Joakim Noah Talks Hating LeBron James While Visiting Cleveland on Video After Viral 2010 Comments

Joakim Noah wasn't the biggest fan of LeBron James while they were rivals on the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively.

"I hated this guy," he told NBAT2 (8:50 mark) in a video about revisiting Cleveland. "I hated his haircut. I hated the way he looked. I hated the way he talked. I hated everything about him. His interviews made me cringe. I ain't like nothing about him."

OK, but tell us how you really felt, Joakim.

Noah's Bulls faced James' Cavaliers multiple times in his first three seasons in the NBA, including a first-round playoff matchup in the 2009-10 season. Cleveland won that series 4-1.

James then departed for the Miami Heat before returning to Cleveland in the 2014-15 season. The Cavaliers again got the best of Noah and the Bulls in those playoffs, knocking them out of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in six games.

So you could understand how James wasn't exactly Noah's favorite person, at least during his career. Nor was Cleveland Noah's favorite city, a place he said wasn't anybody's idea of a vacation destination following a playoff loss to the Cavs.

"Those were the bitter words of someone who had just lost a hard-fought battle," he acknowledged. "Do I regret it? Honestly, no. I'm not someone who spends a lot of time living with regrets. I know where those words came from, and they're part of my story.