalry remains one of the most intense sports rivalries ever.

Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson