Joakim Noah

Joakim Noah (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Joakim Noah is well aware that the rest of the world is starting to catch up with Team USA when it comes to basketball.

Team USA was known as the dominant power in basketball for many years, and it was a given that America would come home with the gold medal every four years. Since 1984, Team USA has actually walked away with gold nine out of the 11 past Summer Olympics, with their last non-gold finish taking place in 2004.

With that being said, Team USA’s dominance may be coming to an end in the 2028 Summer Olympics. Team France possesses some of the best talent in the world, including the 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama, along with the likes of Alex Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher.

Team USA fought off Team France for the gold medal in the 2024 Summer Olympics in France, with Stephen Curry going off at the end to lift them to victory.

Noah, who was born in America but has French roots and has played for the French national team, said the “world is catching up.”

“They definitely had a really hell of a run in the last Olympics, being the host and playing in that final game against us,” said Noah of Team France in a one-on-one interview with RG. “Steph just went absolutely nuts. I think it just shows how close anything can happen in one game. Obviously this game is an American game. Let’s not get it twisted. This is the culture of basketball — it’s American and will always be American. But the world is definitely catching up.”

The World is Catching up to Team USA

Team France has never won gold at the Summer Olympics, coming close by finishing with a silver medal in the 2000, 2020, and 2024 Summer Olympics.

Their time may be coming with a group of stars all younger than 22 years old as of this writing. That means they’ll all be younger than 25 by the time the 2028 Summer Olympics roll around.

“This is a global game,” said Noah. 

“You can see how Stephen Curry was training yesterday, It’s the access to the education of what it takes to play at the next level, everybody has it. The dream of the kid in Morocco who’s playing on a playground when he brings it in, or when he looks at you and he’s like, ‘You played in the NBA. You played for the Chicago Bulls.’ That look. It’s the same look, whether you’re in Tokyo or Morocco or in the south side of Chicago.”

Noah is not making any definitive predictions when it comes to Team France in the 2028 Summer Olympics, but he said the team is more developed and evolved than it was a couple decades ago.

“I think that in 2028 Wemby will be a couple years older, more experience, he already has that final under his belt,” said Noah. 

“He’s played in the big game. Are they going to be better? Are they better than USA? I’m not going to say anything like that. I don’t think so. But the development system in France and the belief that these kids are coming in with, it’s a different belief than it was 20 years ago before Tony Parker. 

“Kids feel like they can be the guy now,” Noah continued to say. “That wasn’t the case when that older generation came in, it was kind of like, ‘Wow, we have 10 European players in the NBA. It’s so amazing.’ Now, European players are like, ‘I can be Luka (Doncic), I can be Wemby and be the face. I could be Giannis and be in a Disney movie. It’s a different thing.”

Noah’s Thoughts on Hometown Knicks

Noah is probably best known for his Chicago Bulls tenure where he won the Defensive Player of the Year award and was a two-time All-Star. However, Noah grew up a New York Knicks fan and was born in Manhattan. He played for the team for two seasons after signing a four-year, $72 million deal.

The current Knicks are doing pretty well right now, ranking second in the Eastern Conference behind the Detroit Pistons. The Jalen Brunson-led Knicks have been an annual playoff contender since he arrived in town, advancing to at least the semifinals every year since Brunson’s arrival in 2022. However, they have yet to crack through the glass ceiling and make the NBA Finals in this current era.

Noah gives major credit to Brunson for bringing stability to the franchise as the leader of the team.

“It’s beautiful to see what this Knicks team is bringing to the city,” said Noah. “It’s the most love. The Knicks fans are the most passionate fans in the game in the NBA. To see the reactions and the crowds coming outside of the garden after the games, to me, it was super dope. They have a team that has a real chance. The stability, I think that’s something that just can’t be said enough is Jalen Brunson coming there, the stability that he brought in at the point guard position for that team.

“It’s almost like he came in and let everybody just chill like, ‘I got this. I know how to run a team,'” said Noah of Brunson. “His pace, he slows it down. He plays like he doesn’t let nobody just rush him. I think that it’s just beautiful to watch. The way that he stabilized that whole franchise is just beautiful to see.”

When asked if the Knicks have what it takes to make their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999, Noah said that the roster better believe that. New York lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Indiana Pacers last season when they were favored to represent in the East in the NBA Finals.

“If you’re a player playing on the Knicks, I think if you don’t think that, if you’re not thinking that right now, I think that’s a problem,” said Noah.

 “I played in the NBA for 13 years, and the truth is, I only had two chances in my life and we didn’t win them. But I only had two or three teams max, had a chance to even think about winning a championship. So yes, if I’m a Knicks player, if I’m playing on the Knicks right now, and my mindset isn’t getting to the finals and get it cracking in the finals, yeah, it would be disappointing as a Knicks player to not think that right now.”