When Derrick Rose tore his right meniscus back in November, many assumed that this season would be a wash for the Chicago Bulls. Chicago was 12-18 to begin the season and were decimated by injuries with Rose, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng missing significant playing time. Deng was eventually traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers,  D.J. Augustin was acquired off waiver wires and things picked up for Chicago, now a fourth seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. Their success this season would not have been possible without Joakim Noah, a consistent breath of fresh air in the Windy City.

Noah turned heads around the NBA last Sunday when he posted 20 points and 12 rebounds in the Bulls’95-88 overtime win over the Miami Heat at the United Center. Coach Tom Thibodeau’s 37-29 Bulls are benefiting from Noah’s 12.2 points, 11.3 rebounds and a career-high five assists he’s averaging this season.

“We work really hard,” Noah told The Source. “We’ve been through a lot this year and to be able to represent a team that fights every night and gives it everything that they’ve got, I’m really proud of that.”

The fans appreciation for Noah couldn’t have been more evident than late in that overtime game against the Heat when Bulls fans chanted ‘M-V-P’ in awe of Noah’s performance.

“I’m proud to be on a team that represents that,” said Noah. 

Over the past couple of weeks, Noah’s been mentioned in the same breath as LeBron James and Kevin Durant in the NBA’s regular season MVP race. It’s not likely he’ll get the MVP award, as James and Durant are favored, but it is worth noting that Noah’s accomplishments have been on full display this month.The Bulls center finished one assist shy of his seventh career triple-double last week, with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in Chicago’s 111-87 win at home against the Houston Rockets. Over the weekend, Noah posted a solid 23 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and five blocks in the Bulls’ 94-87 win against the Sacramento Kings.

He’s been the MVP of his team all season and his consistency is paying off.

A native New Yorker, Noah grew up in the Hell’s Kitchen section of Manhattan. He takes great pride in where he comes from because it made him who he is today. Noah caught up with The Source and shared his thoughts on the current state of the Bulls, NYC and a movie he executive produced with directors Josh and Benny Safdie that premiered at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.

The Source: You’re from New York City. What does it mean to represent Harlem, Brooklyn Poly-Prep and Hells Kitchen?

Joakim Noah: First of all, I represent Hell’s Kitchen, so shoutout to the Kitch! I’m very proud to be from New York. I don’t think I would be who I am if it wasn’t for New York City. I think it made me the player that I am today. Just the competitive nature of just people in the city—it just makes it so much easier for me on the court when people are talking trash. It’s like, I don’t think people understand, it comes natural to me because I’m from New York. That’s what people do, just talk sh*t—that’s what people do in New York, so I’m proud of that. Brooklyn Poly Prep changed my life, I was going down the wrong road and Poly Prep gave me a second chance and I started taking basketball seriously. Coach McNally is a coach who believed in me and taught me how to really work and it’s a great school. I feel like I learned a lot at Poly and they gave me a chance and stood by me through my hard times. So I always show them love.

The Source: How is Derrick Rose?

Joakim Noah: He’s grinding—grinding hard! I think it’s really tough for him—that’s the little homie right there so when he goes down, it’s hard not just for him, but it’s hard for the whole city of Chicago, it’s hard for us because we know to get to where we want to get to, we need a monster Derrick Rose.

The Source: If you were starting a three-on-three team and you were playing for a million dollars, what two teammates would you pick and who would be your sub?

Joakim Noah: I would pick Corey Brewer, Al Horford and I’d pick Larry Bird.

The Source: Why?

Joakim Noah: Corey would be the sub probably. Al Horford, I just love playing with Al Horford. We played together for a long time. I know where he likes to have the basketball—he likes to drive right, I like to drive left,he can shoot and he’s a great defender. Larry Bird, because he talks a lot of sh*t—which I like and he’s tough as hell and he wants to win by any means necessary. And he can shoot the sh*t out of it, which we need to spread the court in our three-on-three.

The Source: Speaking of teammates, your current point guard, D.J. Augustin has been putting up numbers this season for the Bulls. How important is he for your team?

Joakim Noah: D.J.’s been great! I don’t think I’d be in this position right now if it weren’t for D.J. He’s somebody who’s been through a lot and got cut this year. He comes to Chicago and becomes such a huge part of our team. I just feel like, without him we wouldn’t be able to compete against everybody.

The Source: You executive produced Lenny Cooke, a documentary chronicling the rise and fall of the basketball phenom Lenny Cooke. How proud are you of the documentary?

Joakim Noah: I’m proud of him. I’m proud of the Lenny Story because it’s easy to come over to talk about situations of success—but it’s a whole different ball game [for Lenny]. I’ve always been impressed with people who can talk about their hardships in the public. I think that Lenny’s story is a tough story. It’s a hard story, but I think that  it was a lot of life lessons that are in the story, in his life and I think he’s going to be able to reach a lot of young players; a lot of kids who grew up in the inner city—not just New York but everywhere. I think being able to talk about that is not an easy thing. I’m proud of Lenny for being able to do that and I hope he can use his documentary as a tool to help kids.