As a two-time national champion at the University of Florida, Joakim Noah made a name for himself long before ever stepping foot on an NBA court and out from his famous father’s shadow.
“My father was the most famous person in France,” Noah, 41, told The Athletic in a feature published Thursday, August 27. “All the ego bulls***, I grew up in that. I was still a kid, and that was what I wanted to be, somebody who had his own name.”
Joakim is the son of Yannick Noah, the Hall of Fame tennis player-turned-pop singer who now has his own Yannick Noah’s Day each year at Roland Garros in France. His grandfather, Zacharie, was a professional soccer player in Cameroon.
“Being the son of Yannick Noah was a real privilege, but a privilege that you had nothing to do with,” Joakim said. “You’re just a son of Yannick Noah.”
He added, “There was a lot of sacrifice that went into being around somebody that was that popular. You’re held in this different social class; people look at you a different way because of what my dad did.”
Yannick, 66, shares Joakim and his sister Yelena with ex-wife Cécilia Rodhe. He also has four additional children with three other women.
After Joakim won his back-to-back titles with the Gators, he was the ninth pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls, where he played for the first nine seasons of his 13-year career. He retired in 2020 as a two-time NBA All-Star and one-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
“A lot of my motivation was to have my own name,” Joakim admitted.
Joakim and his wife, model Lais Ribeiro, now share a 21-month-old son. He also has two daughters from a previous relationship. With his and his father’s athletic legacies set, Joakim isn’t running from the weight of his own name.
“As you get older, it’s like, ‘You know what? I have my own kids. I want them to be proud of who they are and what the Noah name represents,” he said.
Now in retirement, he said he’s enjoying the role of father rather than basketball player.
“I lived the American dream,” he said. “My dream as a kid was to play in the NBA, and I got to play against the best of the best. I don’t live those moments anymore.
He added, “I can’t be the same person. I have to grow.”
