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NBA DRAFT

June 28, 2007

Joakim Noah

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

JOAKIM NOAH: Wow. Oh, yes.

Q. In the National Championship game, you look at it, there were five guys on the court who were the first nine picks in this draft. Did you appreciate then the talent that was out there that night?
JOAKIM NOAH: Yeah, I mean, do I appreciate it? I appreciate that we won the game more, though. (Laughter).

Q. How does it feel to be one of three Gators in the first nine? What does that say about Florida basketball?
JOAKIM NOAH: It means a lot. I mean, I'm really proud of my teammates. I mean, it's just such an exciting time for all of us right now, and I just hope that Taurean Green and the rest of the crew, they have a chance to get drafted, too.
I mean, you know, I'm in a loss of words right now. I'm playing for an organization that I really wanted to play for. I look at the Top-10 and I feel like Chicago definitely is one of the only teams that really has a chance to be a contender to win a championship; and to be a part of that right away and to learn from great players like Ben Wallace and Ty Thomas and the great backcourt that they have with Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich, I'm just so excited right now. I feel very fortunate and very blessed.

Q. Did you see Chicago play at all last year on television?
JOAKIM NOAH: Yeah, I seen Chicago play a little bit. Not too much. I actually like watching the college games better than the NBA games. (Sighing) Wow. I'm going to the League, man.
He was my coach in like tenth grade (pointing to gentleman in audience. ) This is crazy. Ask him if he thought I would be here with a Chicago Bulls hat. If he says yes, he's lying. He didn't even start me.

Q. What made you go with the bow tie tonight? Going against the trend.
JOAKIM NOAH: A funky look, isn't it.

Q. I like it.
JOAKIM NOAH: Thanks a lot. You know, I'm going to be me. I'm going to be me. I think that the bow tie was definitely a great look tonight. I think the suit was really, really funky. I said it was going to be funky. I've got a lot of love so far from the suit. I'm just happy, man.
I feel really lucky, like I worked really hard for this, but at the same time, like I'm just a really lucky guy right now. I really feel like the luckiest man in the world. I had the best college experience, ever. I don't know if there's anybody in the world who had a better college experience than me, ever, like the No. 1 best college experience, ever.
And now I get a chance to play in the NBA. I might be considered for one of the luckiest people in the world, for real.

Q. What was going through your mind as the draft unfolded, and how did you feel when the Chicago pick was coming up? Did you feel confident?
JOAKIM NOAH: That was the longest hour of my life. I mean, I'm really happy for Al and Corey, but especially Corey, because Corey was sitting right next to me. So when he wasn't there and I couldn't joke around with him, those minutes felt so long.
Like I'm really happy for those guys. I feel like -- I just feel like just the opportunity that I have right now is just unbelievable, and I'm really, really fortunate for that.

Q. You won two titles at Florida. Do you think you'll be able to win any titles like soon with Chicago?
JOAKIM NOAH: That's definitely the plan. I think that Chicago has -- the Chicago Bulls have a lot of tradition. They are a team that isn't satisfied unless they win the Championship, because I think that the city expects the championship because they won six in a ten-year span.
I mean, it's just -- growing up I was actually a Knicks fan and the Bulls used to make me cry as a kid. And how ironic is it, now I'm wearing a Bulls hat, and I've never been so happy in my life.

Q. You're going to Chicago, large market; how much more marketable do you feel for the shoe companies and/or the hair companies or anything else?
JOAKIM NOAH: Oh, I feel so marketable, you have no idea. I'm so marketable; yes. That's exactly why I wanted to go to Chicago; to be marketable. (Laughter).

Q. Last year there was a Swiss guy (Thabo Sefolosha) who joined the Bulls; do you know him or have you ever met him?
JOAKIM NOAH: No.

Q. Never met him?
JOAKIM NOAH: I will soon. Is he still there?

Q. Yeah.
JOAKIM NOAH: I can't wait to see him. He's my teammate. That's my teammate.

Q. Certainly coming from a sports family, was it a big advantage to be in a big city like Chicago? There are certain lucrative endorsement opportunities that the other eight picks will not have.
JOAKIM NOAH: Like I said, I'm very lucky.
But to me, it's more about winning. I went to school in Gainesville, a small town. I've always been from the big city. I lived ten years in Paris, France. I lived the rest of my life in New York City. But I feel like Gainesville was a small town and I had a great three years over there and memories that I'll never forget.
To me, you guys look at it as market and it's always about money and this and, oh, if I would have went last year, then would I have been a higher pick and it's money and money and you're talking about money.
But to me, I feel like it's happiness. It's about being happy and winning makes me happy. I feel like I have an opportunity to win a lot of basketball games in Chicago, and to me, that's what's more important is the winning aspect of it.

Q. How you feeling?
JOAKIM NOAH: You already know, man. My life is like a movie, for real.

Q. At what point do you think you're going to emotionally accept that you're now an NBA player; it's official; it's done?
JOAKIM NOAH: Oh, trust me. I feel like an NBA player right now.
You'll see me tonight when I walk out the Garden, my swag will be of an NBA player.

Q. When you got picked, Corey was doing an interview on the radio and he stopped the interview and stood up and raised his hands and started doing the Gator chop; can you talk about what this means for the University of Florida tonight.
JOAKIM NOAH: I think that the University is very proud of us, not just like the college itself, but the students and the alumni and everything else. That's one thing that I realize about the south and the Southeastern Conference and just southern schools in general; they wear those colors with so much pride, and I think more than up north. I'm not trying to make a knock or anything or knock the schools up north or anything, but I think that in the south, it's like a way of life.
And when you wear those Gator colors, they want you to wear them proudly. And I think that we represented the school really well by -- we were ourselves, though. We weren't hiding. I think that people saw that we weren't scared to show our emotions. We weren't scared to show our character. And I think that, you know, the people at Florida, they saw that and they appreciated what we did.
And then of course when you win, too, that of course helps when you win games, because it makes everybody happy. And it wasn't just the University; it was the town of Gainesville. People really appreciate what we did. To me, I'll always be a Gator in my heart. I'm not taking anything for granted, but I know I had the three best years of my life, so far; like so far they have been -- I think it can still get better. But I think that I had an unbelievable experience over there.

Q. You were talking about being a Knicks fan growing up; is there any sort of bittersweet feeling because this was the Knicks pick originally?
JOAKIM NOAH: I can't. I can't right now. Bittersweet? It's all sweet, like the sweetest candy ever. Like I'm so happy. Like I couldn't be any happier. I feel like, it's undescribable. Just the opportunity that I have and the situation that was just handed to me is just -- thank you Mr. Paxson. I used to really not like you when you were a player because you used to make me cry. But thank you so much.
I told him that on my interview, too. Thank you so much.

End of FastScripts

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