Born in New York, Noah was a member of the France national team and played college basketball for the Florida Gators, winning back-to-back NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007.

His grandfather Zacharie Noah was a Cameroonian professional football player, winner of the Coupe de France in 1961.

[10] Noah was a member of Donovan's 2004 recruiting class, a group that included four freshmen who would have a dramatic impact on the Gators basketball program during the next three seasons.

However, Noah, along with teammates Horford and Corey Brewer, announced at the Gators' national championship celebration that they would return for their junior seasons.

Noah was named the Most Outstanding Player (MOP)[11] of the NCAA Tournament's Minneapolis Regional after leading the Gators over top-seeded Villanova in the final game with 26 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks.

Noah started off the tournament with 17 points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes of play in a win vs. the Jackson State Tigers.

In the championship game vs. the Ohio State Buckeyes, he was in a match-up against the future 2007 NBA Draft number one pick, Greg Oden.

With the help of Noah on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, the Florida Gators were able to win their second championship in two years.

Noah and his teammates at Florida, Corey Brewer and Al Horford, became the highest-picked trio from the same college in the history of the NBA.

Noah had a rocky start with his team after being given a suspension by a unanimous vote from his teammates in January 2008 following a confrontation with assistant coach Ron Adams.

Noah played a key role in Game 6 of the 2009 Eastern Conference first-round playoff series between the Bulls and the Boston Celtics.

On February 22, 2012, Noah recorded his first career triple-double with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

[19] On December 18, 2012, he recorded his second ever triple-double, scoring 11 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and providing a career-high-tying 10 assists, in a 100–89 victory over the Boston Celtics.

[20] On January 24, 2013, Noah was named as a reserve in the 2013 NBA All-Star Game, representing the Chicago Bulls alongside teammate Luol Deng.

On February 28, 2013, Noah recorded his third career triple-double, scoring 23 points, collecting 21 rebounds and blocking a career-high 11 shots in Chicago's 93–82 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

[24] He played 21 minutes in the game (including the entire fourth quarter) and scored 8 points, collected 5 rebounds and had 5 assists while helping the East to win 163–155.

[25] On February 11, 2014, Noah recorded his fourth career triple-double in a 100–85 win against the Atlanta Hawks, finishing the game with 19 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists.

[28] Three days later, in a 105–94 win over the Detroit Pistons, Noah recorded yet another triple-double finishing the game with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

[30] On April 9, 2014, Noah had 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a 102–87 road win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, his fourth triple-double of the season.

Noah lost his starting spot to Nikola Mirotić during the 2015 preseason, coming off the bench in his first 23 consecutive games of the 2015–16 season.

[37] After missing nine consecutive games with the injury, he returned to action on January 11, recording 9 rebounds and 4 assists off the bench in a loss to the Washington Wizards.

[46] On March 25, 2017, Noah was suspended for 20 games without pay for violating the league's anti-drug policy after testing positive for LGD-4033, a selective androgen receptor modulator that he later said was in a supplement he took for injuries.

[49] On April 12, 2017, it was deemed that Noah required surgery for a left torn rotator cuff and would need four to six months to rehabilitate.

Noah entered the Knicks' contest against the Portland Trail Blazers in the second quarter and had a three-minute stint, making his only shot attempt and grabbing a rebound.

[65] Noah made his first appearance for the senior France national team on July 24, 2009, in a friendly match against Austria, in which he scored 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.

He conducted an NBA Jr. clinic at the Gatorade Hoops Center and played pickup basketball with young Filipino talents in Mandaluyong.