The sad decline (of the outfits) of Joakim Noah

The story of Joakim Simon Noah begins in 1985 in New York City, more precisely by the meeting of a Swedish model and a French tennis player, Jannick (yes, the one who now makes the singer in his spare time). Joakim immediately came into contact with the world of sport and showed a particular fondness for the world of ball segments. The one with basketball will not be one of those passing loves that fades over time and to confirm it (and to give him further reasons) we will think a few years later coach Donovan, historic coach of the Florida Gators with whom the young Noah will win two consecutive NCAA titles, before being drafted (with a horrible hairstyle) by the Chicago Bulls.

From this moment begins an NBA career that, despite the limited talent, will lead Joakim to have a fair consideration within the American franchises: the demonstration gives him the title of defensive player of the year of 2014, the two calls to the All Star Game 2013 and 2014 and the two mentions in the NBA All-Defensive-Team.

Those to follow, however, are more difficult years, in which the physical and mental solidity that had always allowed him to stay on the field despite an unwatchable shooting mechanic, to begin to falter: in 2016 he was suspended for violation of the drug policy and in the in just over two years he will be forced to change three teams, moving from Chicago to New York to Memphis, where in 2019 he suffered a serious injury that has kept him off the field to date, causing him to question such a painful decision how drastic: the withdrawal.

The good news arrives a few days ago through the north-america's Gianluca di Marzio, Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN reporter, who announces that Noah and the Clippers have reached a ten-year agreement, at the end of which the franchise may decide to offer him a second contract from ten days, or release / sign the player for the rest of the season.

35 years old, 667 NBA games with about 9 points and 9 rebounds on average and over $ 125 million in salaries earned in 12 years only. The rise and fall of a career that seemed already over. We will certainly remember Noah for one reason: his outfits.

In contemporary NBA, as JJ Redick recently criticized "there are players who are more focused on their pre-match outfit on Instagram than on the possibility of winning or losing a basketball game". Here, surely the Anglo-French basketball player would not have felt called into question, since his looks certainly do not honor his own salary. And if our aesthetic consideration has a relative value, remember that in 2013 it was the NBA itself that forced a plainclothes Noah to change between the same game between one time and another, given the non-respect of the ''intransigent'' NBA dress-code.

The impression is that there is a certain refinement in wanting to appear a scruffy hippie, a style that all in all seems to be enjoying some success, given the endless series of ex-supermodel girls of Jannick's son.