Joakim Noah is increasing his commitment to African basketball on his first trip to South Africa

BROEDERSTROOM, South Africa – How do you make a powerful, athletic 6-foot-8 man feel small and short?

Witness the visit of two-time NBA All-Star Joakim Noah to the Lion & Safari Park in South Africa.

“There is a different order in the wild,” said Noah Andscape of Lion & Safari Park. “They all the time say, ‘It’s the lion’s command.’ Just being here within the land of the lions and being so close to them, just having the ability to feel this energy, this primal energy in its most natural form, gives you such experiences… it changes you.

Noah excelled defensively, averaging 8.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 672 games in his NBA profession from 2007 to 2020. The 2014 NBA Defensive Player of the Year was named to the All-NBA Defensive Team 3 times. The former University of Florida star was also an NBA All-Star for the Chicago Bulls in 2013 and 2014.

Noah says he doesn’t miss playing within the NBA but stays connected to playing basketball within the Basketball Africa League.

“I shot every bullet within the gun when it got here to mowing. Thirteen years, eight surgeries. I missed the corporate of boys. But overall it costs me rather a lot. I like the sport, but I’m just completely satisfied to share this experience and watch other players get their opportunities,” Noah said.

Noah, Grant Hill, Junior Bridgeman, Luol Deng and Dikembe Mutombo are former NBA stars who’ve invested in BAL. BAL is in its fourth season with 12 teams from 12 African countries collaborating, with preliminary competitions having concluded in Pretoria, South Africa. Dakar, Senegal; and Cairo, Egypt are next. The playoffs and championship match will likely be played in Kigali, Rwanda. Led by NBA, BAL is a partnership between FIBA ​​and NBA Africa.

Noah’s father, former French tennis star Yannick Noah, took him to his native Cameroon when he was a baby. In recent years, Joakim Noah has built basketball courts in Cameroon and Nigeria. Through BAL, it helps construct the foundations for the event of African basketball players, coaches, referees and facilities.

“The opportunity to work with BAL is important,” Noah said. “Beauty actually travels across the continent. And South Africa is a special place. It’s a paid place. This is the land of the Zulus, the Zulu warriors. A tough story, the story of true revolutionaries. What made me join BAL within the first place was leadership. That’s what excited me essentially the most.

“(BAL president) Amadou (Fall) is someone I trust and believe in. He came to my village in Cameroon at the beginning of my career for my first (basketball) camp. He didn’t have to do this. This is long before the PROM. It’s just supporting my village, where my father comes from, my roots. I remember him talking to the kids and I thought, “OK, this guy is a real leader with a real vision.” And for this opportunity to happen as soon as I retire from basketball, I feel a greater sense of purpose now than when I played because of this opportunity.”

Noah’s visit to South Africa was his first. This is the eighth country he has visited in Africa. He says he fell in love with South Africa, the restaurants and nightlife in Johannesburg during visits to the BAL Games and Special Olympics in Pretoria and the Mandela House. But of all of the events in South Africa, Noah was most enthusiastic about going to the Lion & Safari Park in March.

The 2,471-acre wildlife reserve includes lions, giraffes, cheetahs, hyenas and zebras. Like most guests, Noah was very excited and nervous to see the lions riding the security bus, and for good reason. In 2015, an American woman was mauled to death by a lioness on the Lion & Safari Park during a guided tour during which she made the error of opening her automotive window. An Australian tourist was once bitten by a lion after leaving his automotive window open, and a young person who broke protocol by riding his bike through the realm unsupervised was attacked by a cheetah.

“Lions on the loose, that is the model. Every time you could have the chance to see lions, yes, you could have to feel it. We are in cages today. I’m excited,” Noah said before the tour.

Experienced guide Alex Larenty led Noah and his friends on a private tour. Larenty (65) has been organizing trips for twenty-four years for stars comparable to comedian Kevin Hart, actor Will Smith, tennis legend Serena Williams, singer Celine Dion, rapper Snoop Dogg and his favorite actor Clint Eastwood. Larenty said he keeps several safari animals at his home, is completely satisfied to work seven days every week and doesn’t mind being around lions, whether he’s feeding them meat, cuddling them, brushing their mane or playfully catching them.

“When you have a lot of worries and a lot of things going on in your private life, (the lion) comes and gives you a big hug, everything just disappears,” Larenty said. “I actually think I have more animal friends than human friends. I don’t know if that makes any sense. The older I get, the more privilege it is for me to be able to work with (animals).”

Larenty’s first stop on the tour was a visit to two lions, including his pet named George, and two lionesses. He pulled the bus past the lazy lions resting on the bottom. The raw meat thrown by Larenty made the lions move.

Noah was sitting within the back row of the bus admiring the lions when Larenty told him to prepare for his or her close-up. Larenty placed three pieces of meat on a metal stick and placed it next to the bus, a meter away from the bars from Noah. The lion jumped up, grabbed the side of the bus and ate the meat, while a smiling but wary Noah looked him straight in the attention. An excited Noah then FaceTimed his wife, Lais Ribero, to excitedly tell her in regards to the encounter.

“It seemed like that lion wanted nothing more than to get to you,” Noah thought. “I’ll always remember that look from the lion. I’ll remember this for the remainder of my life. I can go home now and I even have an actual story to tell that is documented…

“Nature has a way of keeping you humble. This lion doesn’t care about your double-double. This lion is going to eat Shaq (O’Neal).”

The remainder of the tour included close-ups of wildebeests, hyenas, and even a black leopard. The lioness scared the tourists on Noah’s bus when she tried to rip off his backpack along with her teeth before Larenty dragged him away. There were also impalas within the wild that would change into prey to lions.

“See the letter ‘M’ on their butts.” It’s for McDonald’s,” Larenty joked. “It’s fast food here.”

The last and maybe most beautiful stop on the tour was a visit with a mild giraffe about 5 meters tall. Noah was all smiles and walked up to the giraffe and fed it some potato chips from his hand. Adventurer Larenty also fed the giraffe a potato chip.

The beauty and height of the giraffe left a long-lasting impression.

“It’s so beautiful. You don’t have to worry so much when you’re around a giraffe,” Noah said. “It’s a different energy than (lions). They eat leaves from trees. They want to eat chips. That lion trying to eat, chew… it’s a different vibe.” “

While Noah is technically a New Yorker, the Cameroonian t-shirt wearer bleeds Africa. From childhood trips to Cameroon with his father, through the development of recent courts in Cameroon and Nigeria, to trips to BAL matches in South Africa, Rwanda, South Africa and Egypt and visiting the Lion & Safari Park – every second spent in Africa is significant to him .

“Every time you enter the homeland, there is something about it,” Noah said. “It’s hard to put into words, but I know a part of me is always here.”