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Joakim Noah Has Finally Made Amends With Cleveland
OAKLAND, CA - JANUARY 27: Derrick Rose #1 and Joakim Noah #13 of the Chicago Bulls high-five in the fourth quarter of their game against the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena on January 27, 2015 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Joakim Noah Has Finally Made Amends With Cleveland

Originally posted on The Spun  |  By Andrew Holleran  |  Last updated Apr 6, 2026 5:00 PM ET

Joakim Noah has finally made amends with Cleveland.

Back in 2010, the former NBA star infamously trashed the City of Cleveland during the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

"I don't know about this place, man," Noah had said in an interview with TNT back then. "I just stayed in my hotel room. Every time I look out my windows, it's pretty depressing here man. It's bad. It's bad. No -- no going out in Cleveland, man. It's all factories."

When pressed by reporters if he felt bad about his comments, he said he didn't.

"You think Cleveland's cool?" Noah said. "I've never heard anybody say, 'I'm going to Cleveland on vacation.' What's so good about Cleveland?"

Noah has learned since then.

In a new YouTube video, Noah returned to the City of Cleveland, to learn about what makes the Ohio city so great.

NBA insider Brian Windhorst shared the video.

Noah is trying to find peace

Noah, long retired from the NBA, is now trying to find peace.

"For 20 years of my life, it was going into arenas… representing something bigger than me," he said. "But I'm not a gladiator anymore… it's about finding peace in the journey."

He added, "I went to Cleveland to find cool locations… but I realized it was really about if I was ready to face all the things that I said in real time so it was a learning experience for me."

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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