Chicago Bulls youngster Noa Essengue recently talked about getting back on the court/his injury-filled rookie year with former All-Star Joakim Noah (2 GP during 2025-26/had surgery to repair looseness in left shoulder).
(via Noa Essengue & Joakim Noah discuss life in the NBA 🇫🇷):
“Right now, I feel so good being back on the court. Just to get back into the feeling with the ball, it’s incredible. Just being able to do the sport I love is so good. I admit that at the beginning, it was a bit complicated. As you said, injuries are always complicated. In addition for me, it was my first big injury where I was stopped for a long time. It means at the beginning, I’m not lying to you, it was complicated. The first three months when you can’t do anything, you’re just around the team. In addition, there were matches, moments where it was complicated in the team, where there are a lot of changes and you say to yourself, ‘Maybe I could have done this to help the team.’
“And you know that in the end, you can’t do anything because you can’t play. It was complicated, but in reality I find that whether it’s the club or even my family and friends, they have helped me a lot and supported me. There are a lot of people from the outside, like you, who helped me get through this stage. And yes, today, in reality, I’m still a little disappointed to do a first-year like that, because when you arrive in the NBA, that’s not what you want to do necessarily. But I tell myself it’s a step to be better. We’re just trying to move forward and be ready for next season.”
