Clippers’ Joakim Noah is burning sage in the NBA bubble

The recently signed All-Star center walked down the Clippers’ hotel hallway burning incense for good luck in advance of Monday’s playoff opener.

Joakim Noah is all about bringing good vibes and positive energy on and off the court. When he was bought out by the New York Knicks halfway through a four-year, 72-million dollar contract in 2018, the 6-foot-11 center stepped away from the spotlight for a year.

Although there were reports of him going out to clubs and partying, Noah also went outside his comfort zone and ventured into the wilderness (similar to Dirk Nowitski after the Mavericks were upset by the “We Believe” Golden State Warriors in 2007).

It seems Noah brought that energy he received from the forest into the Orlando bubble. The two-time All-Star, recently signed by the Los Angeles Clippers, posted an Instagram story of himself walking down the team’s hotel hallway and burning a sage smudge, Sunday night.

Wait, what was Joakim Noah doing?

Noah walked up to each of his teammates’ room doors and whirled the incense around the center of the doorframe in a circular motion. This was for good luck in advance of Monday’s playoff opener with the No. 7 seed Dallas Mavericks. Although the Clippers defeated the Mavericks, 126-111, in their lone bubble matchup on Aug. 6 and are heavy favorites to do so again in this series, a little incense never hurt.

Noah has been a positive influence for the Clippers on the court as well. Although he hasn’t received much playing time, he has looked healthy and does the dirty work which doesn’t reflect his box score numbers.

In Friday’s overtime victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 6-foot-11 center scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting, corralled six boards, dished out five assists and swiped a steal in 29 minutes of action.

The return of Montrezl Harrell will make it tougher for Noah to crack the postseason rotation, but he’s still good for spot minutes in any scenario Doc Rivers would need him for.