Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin

Lin at the 2012 Time 100 Gala
No. 7 – Brooklyn Nets
Position	Point guard
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1988-08-23) August 23, 1988 Torrance, California
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school	Palo Alto (Palo Alto, California)
College	Harvard (2006–2010)
NBA draft	2010 / Undrafted
Playing career	2010–present
Career history
2010–2011	Golden State Warriors
2010–2011	→Reno Bighorns
2011	Dongguan Leopards
2011–2012	New York Knicks
2012	→Erie BayHawks
2012–2014	Houston Rockets
2014–2015	Los Angeles Lakers
2015–2016	Charlotte Hornets
2016–present	Brooklyn Nets
Career highlights and awards
ABA Club Championship MVP (2011) 2× First-team All-Ivy League (2009, 2010) Second-team All-Ivy League (2008)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Jeremy Lin
Traditional Chinese	林書豪
Simplified Chinese	林书豪
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin  Lín Shūháo Bopomofo ㄌㄧㄣˊ ㄕㄨ ㄏㄠˊ Wade–Giles Lin2 Shu1-Hao2 IPA [lǐn ʂúxǎu̯] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Lam4 Syu1 Hou4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ  Lîm Su-hô

Jeremy Shu-How Lin (born August 23, 1988)^[1][2] is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He unexpectedly led a winning turnaround with the New York Knicks in 2012, which generated a global craze known as "Linsanity".

Lin grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and earned Northern California Player of the Year honors as a senior in high school. After receiving no athletic scholarship offers, he attended Harvard University, where he was a three-time All-Conference player in the Ivy League. Undrafted out of college, Lin reached a partially guaranteed contract deal in 2010 with his hometown Golden State Warriors. He seldom played in his rookie season and was assigned to the NBA Development League (D-League) three times. He was waived by the Warriors and the Houston Rockets the following preseason before joining the New York Knicks early in the 2011–12 season. Lin continued to be played sparingly and again spent time in the D-League. In February 2012, he led a winning streak by New York while being promoted to the starting lineup. In the summer of 2012, Lin signed a three-year contract with the Rockets, for whom he played two seasons before the Los Angeles Lakers acquired him in a trade. He played one season with the Lakers before signing with the Charlotte Hornets. He signed with Brooklyn the following season.

Lin is one of the few Asian Americans in NBA history, and the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the league. He is also known for his public expression of his Christianity.

Early life

Lin was born in Los Angeles County in the city of Torrance.^[3][4] He was raised in a Christian family in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Palo Alto.^{[5][6][7][note 1]}

His parents, Lin Gie-Ming and Shirley Lin, emigrated from Taiwan to the United States in the mid-1970s, settling first in Virginia before moving to Indiana, where they both attended universities.^[8][9][10] They are dual nationals of Taiwan and the U.S.^[11] Lin's paternal family are Hoklo people from Beidou, Changhua, Taiwan,^[11][12][13] while his maternal grandmother emigrated to Taiwan in the late 1940s from Pinghu, Zhejiang, in mainland China.^{[11][14][15][16]}

Lin's parents are both 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) tall.^[17] His maternal grandmother's family was tall, and her father was over 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m).^[16] Lin has an older brother, Josh, and a younger brother, Joseph.^[10] Gie-Ming taught his sons to play basketball at the local YMCA.^[18] Shirley helped form a National Junior Basketball program in Palo Alto where Lin played. She worked with coaches to ensure his playing did not affect academics. She was criticized by her friends for letting Lin play so much basketball, but let him play the game he enjoyed.^[19]

High school career

During his senior year in 2005–2006, Lin captained Palo Alto High School to a 32–1 record and upset the nationally ranked Mater Dei, 51–47, for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division II state title.^[20][21] He was named first-team All-State and Northern California Division II Player of the Year, and ended his senior year averaging 15.1 points, 7.1 assists, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.0 steals.^[20]

College career

Recruiting process

Lin sent his résumé and a DVD of highlights of his high school basketball career to all of the Ivy League schools; the University of California, Berkeley; and his dream schools, Stanford University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).^[9][22][23] The Pac-10 schools wanted him to walk-on, rather than be actively recruited or offered a sports scholarship. Harvard and Brown were the only teams that guaranteed him a spot on their basketball teams, but Ivy League schools do not offer athletic scholarships.^[24] Rex Walters, University of San Francisco men's basketball coach and retired NBA player, said NCAA limits on coaches' recruiting visits had reduced Lin's chances. "Most colleges start recruiting a guy in the first five minutes they see him because he runs really fast, jumps really high, does the quick, easy thing to evaluate," Walters said. Lin added, "I just think in order for someone to understand my game, they have to watch me more than once, because I'm not going to do anything that's extra flashy or freakishly athletic."^[25]

In July 2005, then-Harvard assistant coach Bill Holden saw that Lin was 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall, which fit the physical attributes he was seeking, and he had a 4.2 grade point average in high school, which met Harvard's academic standards. But Holden was initially unimpressed with Lin's on-court abilities, and told Lin's high school basketball coach, Peter Diepenbrock, that Lin was a "Division III player". Later that week, Holden saw Lin playing in a much more competitive game, driving to the basket at every opportunity with the "instincts of a killer", and Lin became a top priority for him.^[26] Harvard coaches feared that Stanford, close to Lin's home,^{[note 2]} would offer Lin a scholarship, but it did not, and Lin chose to attend Harvard.^[27] "I wasn't sitting there saying all these Division I coaches were knuckleheads," Diepenbrock said. "There were legitimate questions about Jeremy."^[28] Joe Lacob, incoming Warriors owner and Stanford booster, said Stanford's failure to recruit Lin "was really stupid. The kid was right across the street. [If] you can't recognize that, you've got a problem."^[29] Kerry Keating, the UCLA assistant who offered Lin the opportunity to walk-on, said in hindsight that Lin would probably have ended up starting at point guard for UCLA.^[30]

Harvard

A Harvard coach remembered Lin in his freshman season as "the [physically] weakest guy on the team",^[31] but in his sophomore season (2007–08), Lin averaged 12.6 points and was named to the All-Ivy League Second Team.^[20] By his junior year during the 2008–09 season, he was the only NCAA Division I men's basketball player who ranked in the top ten in his conference for scoring (17.8), rebounding (5.5), assists (4.3), steals (2.4), blocked shots (0.6), field goal percentage (0.502), free throw percentage (0.744), and three-point shot percentage (0.400),^[18] and was a consensus selection for the All-Ivy League First Team. He made 27 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds in an 82–70 win over the 17th-ranked Boston College Eagles, three days after the Eagles defeated No. 1 North Carolina.^[20][32]

In his senior year (2009–10), Lin averaged 16.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.1 blocks, and was again a unanimous selection for the All-Ivy League First Team. He was one of 30 midseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award^[33] and one of 11 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award.^[34] He was also invited to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.^[35] Fran Fraschilla of ESPN named Lin as one of the 12 most versatile players in college basketball.^[32] Lin gained national attention for his performance against the 12th-ranked Connecticut Huskies, against whom he scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed 9 rebounds on the road.^[36] After the game, Hall of Fame Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said of Lin: "I've seen a lot of teams come through here, and he could play for any of them. He's got great, great composure on the court. He knows how to play."^[18]

For the season, Harvard set numerous program records including wins (21), non-conference wins (11), home wins (11) and road/neutral wins (10).^[37] Lin finished his career as the first player in the history of the Ivy League to record at least 1,450 points (1,483), 450 rebounds (487), 400 assists (406) and 200 steals (225).^[20] He graduated from Harvard in 2010 with a degree in economics and a 3.1 grade-point average.^[38]

Professional career

2010 NBA Draft and Summer League

At the Portsmouth Invitational, Lin first met sports agent Roger Montgomery and later gave him a commitment. To their disappointment, no team chose Lin in the 2010 NBA draft.^[39] The NBA had not drafted an Ivy League player since Jerome Allen of Penn in the second round in 1995. The last Ivy League player to play in the NBA was Yale's Chris Dudley in 2003, while the last Harvard player was Ed Smith in 1954.^[9][40] Eight teams had invited Lin to predraft workouts. Diepenbrock said that NBA tryouts do not play five on five. Lin acknowledged that the workouts were "one on one or two on two or three on three, and that's not where I excel. I've never played basketball like that."^[25] Scouts saw what The New York Times later described as "a smart passer with a flawed jump shot and a thin frame, who might not have the strength and athleticism to defend, create his own shot or finish at the rim in the N.B.A."^[31] Lin joined the Dallas Mavericks for mini-camp as well as their NBA Summer League team in Las Vegas.^[41] Donnie Nelson of the Mavericks was the only General Manager who offered him an invitation to play in the Summer League. "Donnie took care of me," said Lin. "He has a different type of vision than most people do."^[24]

In five Summer League games, while playing both guard positions, Lin averaged 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals in 18.6 minutes per game and shot a team-leading 54.5% from the floor.^[42][43] He outplayed first overall pick John Wall.^[31] Lin scored 13 points to Wall's 21, but did so on 6-for-12 shooting in 28 minutes; Wall was 4-for-19 in 33 minutes.^[44] While Wall received the biggest cheer for any player during introductions, the crowd turned on Wall and was cheering for Lin by the end of the game.^[45] Lin was reluctant to play overseas without an NBA offer and only planned to do so for a year before finding a non basketball-related job,^[46] but after the Summer League received offers from the Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and an unnamed Eastern Conference team.^[47]

Golden State Warriors (2010–2011)

On July 21, 2010, Lin signed a two-year deal with his hometown Warriors. Lin's deal was partially guaranteed for 2010–11, and the Warriors held a team option for the second season.^[48] The deal included a first-year salary of close to $500,000 with more than half of it guaranteed.^[49] Lin said the counteroffers from the three other teams were higher, but he wanted to play for the Warriors.^[50] Lin's agent Roger Montgomery negotiated the deal.^[39] Lin also signed a three-year guaranteed contract with Nike.^[51] His jersey was already on sale before his first NBA game.^[52]

The Warriors held a press conference for Lin after his signing, with national media in attendance. "It was surprising to see that ... for an undrafted rookie," said then-Warriors coach Keith Smart.^[53] The San Jose Mercury News wrote that Lin "had something of a cult following" after his signing.^[54] The San Francisco Bay Area, with its large Asian-American population, celebrated his arrival.^[55] He became the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA.^[55][56][57] Lin received the loudest ovation of the night in the Warriors' home exhibition opener at Oracle Arena when he entered the game in the fourth quarter.^[58] The crowd had started chanting for him in the third quarter. "That really touched me. It's something I'll remember forever," Lin said.^[59] During the first month of the season, Oracle Arena fans continued to root for Lin to play in the end of games and cheered every time he touched the ball.^[60] He drew cheers from the crowd on the road as well, with some writers attributing the attention to the unique story of a successful Asian-American basketball player.^[6][61] Nevertheless, Lin played more relaxed on the road, where he felt less scrutiny and pressure to perform.^[60]

Lin acknowledged the expectations and warned, "I won't be an All-Star this year."^[62] He was appreciative of the support, especially from the Asian-American community, but he preferred to concentrate on his play without all the attention when he had not "proven anything to anybody".^[6] Smart saw that Lin was skilled at getting to the paint, but needed to learn to pass because, he said, Lin "couldn't shoot the ball at all". The coach also noticed that Lin always arrived early for practice and left late. Lin studied and rehearsed Steve Nash's and other top point guards' pick-and-roll plays.^[31] Frank Hughes of Sports Illustrated wrote that Lin spoke with the occasional "seeds of self-doubt", which he said was uncommon to hear in the NBA. Hughes also found it rare when Lin compared himself to the Phoenix Suns' then-backup point guard Goran Dragić.^[63] "Neither of us is a freak athlete, but we're both effective and know how to play the game," Lin said.^[64] Lin and Stephen Curry, the 2009–10 runner-up Rookie of the Year, received more interview requests than any other Warrior. Team officials regularly denied requests for Lin to help him keep his focus. He was approached to be the subject of documentaries.^[6] Smart planned to take pressure off Lin since Lin had a tendency to be hard on himself and get frustrated,^[62] but the coach admitted that he once succumbed to the home crowd's wishes and put Lin into a game in the wrong situation.^[6]

Lin received little playing time during the season with two dominant ball-handling guards, Curry and Monta Ellis, starring for the Warriors.^[65] He initially competed with Charlie Bell and Reggie Williams, and later Acie Law, for playing time at backup point guard.^[66][67] Lin started the regular season on the Warriors' inactive list,^[68] but made his NBA debut the next game during the Warriors' Asian Heritage Night. He received a standing ovation when he entered the game in the final minutes.^[69][70] In the next game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Lin scored his first NBA basket, had three assists, and recorded four steals. He played 11 of his 16 minutes in the third quarter and committed five fouls but played a role in a 12–1 run by the Warriors in a 107–83 loss to the defending NBA champions.^[71][72] Lakers' guard Derek Fisher praised Lin for his energy and aggressiveness.^[73] At Toronto on November 8, the Raptors held Asian Heritage Night to coincide with Lin's visit with the Warriors. Over 20 members of Toronto's Chinese media covered the game.^[74][75] In an 89–117 road loss to the Lakers, Lin scored a (then) career-high 13 points in 18 minutes after scoring only seven total points in his first six games.^[76][77]

Three times during the season, Lin was assigned to the Warriors' D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns.^[78][79][80] Each time, he was later recalled by the Warriors.^[81][82][83] He competed in the NBA D-League Showcase and was named to the All-NBA D-League Showcase First Team on January 14, 2011. Lin helped lead the Bighorns to a 2–0 record at the Showcase with averages of 21.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.5 steals.^[84] Lin posted a season-high 27 points with the Bighorns on March 18.^[85] In 20 games he averaged 18 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists with Reno.^[31] Lin initially felt he was not good enough to play in the NBA, but he later realized he was learning and getting playing time in the D-League that he would not have received with the Warriors.^[86][87] Lin credited Bighorns coach Eric Musselman with "helping him regain [his] swagger".^[88] Musselman recalled that Lin was a good scorer but was not yet skilled at "using the whole floor". He committed many offensive fouls, but Musselman believed Lin was as good as Gilbert Arenas in the dribble drive, an ability "you can't teach". The player continued to improve his pick-and-roll, how to handle double teams and traps, and improved his jump shot and, especially, his three pointer. Musselman also noticed that Lin, who as an NBA player received first-class airplane tickets, gave them to his teammates.^[31]

The Warriors saw Lin as a potential backup for Curry.^[31] Lacob said the team received more than one trade offer for Lin while he was in the D-League, but he was happy with Lin's progress as an undrafted free agent. "He's a minimum, inexpensive asset. You need to look at him as a developing asset. Is he going to be a superstar? No."^[89] He finished his rookie NBA season averaging 2.6 points on 38.9 percent shooting in 29 games.^[90]

2011 offseason

Lin recovered from a patellar ligament injury to his knee during the 2011 NBA lockout.^[91] In September 2011, Lin played a few games for the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) club Dongguan Leopards at the ABA Club Championship in Guangzhou, China, where he was named the MVP of the tournament.^[92] Shanghai Sharks president and former NBA star Yao Ming also tried, unsuccessfully, to sign Lin for the upcoming CBA season;^[93] Lin explained^[94] that as someone still under contract with the Golden State Warriors, he could not play in the CBA as the league would only admit NBA free agents.^[95] A few days before the lockout was lifted on November 26, Lin had been close to signing with an undisclosed club in Italy.^[96]

Lin worked to improve his jump shot during the offseason by abandoning the shooting form he had used since the eighth grade. He also increased his strength, doubling the weight he could squat (from 110 pounds (50 kg) to 231 (105)) and almost tripling the number of pull-ups that he could do (from 12 to 30).^[91] He increased his body weight from 200 pounds (91 kg) to 212 (96)—including 15 pounds (6.8 kg) of muscle—added 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) to his standing vertical jump and 6 inches (15 cm) to his running vertical jump, and improved his lateral quickness by 32 percent.^[31][97] Due to the lockout, he never got a chance to workout for new Warriors coach Mark Jackson.^[98] On the first day of training camp on December 9, 2011, the Warriors waived Lin. He was a favorite of Lacob,^[99][100] but the Warriors were freeing up salary cap space to make an offer to restricted free agent center DeAndre Jordan;^[101][102] Lin was due to make almost $800,000 that would have become fully guaranteed on February 10, 2012.^[55][103] The San Francisco Chronicle said Lin would have had trouble beating out rookie guard Charles Jenkins.^[104]

Lin was claimed off of waivers by the Houston Rockets on December 12, 2011,^[105] and played seven minutes, in two pre-season games in Houston, but with Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragić and Jonny Flynn as point guards, all with guaranteed contracts,^[106][107] the Rockets waived Lin on December 24, before the start of the season, to clear payroll to sign center Samuel Dalembert.^[65][108]

New York Knicks (2011–2012)

On December 27, after an injury to guard Iman Shumpert, the New York Knicks claimed Lin off of waivers to be a backup behind Toney Douglas and Mike Bibby. Recently signed guard Baron Davis had also been injured, and was weeks away from being able to play.^{[65][102][109]} Because of the lockout, coaches had had little opportunity to see Lin's play, and placed him fourth on the point guard depth chart.^[31] Lin stated that he was "competing for a backup spot", and people saw him "as the 12th to 15th guy on the roster. It's a numbers game,"^[54] yet he continued to arrive first at practice, and leave last, intensely studying game film, and working with coaches to improve his footwork and judgment.^[31] He made his season debut with the Knicks on the road against the Warriors, where he was warmly cheered in his return to Oracle Arena.^[110] In January, Lin was assigned to the Erie BayHawks of the D-League,^[111] and on January 20, he scored a triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists in the BayHawks' 122–113 victory over the Maine Red Claws.^[112] Three days later, Lin was recalled by the Knicks,^[113] but was so fearful of being cut again that he asked a chaplain at a pregame prayer service to pray for him.^[114] If he were to be released again, Lin would consider playing in Europe, returning to the D-League, or taking a non-basketball job.^[115]

On January 28, Davis postponed his Knicks debut due to an elbow infection and more back pain.^[116][117] Then New York considered releasing Lin before his contract became guaranteed on February 10 so they could sign a new player. However, after the Knicks squandered a fourth quarter lead in a February 3 loss to the Boston Celtics, coach Mike D'Antoni decided to give Lin a chance to play, in "desperation" according to experts. "He got lucky because we were playing so bad," said D'Antoni.^[117][118] Lin had played only 55 minutes through the Knicks' first 23 games, but he unexpectedly led a turnaround of an 8–15 team that had lost 11 of its last 13 games.^{[119][120][121]}

On February 4, against the New Jersey Nets and All-Star guard Deron Williams, Lin had 25 points, five rebounds, and seven assists—all career highs—in a 99–92 Knicks victory. Teammate Carmelo Anthony suggested to coach Mike D'Antoni at halftime that Lin should play more in the second half. After the game, D'Antoni said Lin had a point-guard mentality and "a rhyme and a reason for what he is doing out there".^{[122][123][124]} In the subsequent game against the Utah Jazz, Lin made his first career start playing without stars Anthony, who left the game due to injury, and Amar'e Stoudemire, whose older brother had died. Lin had 28 points and eight assists in the Knicks' 99–88 win.^[125][126] Stoudemire and Anthony missed the next three and seven games, respectively.^[124][126] D'Antoni stated after the Jazz game that he intended to ride Lin "like freakin' Secretariat".^[127][128] Basketball trainer David Thorpe said in hindsight that such a statement of confidence so soon by a coach was "incredibly rare", and likely gave Lin the confidence to continue to play aggressively despite making mistakes.^[118]

In a 107–93 win over the Washington Wizards, Lin played against John Wall and had 23 points and 10 assists, his first double-double.^[130] On February 10, Lin scored a new career-high 38 points and had seven assists, leading the Knicks in their 92–85 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. He outscored the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, who had 34 points.^{[131][132][133]} On February 11, Lin scored 20 points and had eight assists in a narrow 100–98 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.^[134] Lin was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals in those four starts with the Knicks going undefeated.^[135]

On February 14, with less than a second remaining, Lin scored a game-winning three-pointer in a Knicks 90–87 win against the Toronto Raptors.^[126] The basket so amazed the Lakers, watching on TV, that veteran player Metta World Peace ran by reporters shouting "Linsanity! Linsanity!" and waving his hands above his head.^[136][137] Lin became the first NBA player to score at least 20 points and have seven assists in each of his first five starts.^[138] Lin scored 89, 109, and 136 points in his first three, four, and five career starts, respectively, all three of which are the most by any player since the merger between the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the NBA in 1976–77.^{[134][139][140]}

In the following game against the Sacramento Kings, Lin recorded 13 assists and led the Knicks back to .500.^[141] New York had a 7–0 record after Lin started receiving major playing time, 6–0 with him starting.^[142] The winning streak ended in an 89–85 loss to the New Orleans Hornets; Lin scored 26 points but had nine turnovers. His 45 turnovers in his first seven career starts were the most since individual turnovers began being tracked in 1977–78.^[143]

On February 19 in a 104–97 win against the Mavericks, Lin scored 28 points and tallied career highs with 14 assists and five steals. USA Today wrote, "No matter what Dallas threw at Lin – double-teams, traps, blitzes, tall defenders ... smaller defenders ... stocky, thin – Lin found a way ... to a victory against the defending NBA champions."^[144] By February 23 LeBron James and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat argued over who would guard Lin.^[128] He did not do as well against the Heat, going one for 11 from the field and committing eight turnovers. The eventual NBA champions focused their entire defense on Lin, an experience he described as "flattering—and terrifying ... I felt like they were all like hawks circling me and staring."^[46]

In his 12 starts before the All-Star break, Lin averaged 22.5 points and 8.7 assists, and New York had a 9–3 record.^[145] He played in the Rising Stars Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend.^[146] He was omitted from the original Rising Stars roster, but was added after his sudden rise to stardom.^[147] Some media outlets—including USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and CBSSports.com—stated that he deserved to play in the All-Star Game.^{[148][149][150]}

The Knicks in March replaced D'Antoni with Mike Woodson, who ran fewer pick-and rolls and more isolation plays. Lin had excelled running pick-and-rolls under D'Antoni.^[151] After the March 24 game against the Detroit Pistons he complained about a sore knee, and an MRI later revealed a small meniscus tear in the left knee. Lin opted to have knee surgery and missed the remainder of the regular season.^[152][153] He averaged 18.5 points and 7.6 assists during his 26 games as an everyday player. In the first 10 games, Lin averaged 24.6 points and 9.2 assists, shooting 49.7 percent from the field but with 5.6 turnovers. In the next seven games, he averaged 16 points and 7.7 assists with 3.9 turnovers. In the last nine games, Lin averaged 13.6 points and 5.9 assists and shot only 39.1 percent while dealing with his then-undisclosed knee injury.^[154]

Lin became a restricted free agent at the end of the season.^[116] The New York Times called Lin "[the Knicks'] most popular player in a decade",^[155] but his success over only 26 games left teams uncertain about his overall standing among the league's point guards. Some still believed Lin was a bench player.^[154]

Houston Rockets (2012–2014)

During the 2012 offseason, the Knicks encouraged Lin to seek other offers, but he and the press expected that the team would re-sign him given its need for a young guard, his good play, and worldwide popularity; ESPN reported that the Knicks would match any other offer "up to $1 billion".^[46] The Rockets offered a $28.8 million contract over four years with the fourth year of that deal being at the team's option, which put the true commitment at $19.5 million.^[156] Woodson said the Knicks would match Houston's offer and that Lin would be his starting point guard.^[156] The Rockets then offered a revised three-year, $25 million deal, which Anthony called "ridiculous".^[157][158] The Knicks did not match the deal, and Lin deduced the team's decision when they signed Raymond Felton instead.^[46] The first two years of Houston's offer paid $5 million and $5.225 million, respectively, followed by $14.8 million in the third year.^[159] The higher salary in the final year, known as a "poison pill", was intended to discourage New York from matching the offer.^[160] Including luxury tax, the Knicks' cost for Lin in 2014–15 was estimated at $43 million.^[161] Their failure to match the offer surprised observers, given the team's history of high payrolls; Lin would only have been the fourth-highest-paid Knick.^[46]

Having already traded Kyle Lowry and lost Goran Dragić to free agency, the Rockets made Lin the center of both their preseason "A New Age" publicity campaign as well as their initial ads on Comcast SportsNet Houston.^[162] Coming off his "Linsanity" performance in New York, Houston coach Kevin McHale said the expectations of Lin were undue. McHale said the public believed Lin would "average 28 [points] and 11 [assists]", but he had never played a whole 82-game season before.^[163] Shortly before their regular-season opener in October, the Rockets acquired James Harden, who supplanted Lin as the face of the team.^[162][164] Throughout the season, though, Lin still placed pressure on himself to live up to the expectations from Linsanity.^[165][166] However, Harden was a ball-dominant, pick-and-roll player like Lin,^[167] and McHale chose to have the offense run through the more-proven Harden.^[168][169] The Rockets started the season with a 5–7 record and the youngest roster in the league.^[170] Lin was averaging 10 points and 6.3 assists, but was struggling shooting 33.3 percent and 22.9 percent of his 3-pointers. He was handling the ball less than he did with the Knicks, with Harden often controlling the ball on pick-and-rolls with Lin on the wing.^[171] In the Rockets' next game on November 23, Lin faced the Knicks for the first time since leaving as a free agent. The Knicks entered at 8–2 with the best record in the league, but Houston won at home 131–103 as Lin contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists.^[170][171] He shot 6-for-12, making half of his shots for the first time in eight games, and breaking a personal five-game drought without a 3-pointer.^[172]

Lin continued to struggle, and he began losing playing time to backup Toney Douglas. With Harden sitting out injured on December 10, Lin scored 38 points in a 134–126 overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The performance was reminiscent of his play during Linsanity.^[173][174] Lin shot 9-for-16 (56.2 percent) on his jump shots in the game; entering the contest, he had shot just 26.1 percent on jumpers, whereas he was 40.2 percent a year earlier.^[175] Numbers through the season suggested that Harden and Lin were more productive individually with the other on the bench.^[168] "I'll be my harshest critic but I'll go ahead and say it: I'm doing terrible," Lin said before facing the Knicks in his first game back in New York.^[168] Houston won 109–96, handing the Knicks their first home loss in 11 games. Lin had 22 points and nine assists. He was cheered in pregame introductions, but was booed after the game began.^[176] Three miles south in Chinatown, Lin fans packed restaurant and bars.^[177]

Lin did not play in the 2013 All-Star Game, held in Houston, after finishing third in the voting behind Bryant and Chris Paul for the two starting guards of the Western Conference.^{[note 3]} He was selected instead to compete in the Skills Challenge during All-Star Weekend.^[179] His scoring, shooting percentage, and 3-point percentage improved after the All-Star break,^[164] and he finished with season averages of 13.4 points and 6.1 assists.^[163] Lin and center Ömer Aşık were the only Rockets to play in all 82 games. Houston qualified for the playoffs, but lost in the first round in six games to the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder. Lin suffered a bruised chest in Game 2, which limited him in Game 3 and sidelined him for the two games after.^[180] He returned for the final game, coming off the bench for three points in 13 minutes.^[164]

In 2013–14, Lin was replaced in the Rockets' starting lineup by Patrick Beverley, and Lin became the second unit's primary ball handler and scoring option as the team's sixth man.^{[181][182][183]} Houston liked beginning games with Beverley's defensive pressure, but also preferred increasing Lin's playing time without Harden also on the court.^[165] Lin and Harden were both attacking players offensively, but each struggled defensively.^[184] In November, Lin established the highest two-game scoring total of his career, 65 points, including season-highs of 34 points and 11 assists along with a Rockets record-tying nine three-pointers in a start in place of an injured Harden.^[185][186] It was followed by a 21-point performance in a win at New York.^[185] He received a round of applause upon entering the game, though it was more subdued than in his first return against the Knicks.^[187] On November 27, Lin sprained his right knee against the Atlanta Hawks, causing him to miss six games.^[188][189] He missed four additional games in December due to back spasms; he started in his return on December 23 with both Harden and Beverley injured—Beverley was estimated to be out four to six weeks due to a fractured right hand.^[190] On February 1, 2014, Lin recorded 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists—his first career triple-double—in 29 minutes off the bench in a 106–92 home victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.^[191] He was the first Rocket to notch a triple-double off the bench since Cedric Maxwell in 1988.^[186] However, he went into a shooting slump after the All-Star break,^[192] and again experienced problems with his back.^[193][194]

He finished the season with 33 starts and averages of 12.5 points and 4.1 assists a game along with career highs in field goal percentage (44.6%), three-point percentage (35.8%), and free throw percentage (82.3%).^[162][195] He shot 57.8 percent off of drives during the season, exceeded only by LeBron James (63.8 percent) in the league.^{[note 4]} In the playoffs, Lin averaged 11.3 points off the bench as Houston lost in six games to the Portland Trail Blazers.^[162] He scored 21 points in a Game 5 win that extended the Rockets season.^[186] During the offseason, the Rockets pursued Lin's former Knicks teammate Anthony in free agency, and showed images outside of its arena of Anthony in a Houston jersey bearing Lin's No. 7.^[198][199]

Los Angeles Lakers (2014–2015)

On July 13, 2014, Lin was traded, along with a 2015 first and second round pick, to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for the rights to Sergei Lishouk.^[200] The Rockets made the move to clear cap space in their attempt to sign free agent Chris Bosh.^[201] The Lakers owed Lin $15 million for 2014–15, the final year of his contract, but only $8.3 million counted against their salary cap.^[202] His role was undefined with the Lakers, who were just 21–61 in his only season with the team.^[203] Lin moved into the starting lineup late in the preseason after an injury to Ronnie Price, and he started the first 20 games of the season.^[204] However, he struggled in coach Byron Scott's offense, which was based on the methodical player and ball movement of the Princeton offense, while Lin was most comfortable dominating the ball while attacking off the pick-and-roll as he did in New York and Houston.^{[128][197][204]}

After the team's poor 5–15 start, Scott attempted to improve the Lakers' poor defense by moving Lin to the bench in favor of the journeyman Price.^{[205][206][207]} Lin was disappointed in the demotion, calling it "one of the toughest situations I've been in".^[208][209] On January 23, 2015, Scott promoted rookie Jordan Clarkson to start over Price and chose not to play a healthy Lin in a blowout loss to San Antonio, which the Lakers trailed by as much as 23 while playing without Kobe Bryant.^[210][211] Lin had previously played in each game of the season, averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 assists in 43 games.^[212] It was the first time he was healthy and did not play since February 2, 2012, two days before he logged then-career highs against New Jersey at the dawn of Linsanity.^[207][210] After Lin scored a season-high 29 on March 22 in a win over Philadelphia, Scott returned him to the starting lineup.^[213] On March 24, Lin and teammate Clarkson, who is part Filipino, became the first Asian Americans to start together in the backcourt in NBA history.^[214] Lin missed the last five games of the season due to an upper respiratory infection.^[215]

Charlotte Hornets (2015–2016)

On July 9, 2015, Lin signed a two-year, $4.3 million contract with the Charlotte Hornets, who used their bi-annual exception in the deal.^[216][217] He had been open to re-joining New York, but they were not interested, having drafted guard Jerian Grant to pair with veteran José Calderón at point guard.^[167] Lin was projected to back up Hornets point guard Kemba Walker, and coach Steve Clifford envisioned that the two pick-and-roll players would sometimes play together.^[218][219]

Lin made his debut for the Hornets in the team's season opener against the Miami Heat on October 28, scoring 17 points off the bench in a 104–94 loss.^[220] On December 17, he scored a season-high 35 points in a 109–99 overtime win over the Toronto Raptors.^[221] On March 21, 2016, he scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to help Charlotte rally from a 30–7 deficit in the second quarter for a 91–88 comeback victory over San Antonio, snapping the Spurs' six-game winning streak. Charlotte was the first team to score seven points or fewer in the opening quarter and come back to win since 2008. It was also the largest comeback surrendered by the Spurs in the Tim Duncan era, which began in 1997. Lin was 11-of-18 from the field and hit all four three-point attempts, including three in the fourth quarter, and provided the go-ahead jumper with 48 seconds left.^[222] Lin's first and only season with the Hornets came to an end after the Hornets were defeated by the Heat in the first round of the playoffs.

After declining his $2.2 million player option for the 2016–17 season, Lin became an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2016.^[223]

Brooklyn Nets (2016–present)

On July 7, 2016, Lin signed a three-year, $36 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets.^[224][225] He made his debut for the Nets in their season opener on October 26, in an away game against the Boston Celtics. In 27 minutes as a starter, he scored 18 points in a 122–117 loss.^[226] Two days later, he recorded a near triple-double with 21 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists in a 103–94 home-opener win over the Indiana Pacers.^[227]

Career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2006–07	Harvard	28	0	18.1	.415	.281	.818	2.5	1.8	1.0	0.1	4.8
2007–08	Harvard	30	30	31.3	.448	.279	.621	4.8	3.6	1.9	0.6	12.6
2008–09	Harvard	28	28	34.8	.502	.400	.744	5.5	4.3	2.4	0.6	17.8
2009–10	Harvard	29	29	32.2	.519	.341	.755	4.4	4.4	2.4	1.1	16.4
Career		115	87	29.2	.481	.333	.733	4.3	3.5	2.0	.6	12.9

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2010–11	Golden State	29	0	9.8	.389	.200	.760	1.2	1.4	1.1	.3	2.6
2011–12	New York	35	25	26.9	.446	.320	.798	3.1	6.2	1.6	.3	14.6
2012–13	Houston	82	82	32.2	.441	.339	.785	3.0	6.1	1.6	.4	13.4
2013–14	Houston	71	33	28.9	.446	.358	.823	2.6	4.1	1.0	.4	12.5
2014–15	L.A. Lakers	74	30	25.8	.424	.369	.795	2.6	4.6	1.1	.4	11.2
2015–16	Charlotte	78	13	26.3	.412	.336	.815	3.2	3.0	.7	.5	11.7
Career		369	183	26.8	.432	.346	.803	2.8	4.4	1.2	.4	11.7

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2013	Houston	4	3	21.0	.250	.167	1.000	2.0	2.0	.5	.3	4.0
2014	Houston	6	0	29.5	.410	.217	.813	3.7	4.3	.5	.2	11.3
2016	Charlotte	7	0	27.0	.413	.214	.821	2.3	2.6	.7	.0	12.4
Career		17	3	26.5	.385	.204	.825	2.7	3.1	.6	.1	10.1

International career

In addition to being a U.S. citizen, Lin is by descent through his parents a national of Taiwan; Lin would qualify for a Taiwan passport although there is no record of him having done so.^[228][229] Lin has been invited to play for the Chinese Taipei men's national basketball team in FIBA competitions. On July 28, 2010 while in Taipei to play in Yao Ming's charity game, Lin said he had not made a decision yet on whether he would represent Chinese Taipei (the name used by Taiwan in international sporting competitions).^{[86][230][231]} In June 2011, the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) included Lin in its preliminary squad of 24 players for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship.^[232] The next month, however, the CTBA announced that Lin would not be included on their roster due to a knee injury.^[233]

Taiwanese media reported that Lin declined an offer from the People's Republic of China to play in the same tournament;^[234] however, the Chinese Basketball Management Center denied having ever approached him.^[235]

Lin was named to the USA Basketball Men's Select Team to scrimmage against the 2012 USA Olympic team candidates, but he did not participate due to his restricted free agent status with the Knicks.^[236][237]

Player profile

Apart from being a capable passer, Lin has established himself as a strong, fast-paced offensive player who attacks the basket and excels at the pick-and-roll. He improved his outside shooting from early in his career, and became a threat from three-point range.^[219][238] He has also been considered difficult to defend at times because of his ability to get to the free-throw line.^[239] An admitted risk taker,^[186] he has been criticized for his tendency to commit turnovers, as well as his mediocre defense.^[240]

Racial issues

Sean Gregory of Time wrote of Lin's zero Division I scholarship offers: "[Lin] was scrawny, but don't doubt that a little racial profiling, intentional or otherwise, contributed to his underrecruitment."^[241] Diepenbrock stated, "If [Lin] was African American or Caucasian, it might have been a different deal"; he did not think Lin's race affected his recruiting until later seeing 10 Division I coaches express interest in a black student who Diepenbrock assessed as "a nice junior college player".^[242] Lin said: "I'm not saying top-5 state automatically gets you offers, but I do think [my ethnicity] did affect the way coaches recruited me. I think if I were a different race, I would've been treated differently."^[243] Walters added, "People who don't think stereotypes exist are crazy. If [Lin's] white, he's either a good shooter or heady. If he's Asian, he's good at math. We're not taking him."^[244] During Lin's college career, fewer than 0.5% of men's Division 1 basketball players were Asian-American.^[241][243]

At Harvard, Lin was uncomfortable with the attention on his ethnicity as opposed to his performance.^[245] He regularly heard bigoted jeers at games such as "Wonton soup", "Sweet and sour pork", "Open your eyes!", "Go back to China", "Orchestra is on the other side of campus," or pseudo-Chinese gibberish.^{[9][241][243]} Lin said this occurred at most if not all Ivy League gyms, but he did not react to it. "I expect it, I'm used to it, it is what it is," said Lin.^[241] The heckling came mostly from opposing fans and not as much from players.^[246] According to Harvard teammate Oliver McNally, a fellow Ivy League player once called Lin the ethnic slur chink.^[241] In January 2010, Harvard played against Santa Clara University at the Leavey Center, just 15 miles from his hometown of Palo Alto, California. Playing to a capacity crowd that included droves of Asian Americans wanting to see his homecoming, his teammates told him, "It was like Hong Kong."^[247]

Lin considers himself a basketball player more than just an Asian American. He understands that there have not been many Asians in the NBA. "Maybe I can help break the stereotype," said Lin.^[248] "I feel like Asians in general don't get the respect that we may deserve whether it comes to sports, basketball, or whatever it might be," Lin said.^[249] Prior to the 2010–11 NBA season, Americans of Asian descent who played in the NBA included Wataru Misaka, Raymond Townsend, Corey Gaines, Rex Walters, and Robert Swift.^{[47][250][251]} "[Lin's] carrying the hopes of an entire continent. I only had to carry the hopes of Little Rock, Arkansas. He's accomplished a lot more than I have already," said Derek Fisher, who had won five NBA championships with the Lakers, after his first game against Lin.^[73] Lin is setting an example for prospective Asian athletes in America who rarely see Asian-Americans playing on their favorite teams.^[252] "I don't look Japanese," Walters said, referring to his mother's ethnicity. "When they see [Lin], it's an Asian-American."^[253]

Based on comments he heard that his talents were "deceptive", Lin stated in a 2013 60 Minutes interview that it was his "gut feeling" his ethnicity contributed to his being undrafted.^[254] NBA commissioner David Stern also believed Lin was not drafted due to discrimination. "I don't know whether he was discriminated against because he was at Harvard. Or because he was Asian," said Stern.^[254] Some fans and commentators wrote off his Warriors signing as a publicity stunt.^[55] Larry Riley, the team's general manager, denied catering to the Bay Area's large Asian population. He understood that some people would see it that way. "We evaluated him throughout summer league," Riley said. "All that had to happen was for him to confirm what we already believed."^[25] While the team created a campaign around him, Riley said it would not have been advisable if Lin was not a basketball player first.^[255]

On February 10, 2012, in the middle of Lin's career game against the Lakers, Fox Sports columnist Jason Whitlock posted on Twitter, "Some lucky lady in NYC is gonna feel a couple inches of pain tonight," a reference to Lin's sexual prowess.^[257] Hyphen wrote that Whitlock "reinforced the insipid and insidious 'small Asian penis' stereotype".^[258] The Asian American Journalists Association demanded an apology. "I debased a feel-good sports moment. For that, I'm truly sorry," apologized Whitlock.^[259][260] Boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. wrote on his Twitter page, "Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he's Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don't get the same praise."^[261] NBCNewYork.com in response to Mayweather noted that "no one of any skin color in the history of basketball has done in their first four starts what Lin pulled off for the Knicks last week."^[262] On February 15, the MSG Network during game coverage showed a fan's sign of Lin's face above a fortune cookie with the words "The Knicks Good Fortune", which some viewed as an ethnic stereotype.^[263] Sporting News wrote that the sign was "questionable", while CBS News called it "distasteful".^[264][265] Some Knicks teammates were criticized for bowing to Lin during games.^{[266][267][268]} On February 17, ESPN used a racial slur on its mobile website in the headline "Chink in the Armor" after Lin had nine turnovers in New York's loss to the Hornets. It was removed 35 minutes later, and ESPN apologized.^[269] The network fired the employee who posted the headline, and suspended ESPNews anchor Max Bretos for using the same reference earlier in the week. Bretos also apologized. Knicks radio announcer Spero Dedes also used the phrase on 1050 ESPN New York, but he was an employee of Madison Square Garden (MSG) and not ESPN.^{[270][271][272]} He apologized and was disciplined by MSG.^[273] Saturday Night Live satirized the ethnic puns being made about Lin, pointing out the difference in society's reaction to racial jokes about Asian people versus racial jokes about black people.^[270] In the skit, three sports commentators were featured happily making jokes about Lin's race, while a fourth drew contempt for making similar comments about black players.^[271] ESPN received emails suggesting that Lin was subjected to racial mockery in a manner that African-Americans are not.^[274] Ben & Jerry's created a frozen yogurt in honor of Lin named "Taste the Lin-Sanity". It contained lychee honey swirls and fortune cookie pieces. The company later replaced the fortune cookies with waffle cookies and apologized to anyone offended by their Lin-Sanity flavor.^[275][276] J. A. Adande of ESPN.com wrote that the heightened ethnic sensitivity toward Asian Americans was "another way [Lin's] impact resonates far beyond Madison Square Garden".^[277] The AAJA released a set of guidelines to the media in response to what it termed as "factual inaccuracies about Lin's background as well as an alarming number of references that rely on stereotypes about Asians or Asian Americans".^[278][279] On November 14, 2013, ESPN SportsCenter anchor Jorge Andres apologized on-air after commenting that Lin "was cooking with some hot peanut oil" after Lin's 21-point performance helped Houston to a win over the Knicks.^[280]

In a 2015 interview with Pablo S. Torre in ESPN The Magazine, Lin expressed belief that perceptions of Asians had affected his reputation as a player who was turnover-prone or unable to use both hands, despite statistics that suggested he had improved in both areas. He also cited the notion that he was a poor defender due to the belief that he lacked speed, while D'Antoni stated that Lin "was one of the quickest athletes we've ever worked out".^[128] However, Lin acknowledged that being a non-black basketball player, his performance with the Knicks was overhyped.^[128]

Diepenbrock said that people without meaning any harm assume since Lin is Asian that he is not a basketball player. The first time Lin went to a Pro-Am game in Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco, a security guard informed him: "Sorry, sir, there's no volleyball here tonight. It's basketball."^[281][282] Early in his stint with the Knicks, a security guard at Madison Square Garden stopped Lin from entering the players' entrance, mistaking him as a trainer.^[283] After signing with the Hornets, the five-year NBA veteran had to convince security at Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena that he was a player.^[284]

Reflecting on the subject after he returned to the New York City area in 2016 to play for the Brooklyn Nets, Lin stated, "In some ways, Linsanity wouldn't have been Linsanity if I was a different skin color, most likely, it wouldn't have been as big of a deal, and that went to my advantage, too, but if you look prior to that, a lot of the obstacles to even get to that point where I could get to a position of getting on the floor, those were definitely obstacles that were very much stereotypes that I had to fight along the way. So I've always understood that there's good and there's bad and you have to take them together and just be thankful for it all."^[285]

Public image

Lin has a popular YouTube account,^[286] and has made videos with YouTube personalities Nigahiga and KevJumba. Lin and former Knicks teammate Landry Fields appeared on the channel revealing their "secret handshake".^[287] In 2014, Lin became a content partner with Whistle Sports Network, adding his YouTube channel with roughly 400,000 subscribers in exchange for an undisclosed equity stake. He was the first athlete from one of the four major sports leagues in the United States to produce content for the digital sports platform.^[288]

In a video interview conducted by Elie Seckbach, he asked Lin how it felt to be representing so many people. Lin responded by stating, "It's humbling, a privilege, and an honor. I'm really proud of being Chinese, I'm really proud of my parents being from Taiwan. I just thank God for the opportunity."^[289] In July 2011, the overseas Chinese Vivid Magazine named Lin one of its top eight influential Chinese-Americans.^[290] In April 2012, Lin was named to Time Magazine's 2012 list of the "Top 100 Most Influential People in the World".^[291] On June 18, 2012, NBA TV announced that Lin was the first-ever winner of the "Social Breakout Player of the Year" Award.^[292] He was also the winner of "The EPIC Award".^[293] In July 2012, Lin won the ESPY Award for Breakthrough Athlete of the Year.^[294]

In 2014, Madame Tussauds unveiled a wax figure of his likeness at its San Francisco branch.^[195]

"Linsanity"

External images

Lin on February 20, 2012 cover of Sports Illustrated

Lin on February 27, 2012 cover of Sports Illustrated

Lin on February 27, 2012 cover of Time

After he became a starter for the Knicks, the Associated Press called Lin "the most surprising story in the NBA".^[295] Bloomberg News wrote that Lin "has already become the most famous [Asian American NBA player]". Knicks fans developed nicknames for him along with a new lexicon inspired by his name, Lin.^[296][297] Most popular was the word Linsanity, the excitement over the unheralded Lin.^[298][299] Time.com ran an article titled, "It's Official: Linsanity Is for Real".^[300]

Hall of Fame player Magic Johnson said, "The excitement [Lin] has caused in [Madison Square] Garden, man, I hadn't seen that in a long time."^[301] He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline "Against All Odds", which the Times called "the greatest tribute".^[302] He also made the cover of Time in Asia; Forbes wrote, "Congratulations Jeremy. You have now made the cover of Time the same number of times as Michael Jordan. Linsanity reigns on."^[303] Lin's story was also on the front-page of many Taipei newspapers.^[304] "I haven't done a computation, but it's fair to say that no player has created the interest and the frenzy in this short period of time, in any sport, that I'm aware of like Jeremy Lin has," said NBA commissioner David Stern.^[305]

The Knicks' success due to Lin's play reportedly contributed to the end of a dispute that had for 48 days prevented Time Warner Cable customers from watching Knicks games and other MSG Network programs.^[306] The team quickly began selling replicas of Lin's No. 17 jerseys and T-shirts, and the sales and traffic for its online store increased more than 3,000%;^[307] Lin's merchandise dominated the displays at Knicks stores, while those for the team's high-priced stars—Anthony, Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler—were moved to the sale racks.^[308] He had the best selling jersey in the NBA in February and March. For the one-year period ending April 2012, Lin had the second highest selling jersey in the league behind Derrick Rose.^{[309][310][311]} Both Nike and Adidas introduced Lin-related athletic apparel, and expected that his fame would help sales in China.^[312] His popularity was attributed with growing the NBA's popularity there since Yao Ming's retirement in the offseason; the audience for NBA games on television and online in China rose 39 percent over the previous season.^[313]

Within three weeks of his first game as a starter, at least seven e-books were being published on Lin,^[314] and the Global Language Monitor declared that Linsanity had met its criteria to be considered an English-language word.^[315] He appeared on a second consecutive Sports Illustrated cover, the first New York-based team athlete^[316] and the third NBA player in the magazine's history, after Jordan and Dirk Nowitzki.^[317] New York City restaurants introduced new food and bar items in honor of Lin.^[318] The city has about 450,000 residents of Chinese or Taiwanese descent—larger than the entire populations of NBA cities like Miami, Atlanta or Cleveland—and viewing parties to watch Lin play flourished in Manhattan's Chinatown.^[157][308] An airline advertised "Linsanely low prices",^[319] bids for his rookie card exceeded $21,000 on eBay,^[320] and the press circulated rumors—denied by Lin—that he was dating Kim Kardashian.^[321] Foreign Policy speculated on his potential impact on Sino-American relations,^[322] and Jack and Suzy Welch wrote that Lin's rise was a lesson to business leaders to not let bureaucracy stifle unproven talent.^[323] Despite Lin's sudden fame, Sacramento Kings coach Keith Smart stated, "I knew [Lin] before he was Linmania. He's still the same humble guy. The guy has not changed a bit, which is real special for a young man."^[324]

Lin trademarked the word Linsanity in 2012 to preempt strangers from profiting from his likeness.^[128] Two others had attempted to trademark the term in the first week of February, but the United States Patent and Trademark Office ultimately registered the term to Lin.^[325] A documentary film about Lin, titled Linsanity, premiered on January 20, 2013, at the Sundance Film Festival.^[326] It was shown at numerous film festivals before making its way into art houses.^[327]

In July 2016, former Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni recalled that some players on the Knicks resented Lin during the Linsanity period, an account corroborated by Lin's former Knicks teammate Amar’e Stoudemire.^[328][329]

Endorsements

Lin has turned down most of the sponsorship deals he has been offered. He stated that he declined tens of millions of dollars of endorsement opportunities during the peak of Linsanity. "I do think my purpose is to play basketball, play well, and play for the glory of God," he said. Lin called business outside of basketball "definitely secondary to my primary job".^[288]

He has endorsed the following brands during his career:

• Volvo^[330]
• Nike (2010–2014)^[51]
• Steiner Sports^[331]
• Adidas (2014–)^[332]

Personal life

Lin is an evangelical Christian, and was a leader in Harvard's Asian American Christian Fellowship during his time there.^[333][334] He credited his NBA success to playing without pressure. "I've surrendered that to God. I'm not in a battle with what everybody else thinks anymore," said Lin.^[123] He hopes to become a pastor who can head up non-profit organizations, either home or abroad,^[63][335] and has talked of working in inner-city communities to help with underprivileged children.^[246]

Lin's younger brother, Joseph, plays basketball for the Fubon Braves,^[336] and his older brother, Josh, was a dental student at New York University.^[337]

Lin said that he understands Mandarin, though he could use some help speaking it;^[289] he can also read and write a little. He took a few Mandarin classes while attending Harvard to try to improve.^[338] After joining the Knicks in 2012, Lin slept on a couch in his brother's one-bedroom apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City.^[339] The night before his breakout game, he slept on the couch of teammate Landry Fields.^[340] He relocated to a luxury condo in White Plains, New York, after his Knicks contract became guaranteed.^[341]

Lin is a major fan of the video game Dota 2, having played the first game in the series, Defense of the Ancients, since his sophomore year of high school. He appeared in Free to Play, the 2014 documentary centered around the game, in which he described Dota 2 as a "way of life" that helped him better connect with his family and friends.^[342] Lin later compared the game and its professional scene to basketball and other traditional sporting events, saying that there was not much of a difference between the two, while also comparing various NBA all-stars, such as Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James, to different playable characters in the game.^[343][344] In 2016, Lin endorsed a newly formed professional Chinese Dota 2 team, with the team (VG.J) being named after him.^[345]

On October 26, 2016, Lin donated $1,000,000 to Harvard University "to support undergraduate financial aid and renovations to Lavietes Pavilion."^[346]

Notes

References

Further reading

• Dalrymple, Timothy (2012). Jeremy Lin: The Reason for the Linsanity. Center Street. ISBN 978-1455523948. 
• Yorkey, Mike (2012). Linspired: The Remarkable Rise of Jeremy Lin. Zondervan. ISBN 978-0-310-32068-5. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jeremy Lin.

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
• Official website