Jeremy Shu-How Lin
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Jeremy Shu-How Lin (born August 23, 1988) is a Taiwanese-American professional basketball player who last played for the
Guangzhou Loong Lions The Guangzhou Loong Lions () are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. They play in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). History The team was founded in November 2000 as Shaanxi Gait ...
of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He unexpectedly led a winning turnaround with the
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
of the National Basketball Association (NBA) during the 2011–12 season, generating a cultural phenomenon known as "Linsanity". Lin was the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA, and is one of the few
Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...
s to have played in the league. He is the first Asian American to win an NBA championship, having done so with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. Lin grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and earned
Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...
Basketball 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 signed with his hometown
Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
in 2010. He seldom played in his rookie season and received assignments to the
NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...
(D-League). In 2011, Lin was waived by both the Warriors and the
Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
before joining the
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
early in 2011–12. At first, Lin played sparingly for the Knicks, and he again spent time in the D-League. In February 2012, however, he was promoted to the
starting lineup In sports, a starting lineup is an official list of the set of players who will participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as ''starters'', whereas the others are ''substitutes'' o ...
and led the team on a seven-game winning streak. Lin's stellar play during the season helped the Knicks make the 2012 playoffs; it also catapulted him to international fame. Lin appeared on the covers of '' Sports Illustrated'' and '' Time'' and was named to the ''Time'' 100 as one of the most influential people in the world. In July 2012, Lin won the
ESPY Award An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...
for Breakthrough Athlete of the Year. Following his Knicks tenure, Lin played for the Houston Rockets,
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
,
Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...
, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks, and Toronto Raptors. While he experienced some success in Houston and Charlotte, he battled injuries in the ensuing seasons. In August 2019, he left the NBA and signed with the Beijing Ducks, where he became an All-Star in the CBA. Attempting to return to the NBA, Lin played with the Warriors' development team in 2021. He returned to the CBA and played with the Ducks before joining the Loong Lions.


Early life

Jeremy Shu-How Lin was born in Torrance, California, on August 23, 1988. He was raised in a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
family in the
Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
city of Palo Alto, California. His parents, Gie-ming Lin and Shirley Lin (née Xinxin Wu), emigrated from Taiwan to the United States in the mid-1970s, first settling in Virginia before moving to Indiana, where they both attended universities to study engineering and computer science. They are
dual national Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on t ...
s of Taiwan and the U.S. Lin's paternal family are
Hoklo people The Hoklo people or Hokkien people () are a Han Chinese (also Han Taiwanese) subgroup who speak Hokkien, a Southern Min language, or trace their ancestry to Southeastern Fujian, China and known by various endonyms or other related terms such a ...
from
Beidou, Changhua Beidou Township () is an urban township in Changhua County, Taiwan. History Beidou was previously known as Po-tau (寶斗; ), a harbor on the branch of Zhuoshui River and engaged trading with mainland China. As the harbor was an important site o ...
, Taiwan, while his maternal grandmother emigrated to Taiwan in the late 1940s from Pinghu, Zhejiang in mainland China. Lin's parents are both tall. His maternal grandmother's family was tall, and her father was over . Lin has an older brother, Josh, and a younger brother, Joseph. Gie-Ming taught his sons to play basketball at the local YMCA. 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. During his senior year in 2005–06, Lin captained
Palo Alto High School Palo Alto Senior High School, commonly referred to locally as "Paly", is a comprehensive public high school in Palo Alto, California. Operated by the Palo Alto Unified School District, the school is one of two schools in the district, the other b ...
to a 32–1 record and upset the nationally ranked
Mater Dei Mater Dei (Latin for ''Mother of God'') is a title of Mary. It may refer to: Educational institutions * Mater Dei College (disambiguation) * Mater Dei High School (disambiguation) Australia *Mater Dei Catholic Primary School, Ashgrove, Queensl ...
, 51–47, for the California Interscholastic Federation Division II state title. 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.


College career

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 Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The
Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
(now Pac-12) schools wanted him to walk on rather than be actively recruited or offered an athletic scholarship.
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and Brown were the only teams that guaranteed him a spot on their teams, but Ivy League schools do not offer sports scholarships. University of San Francisco men's basketball coach and retired NBA player
Rex Walters Rex Andrew Walters (born March 12, 1970) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Previously, he was the Associate Hea ...
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". Harvard assistant coach Bill 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 Holden saw Lin playing in a much more competitive game, driving to the basket at every opportunity with the "instincts of a killer", and he became Harvard's top recruit. Its coaches feared that Stanford—across the street from his high school—would offer Lin a scholarship, but it did not, and Lin chose to attend Harvard. Golden State Warriors owner and Stanford booster Joe Lacob said Stanford's failure to recruit Lin "was really stupid. The kid was right across the street. fyou can't recognize that, you've got a problem".
Kerry Keating Kerry Keating (born July 15, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and the former head men's basketball coach at Santa Clara University. Early life and college education Keating was born in Stoughton, Massachusetts and grew up in Rockvi ...
, a UCLA assistant who had offered Lin the opportunity to walk on, said in hindsight that Lin would probably have become a starting
point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...
for UCLA. A Harvard coach remembered Lin in his freshman season as "the hysicallyweakest guy on the team", but in his sophomore season (2007–08), Lin averaged 12.6 points and was named to the All-Ivy League Second Team. By his junior year during the 2008–09 season, he was the only NCAA Division I men's basketball player ranked in the top ten in his conference for scoring (17.8), rebounding (5.5), assists (4.3), steals (2.4),
blocked shot In basketball, a block or blocked shot occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player to prevent a score. The defender is not allowed to make contact with the offensive player's hand (unless the de ...
s (0.6), field goal percentage (0.502), free throw percentage (0.744), and three-point shot percentage (0.400), and was a consensus selection for the All-Ivy League First Team. He had 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists in an 82–70 win over the 17th-ranked
Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisio ...
, three days after the Eagles defeated No. 1 North Carolina. 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 The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...
and one of 11 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award. He was also invited to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. Fran Fraschilla of ESPN named Lin one of the 12 most versatile players in college basketball. Lin gained national attention for his performance against the 12th-ranked
Connecticut Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's fo ...
, when he scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed 9 rebounds on the road. 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." For the season, Harvard set numerous program records including wins (21), non-conference wins (11), home wins (11) and road/neutral wins (10). 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). He graduated from Harvard in 2010 with a degree in economics and a 3.1
grade-point average Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...
.


Professional career


Golden State Warriors (2010–2011)

To his disappointment, no team chose Lin in the
2010 NBA draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National ...
. 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." Lin joined the
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...
for mini-camp as well as their
NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...
team in Las Vegas.
Donnie Nelson Donn Charles Nelson (born September 10, 1962) is an American basketball executive who previously held general manager and president of basketball operations roles for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the s ...
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." In five Summer League games, while playing both guard positions, Lin averaged 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 18.6 minutes per game and shot a team-leading 54.5% from the floor. Following the Summer League, he received offers from the Mavericks,
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
,
Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
, and an unnamed Eastern Conference team. On July 21, 2010, Lin signed a two-year deal with his hometown Warriors. Lin's deal was partially guaranteed for the
2010–11 NBA season The 2010–11 NBA season was the 65th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2011, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The season concluded with the Dallas Mavericks defeating the M ...
, and the Warriors held a team
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for the second season. Lin also signed a three-year guaranteed contract with Nike. 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. The '' San Jose Mercury News'' wrote that Lin "had something of a
cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
" after his signing. The San Francisco Bay Area, with its large Asian-American population, celebrated his arrival. He became the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA. Lin was appreciative of the support he received from fans, especially from the Asian-American community, but he preferred to concentrate on his play. Lin received little playing time during the season because two dominant ball-handling guards,
Stephen Curry Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, ...
and
Monta Ellis Monta Ellis ( ; born October 26, 1985) is a former American professional basketball player. Ellis attended Lanier High School in Jackson, Mississippi, where he was a McDonald's All-American and first-team ''Parade'' All-American. He entered the ...
, starred for the Warriors. Lin started the regular season on the Warriors'
inactive list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in the ...
, 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. 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. 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. Three times during the season, Lin was assigned to the Warriors'
D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...
affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. Each time, he was later recalled by the Warriors. He competed in the
NBA D-League Showcase The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...
and was named to the All-NBA D-League Showcase First Team on January 14, 2011. In 20 games, he averaged 18 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists with Reno. The Warriors saw Lin as a potential backup for Curry. Lacob said the team received more than one trade offer for Lin while he was in the D-League, adding: "He's a minimum, inexpensive asset. You need to look at him as a developing asset. Is he going to be a superstar? No." He finished his rookie NBA season averaging 2.6 points on 38.9 percent shooting in 29 games.


Dongguan Leopards (2011)

Lin recovered from a patellar ligament injury to his knee during the 2011 NBA lockout. In September 2011, Lin played a few games for the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) club
Dongguan Leopards The Shenzhen New Century Liebao Club, also known as Shenzhen Marco Polo or Shenzhen Leopards (previously Shenzhen Aviators) are a Chinese professional basketball team which plays in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CB ...
at the ABA Club Championship in Guangzhou, China, where he was named the MVP of the tournament.


New York Knicks (2011–2012)

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 to ) and almost tripling the number of pull-ups that he could do (from 12 to 30). He increased his body weight from to —including of muscle—added to his standing vertical jump and to his running vertical jump, and improved his lateral quickness by 32 percent. Due to the lockout, he never got a chance to work out for new Warriors coach
Mark Jackson Mark A. Jackson (born April 1, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player. A point guard from St. John's University, he played for the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Utah ...
. On the first day of training camp on December 9, 2011, the Warriors waived Lin to free up salary cap space to make an offer to restricted free agent center DeAndre Jordan; Lin was due to make almost $800,000 that would have become fully guaranteed on February 10, 2012. Lin was claimed off of waivers by the
Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
on December 12, 2011 and played seven minutes in two pre-season games in Houston. Houston already had point guards Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragić and
Jonny Flynn Jonny William Flynn (born February 6, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player. A three-year National Basketball Association (NBA) veteran, he last played for the Orlandina Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A and played collegiat ...
, and all three had guaranteed contracts. The Rockets waived Lin on December 24, before the start of the season, to clear payroll to sign center Samuel Dalembert.


Rise of "Linsanity" (2011–2012)

The
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
waived point guard Chauncey Billups for
cap space In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Seve ...
to sign center Tyson Chandler. On December 27, after an injury to guard
Iman Shumpert Iman Asante Shumpert ( ; born June 26, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Shumpert was selected by the New York Knicks with the 17th overall pick ...
, the team claimed Lin off of waivers to be a backup behind
Toney Douglas Toney Bernard Douglas (born March 16, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for Benfica of the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol. He played college basketball for Auburn for one year, eventually becoming frustrated with his role on t ...
and Mike Bibby. Recently signed guard Baron Davis had also been injured, and was weeks away from being able to play. Because of the lockout, coaches had little opportunity to see Lin's play, and placed him fourth on the point guard depth chart. Lin stated that he was "competing for a backup spot", adding that people saw him "as the 12th to 15th guy on the roster"; he continued to arrive first at practice and leave last, intensely studying game film, and working with coaches to improve his footwork and judgment. Lin made his season debut with the Knicks on the road against the Warriors, where he was cheered in his return to Oracle Arena. In January, Lin was assigned to the Erie BayHawks of the D-League, 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. Three days later, Lin was recalled by the Knicks, but was so fearful of being cut again that he asked a chaplain at a pregame prayer service to pray for him. On January 28, Davis postponed his Knicks debut due to an elbow infection and back pain. Contemplating signing another player, the Knicks were considering releasing Lin. However, after New York squandered a fourth quarter lead in a February 3 loss to the
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
, coach Mike D'Antoni—in desperation, according to experts—decided to give Lin a chance to play. "He got lucky because we were playing so bad", said the coach; three point guards had failed to run D'Antoni's offense, and fans demanded the team fire him. Lin had played only 55 minutes through the Knicks' first 23 games, and the team had lost 11 of its last 13 games; however, he unexpectedly led a Knicks resurgence. 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 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". 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). Upon Lin's promotion to the starting lineup, the Knicks went on a seven-game winning streak. Lin had 28 points and eight assists in the Knicks' 99–88 win. Stoudemire and Anthony missed the next three and seven games, respectively. D'Antoni stated after the Jazz game that he intended to ride Lin—still not in the media guide—"like freakin' Secretariat". 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. 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 The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
. He outscored the Lakers'
Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...
, who had 34 points. ''The New York Times'' wondered if Lin was "the Knicks’ grandest stroke of fortune" since drafting Patrick Ewing in the
1985 NBA Draft The 1985 NBA Draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA draft of the "lottery" era. It was also around this time where the league decreased the amount of rounds the draft spent, with the previous few years lasting up to 10 roun ...
. On February 11, Lin scored 20 points and had eight assists in a narrow 100–98 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, making a go-ahead free throw with 4.9 seconds left in the game. Lin was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals in four starts; the Knicks went undefeated during those four games. On February 14, with less than a second remaining in the game, Lin made a game-winning three-pointer in the Knicks' 90–87 win over Toronto. The basket so amazed the Lakers watching on television that veteran player Metta World Peace ran past reporters shouting "Linsanity! Linsanity!" and waving his hands above his head. Lin became the first NBA player to score at least 20 points and have seven assists in each of his first five starts. Lin scored a total of 89, 109, and 136 points in his first three, four, and five career starts, respectively; all three totals are the most by any player since the merger between the
American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
(ABA) and the NBA in 1976–77. In the following game against the Sacramento Kings, Lin recorded 13 assists and led the Knicks back to a .500 record with a 100–85 win. The team's seven-game winning streak ended in an 89–85 loss to the New Orleans Hornets; Lin scored 26 points, but had nine 
turnovers A turnover is a type of pastry made by placing a filling on a piece of dough, folding the dough over, sealing it, and then baking it. Turnovers can be sweet or savoury and are often made as a sort of portable meal or dessert. They are often eat ...
. His 45 turnovers in his first seven career starts were the most since individual turnovers began being tracked in 1977–78. 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". He did not do as well against the Miami Heat, shooting one for 11 from the field and committing eight turnovers. LeBron James,
Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (; born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Wade spent the majority of his 16-year career playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and won three NBA champi ...
, Chris Bosh, and the rest of 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". The craze surrounding Lin's sudden ascendancy became known as "
Linsanity Jeremy Shu-How Lin (born August 23, 1988) is a Taiwanese-American professional basketball player who last played for the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He unexpectedly led a winning turnaround with the N ...
". In his 12 starts before the All-Star break, Lin averaged 22.5 points and 8.7 assists per game, and New York had a 9–3 record. He played in the
Rising Stars Challenge The Rising Stars Challenge is a basketball exhibition game held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on the Friday before the annual All-Star Game as part of the All-Star Weekend. The current format to be used in 2022 includes first- and ...
during NBA All-Star Weekend. He was omitted from the original Rising Stars roster, but was added after his sudden ascent to stardom. Some media outlets—including '' USA Today'', '' Los Angeles Times'', and
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—stated that he deserved to play in the All-Star Game. In March, the Knicks replaced D'Antoni with coach Mike Woodson, who ran fewer pick-and rolls and more isolation plays. Lin had excelled at running pick-and-rolls under D'Antoni. After a March 24 game against the Detroit Pistons, Lin complained about a sore knee, and an MRI later revealed a small
meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) The meniscus (plural: ''menisci'', from the Greek for "crescent") is the curve in the upper surface ...
tear in the left knee. Lin opted to have knee surgery and missed the remainder of the regular season. He averaged 18.5 points and 7.6 assists during his 26 games as an everyday player; during that period, the team went 16–10. The Knicks finished the season with a 36–30 record and earned the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Without the injured Lin, they were defeated by the eventual NBA champion Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs in five games. Lin finished sixth in voting for the NBA Most Improved Player Award. Lin became a
restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...
at the end of the season. ''The New York Times'' called Lin " he Knicks'most popular player in a decade" and asserted that he had saved the team's season. However, 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. 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.


Houston Rockets (2012–2014)


Starting role (2012–2013)

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". 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. Woodson said the Knicks would match Houston's offer and that Lin would be his starting point guard. The Rockets then offered a revised three-year, $25 million deal, which Anthony called "ridiculous". The Knicks did not match the deal, and Lin deduced the team's decision when they signed Raymond Felton instead. 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. The higher salary in the final year, known as a " poison pill", was intended to discourage New York from matching the offer. Their failure to match the offer surprised observers, given the team's history of high payrolls; Lin would have been the fourth-highest-paid Knick. 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 AT&T SportsNet Southwest is an American regional sports network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit as part of the AT&T SportsNet brand of networks. It is the only AT&T SportsNet regional network that does not maintain a pro ...
. 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 ointsand 11 ssists, but he had never played a whole 82-game season before. Shortly before their regular-season opener in October, the Rockets acquired
James Harden James Edward Harden Jr. (born August 26, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Harden is regarded as one of the greatest scorers and shooting guards in NBA ...
, who supplanted Lin as the face of the team. Harden was a ball-dominant, pick-and-roll player like Lin, and McHale chose to have the offense run through the more-proven Harden. Lin struggled at the beginning of the season and began losing playing time to backup
Toney Douglas Toney Bernard Douglas (born March 16, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for Benfica of the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol. He played college basketball for Auburn for one year, eventually becoming frustrated with his role on t ...
. With Harden sitting out due to injury 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. Numbers through the season suggested that Harden and Lin were more productive individually with the other on the bench. "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. On December 17, Houston defeated the Knicks 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. Lin did not play in the 2013 All-Star Game, held in Houston, after finishing third behind Bryant and Chris Paul in the voting for guards of the Western Conference. He was selected instead to compete in the
Skills Challenge Skills Challenge may refer to *the annual NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge *the ''Our Skills Challenge Award'', one of the UK's Cub Scouts' challenge awards Challenge may refer to: * Voter challenging or caging, a method of challenging the ...
during All-Star Weekend. His scoring, shooting percentage, and 3-point percentage improved after the All-Star break, and in February 2013, ''The New York Times'' reported that he was "fitting in well" with the Rockets. Lin finished the season with averages of 13.4 points and 6.1 assists per game. 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. He returned for the final game, coming off the bench for three points in 13 minutes.


Career-high percentage year (2013–2014)

In 2013–14, Lin was replaced in the Rockets' starting lineup by Patrick Beverley. Lin became the second unit's primary ball handler and scoring option as the team's sixth man. 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. Lin followed this with a 21-point performance in a win at New York. On November 27, Lin sprained his right knee against the Atlanta Hawks; he missed six games with the injury. He missed four additional games in December due to back spasms. 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. However, he went into a shooting slump after the All-Star break, and again experienced problems with his back. Lin finished the season with 33 starts and averages of 12.5 points and 4.1 assists per game along with career highs in field goal percentage (44.6%), three-point percentage (35.8%), and free throw percentage (82.3%). In the playoffs, Lin averaged 11.3 points off the bench as Houston lost in six games to the Portland Trail Blazers. He scored 21 points in a Game Five win that extended the Rockets' season. During the offseason, the Rockets pursued Lin's former Knicks teammate Carmelo Anthony in free agency and showed images outside of its arena of Anthony in a Houston jersey bearing Lin's No. 7.


Los Angeles Lakers (2014–2015)

On July 13, 2014, Lin was traded, along with a first-round draft pick and a second-round draft pick, to the
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
in exchange for the rights to
Serhiy Lishchuk Serhiy Lishchuk (alternate spelling: Sergei Lishouk) ( ua, Сергій Ліщук; born March 31, 1982) is a Ukrainian retired basketball player. Lishchuk played 18 seasons as a professional player in Ukraine and Spain. Professional career Euro ...
. The Rockets made the move to clear cap space in their attempt to sign free agent Chris Bosh. He shot a career-high 36.9 percent on his three-pointers during the season, but his role was undefined with the Lakers, who were just 21–61 in his only season with the team. 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. However, he struggled in coach Byron Scott's offense, which was based on the methodical player and ball movement of the
Princeton offense The Princeton offense is an offensive basketball strategy which emphasizes constant motion, back-door cuts, picks on and off the ball, and disciplined teamwork. It was used and perfected at Princeton University by Pete Carril, though its roots ma ...
. Lin was most comfortable dominating the ball while attacking off the pick-and-roll as he did in New York and Houston. 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. Lin was disappointed in the demotion, calling it "one of the toughest situations I've been in". On January 23, 2015, Scott promoted rookie
Jordan Clarkson Jordan Taylor Clarkson (born June 7, 1992) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for two seasons with Tulsa before transferring to Missou ...
to start over Price and chose not to play a healthy Lin in a blowout loss to San Antonio. Lin had previously played in each game of the season, averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 assists in 43 games. 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. After Lin scored a season-high 29 on March 22 in a win over Philadelphia, Scott returned him to the starting lineup. 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. Lin missed the last five games of the season due to an upper respiratory infection.


Charlotte Hornets (2015–2016)

On July 9, 2015, Lin signed a two-year, $4.3 million contract with the
Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...
, who used their bi-annual exception in the deal. He had been open to re-joining New York, but they were not interested, having drafted guard
Jerian Grant Holdyn Jerian Grant (born October 9, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Türk Telekom of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He played college basketball with the University of Notre Dame and was considered one of the top college ...
to pair with veteran José Calderón at point guard. Lin was projected to back up Hornets point guard
Kemba Walker Kemba Hudley Walker (born May 8, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Walker was picked ninth overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2011 NBA draft. After gra ...
, and coach
Steve Clifford Steven Gerald Clifford (born September 17, 1961) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has previously served as the head coach of the Orlando Magic. Early ...
envisioned that the two pick-and-roll players would sometimes play together. 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. On December 17, he scored a season-high 35 points in a 109–99 overtime win over Toronto Raptors. On March 21, 2016, he scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead jumper with 48 seconds remaining, to help Charlotte rally from a 30–7 deficit in the second quarter for a 91–88 comeback victory over San Antonio. Lin's only season with the Hornets came to an end after they were defeated in seven games by the Heat in the first round of the playoffs. He finished seventh in voting for the
NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Sixth Man of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the league's best performing player for his team coming off the bench as a substit ...
. After declining his $2.2 million player option for the 2016–17 season, Lin became an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2016.


Brooklyn Nets (2016–2018)

On July 7, 2016, Lin signed a three-year, $36 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets were led by head coach
Kenny Atkinson Kenneth Neil Atkinson (born June 2, 1967) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who serves as assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was previously the head coach o ...
, who was an assistant with the Knicks during Linsanity. Lin made his debut for the Nets in their season opener on October 26, 2016, in an away game against the
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
. In 27 minutes as a starter, he scored 18 points in a 122–117 loss. 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 The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...
. On December 12, 2016, he returned to action for Brooklyn for the first time since November 2, when he had suffered a strained left hamstring. He played 20 minutes off the bench and scored 10 points in a 122–118 loss to the
Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
. On February 24, 2017, Lin was back in the starting lineup for the Nets after missing 26 games with his hamstring strain. He played just under 15 minutes and scored seven points with five assists in a 129–109 loss to the
Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
. On April 6, 2017, he scored a season-high 32 points in a 115–107 loss to the
Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...
. He ended the injury-plagued season with a total of only 36 games played, averaging 14.5 points and 5.1 assists per game. On October 18, 2017, during the Nets' season opener against the
Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...
, Lin was injured when he landed awkwardly following a layup. He suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee and missed the remainder of the season.


Atlanta Hawks (2018–2019)

On July 13, 2018, Lin was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, along with draft picks, in exchange for the draft rights to
Isaia Cordinier Isaia is an Italian menswear brand founded in Naples in 1920. The brand is recognized by its tiny red coral logo, which is a good-luck charm in Naples. Gianluca Isaia is the chief executive officer. Its brother brand is Eidos (είδος meani ...
and a future second-round pick. The Hawks acquired him to be a mentor for rookie point guard Trae Young, who was the No. 5 overall pick in the draft. On February 11, 2019, the Hawks waived Lin after finalizing a buyout.


Toronto Raptors (2019)

After clearing waivers, Lin signed with the Toronto Raptors on February 13, 2019, joining a playoff contender. The Raptors were expecting backup point guard
Fred VanVleet Fredderick Edmund VanVleet Sr. (born February 25, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, VanVleet played college basketball for Wichita State Un ...
to be out with an injury for three weeks and had recently traded guard
Delon Wright Delon Reginald Wright (born April 26, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Utah Utes and was a first-team all-conference ...
. Lin struggled with the Raptors, averaging 7 points and 2.2 assists. During the playoffs, he was limited to playing in garbage time as the Raptors relied on Kyle Lowry and VanVleet. In June, Lin acknowledged that his 2017 patellar tendon injury continued to limit his athleticism and affect his ability to drive to the basket. Toronto advanced to the NBA Finals, winning the series in six games over Lin's former team, Golden State. In the first NBA Finals held outside of the United States, Lin became the first Asian American to win an NBA title. He played a total of 27 minutes in the playoffs, becoming the first
East Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...
as well as the first Harvard graduate to play in an NBA Finals. Lin became a free agent on July 1. Later that month, in a motivational speech on Taiwanese Christian media outlet
GOOD TV GOOD TV (Chinese: 好消息電視台) (stylized in all uppercase), is a Christian television station in Taiwan. Established in 1997 as a nonprofit organization under Gabriel Evangelical Broadcasting Foundation, it began broadcast on September 9, 1 ...
, he lamented the fact that he remained unsigned. Lin likened his situation to hitting "rock bottom", adding that he felt as if the NBA had "kind of given up" on him. Teams were uncertain about whether Lin remained mobile enough to play the point guard position.


Beijing Ducks (2019–2020)

On August 27, 2019, Lin signed with the Beijing Ducks of the CBA for a reported $3 million per year. He also had offers to play in Russia, Israel, and the EuroLeague. The Ducks scheduled for Lin to sit out the month of January in an arrangement agreed upon before the season with their other overseas players,
Ekpe Udoh Ekpedeme Friday "Ekpe" Udoh ( ; born May 20, 1987) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Shimane Susanoo Magic of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines and the Baylor Bears. In the 201 ...
and Justin Hamilton. In his regular season debut on November 3, Lin led the Ducks to a 103–81 win over the
Tianjin Gold Lions The Tianjin Ronggang Pioneers () or Tianjin Ronggang or Tianjin Pioneers are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Tianjin, which plays in the Northern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The Ronggang Import & Export Tr ...
with 25 points, nine assists, and six rebounds. He was named a starter for the North in the CBA All-Star Game after receiving the most votes on his squad and the second most overall behind the South's Yi Jianlian. Lin scored a game-high 41 points in the contest, which the South won 167–166. On February 1, 2020, the CBA postponed the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the season did not resume until late June. Lin ended the season with averages of 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists, and he was a finalist for the CBA Defensive Player of the Year award. Beijing was eliminated in the semifinals of the playoffs to the Guangdong Southern Tigers, who went on to repeat as league champions.


Santa Cruz Warriors (2021)

During the offseason, Lin sought a return to the NBA. His original team, Golden State, wanted to add him to their
G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...
(formerly D-League) affiliate, the
Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to ...
. Golden State planned to sign and release him on December 19, 2020, to secure his G League rights for Santa Cruz, but they were unable to obtain a clearance letter from the Ducks, partly because FIBA's offices were closed on the weekends. However, the NBA later passed a new rule, allowing NBA teams to designate one five-year NBA veteran to fill a spot on their G League team. This allowed Golden State to secure Lin without more complicated and costlier roster moves. On January 9, 2021, Santa Cruz announced that Lin had been added to their team for the 2020–21 season through the new NBA veteran exception rule, which some G League observers dubbed the "Jeremy Lin rule". He played in nine games, averaging 19.8 points and 6.4 assists per game while shooting 50.5 percent from the field and 42.6 percent on 3-pointers.


Return to the Ducks (2021–2022)

On June 11, 2021, Lin announced that he was returning to Beijing Ducks in the CBA. After returning to China from San Francisco, he was hospitalized in Shanghai in September after he contracted COVID-19. He lost while he was in isolation. He struggled when he returned to play, saying he felt "very tired—like I couldn’t breathe".


Guangzhou Loong Lions (2022)

Lin signed with the
Guangzhou Loong Lions The Guangzhou Loong Lions () are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. They play in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). History The team was founded in November 2000 as Shaanxi Gait ...
for the 2022–23 season. On December 2, 2022, amid protests in China over its COVID-19 controls, the CBA announced that it had fined him 10,000 yuan ($1,400) for "inappropriate remarks about quarantine hotel-related facilities". On December 29, he announced that he had left the team for the season. He played in seven games for Guangzhou, averaging 11.6 minutes, 6.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game.


National team career

In addition to being a U.S. citizen, Lin was by descent through his parents a
national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
of Taiwan; he qualified for a Taiwan passport, though he did not initially obtain one. In June 2011, the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) president Ting Shou-chung considered Lin would be included in the Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) national team's preliminary squad of 24 players for the
2011 FIBA Asia Championship The 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Men is the intercontinental championship for basketball organized by FIBA Asia that doubles as a qualifying tournament for the Basketball at the Summer Olympics, men's basketball tournament of the 2012 Summer Oly ...
, the preliminary roster of 24 players would be finalized in mid-July. In July 2011, CTBA president Ting Shou-chung said Lin was rehabilitating due to a knee injury and the
Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
medical team advised Lin not to participate in competitions. Lin was named to the USA Basketball Men's Select Team to scrimmage against the 2012 U.S. Olympic team candidates, but he did not participate due to his restricted free agent status with the Knicks. In August 2020, he obtained a Taiwan passport.


Career statistics


NBA


Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 29 , , 0 , , 9.8 , , .389 , , .200 , , .760 , , 1.2 , , 1.4 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 2.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 35 , , 25 , , 26.9 , , .446 , , .320 , , .798 , , 3.1 , , 6.2 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 14.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Houston , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 32.2 , , .441 , , .339 , , .785 , , 3.0 , , 6.1 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Houston , 71 , , 33 , , 28.9 , , .446 , , .358 , , .823 , , 2.6 , , 4.1 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 12.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 74 , , 30 , , 25.8 , , .424 , , .369 , , .795 , , 2.6 , , 4.6 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 78 , , 13 , , 26.3 , , .412 , , .336 , , .815 , , 3.2 , , 3.0 , , .7 , , .5 , , 11.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Brooklyn , 36 , , 33 , , 24.5 , , .438 , , .372 , , .816 , , 3.8 , , 5.1 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Brooklyn , 1 , , 1 , , 25.0 , , .417 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , .0 , , 4.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 18.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Atlanta , 51 , , 1 , , 19.7 , , .466, , .333 , , .845, , 2.3 , , 3.5 , , .7 , , .1 , , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", Toronto , 23 , , 3 , , 18.8 , , .374, , .200 , , .810, , 2.6 , , 2.2 , , .4 , , .3 , , 7.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 480 , , 221 , , 25.5 , , .433 , , .342 , , .809 , , 2.8 , , 4.3 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 11.6


Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013 , style="text-align:left;", Houston , 4 , , 3 , , 21.0 , , .250 , , .167 , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , .3 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014 , style="text-align:left;", Houston , 6 , , 0 , , 29.5 , , .410 , , .217 , , .813 , , 3.7 , , 4.3 , , .5 , , .2 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016 , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 7 , , 0 , , 27.0 , , .413 , , .214 , , .821 , , 2.3 , , 2.6 , , .7 , , .0 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2019† , style="text-align:left;", Toronto , 8 , , 0 , , 3.4 , , .222 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , .4 , , .5 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 25 , , 3 , , 19.1 , , .376 , , .216 , , .836 , , 2.0 , , 2.2 , , .4 , , .1 , , 7.2 , -


College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;", Harvard , 28 , , 0 , , 18.1 , , .415 , , .281 , , .818 , , 2.5 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;", Harvard , 30 , , 30 , , 31.3 , , .448 , , .279 , , .621 , , 4.8 , , 3.6 , , 1.9 , , 0.6 , , 12.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;", Harvard , 28 , , 28 , , 34.8 , , .502 , , .400 , , .744 , , 5.5 , , 4.3 , , 2.4 , , 0.6 , , 17.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;",
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, 29 , , 29 , , 32.2 , , .519 , , .341 , , .755 , , 4.4 , , 4.4 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , 16.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 115 , , 87 , , 29.2 , , .481 , , .333 , , .733 , , 4.3 , , 3.5 , , 2.0 , , .6 , , 12.9


CBA


Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", Beijing , 39 , , 39 , , 32.1 , , .491 , , .338 , , .824 , , 5.7 , , 5.6 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , 25.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 39 , , 39 , , 32.1 , , .491 , , .338 , , .824 , , 5.7 , , 5.6 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , 25.0


Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", Beijing , 4 , , 4 , , 35.3 , , .516 , , .316 , , .792 , , 4.0 , , 5.8 , , 2.5 , , .0 , , 22.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 4 , , 4 , , 35.3 , , .516 , , .316 , , .792 , , 4.0 , , 5.8 , , 2.5 , , .0 , , 22.8


Player profile

Apart from being a capable passer, Lin 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 during his career and became a threat from three-point range. He has been considered difficult to defend because of his ability to draw fouls. An admitted risk taker, Lin has been criticized for his tendency to commit turnovers and his perceived lack of effectiveness on defense. Following his star turn for the Knicks in 2012, Lin battled inconsistency and injuries.


Racial issues

During his basketball career, Lin has encountered racial slurs relating to his Asian ancestry. In the sixth grade, he faced a lot of racist comments when he started playing more competitive basketball and journeying outside of the Bay Area. While playing for Harvard, he regularly heard bigoted jeers 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. According to Harvard teammate Oliver McNally, a fellow Ivy League player once called Lin the ethnic slur "
chink ''Chink'' is an English-language ethnic slur usually referring to a person of Chinese descent. The word is also sometimes indiscriminately used against people of East Asian, North Asian and Southeast Asian appearance. The use of the term des ...
". On February 10, 2012, in the middle of a Knicks-Lakers game in which Lin scored 38 points, Fox Sports columnist
Jason Whitlock Jason Lee Whitlock (born April 27, 1967) is an American sports journalist, columnist, and podcaster. He hosts a program for the media company Blaze Media, where he hosts the show ''Fearless with Jason Whitlock''. Whitlock is a former columnist ...
posted the following on Twitter regarding Lin's sexual prowess: "Some lucky lady in NYC is gonna feel a couple inches of pain tonight". '' Hyphen'' wrote that Whitlock had "reinforced the insipid and insidious 'small Asian penis' stereotype". The Asian American Journalists Association demanded an apology. "I debased a feel-good sports moment. For that, I'm truly sorry," apologized Whitlock. Also in February 2012, boxer
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...
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." In response to Mayweather, NBC New York 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." On February 17, 2012, ESPN used a racial slur in relation to Lin. After Lin had nine turnovers in a loss to the Hornets, ESPN posted a headline that read, "Chink in the Armor". The headline was removed 35 minutes later, and ESPN apologized. The ESPN editor who wrote the headline said it had no racial meaning, but was fired. Lin later reached out to the editor and met with him for lunch, and Lin told him he did not think the headline was meant to be racially charged. Knicks radio announcer Spero Dedes also used the phrase on 1050 ESPN New York. On November 14, 2013, ESPN ''
SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...
'' 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. There has been speculation that Lin's career has been adversely affected by stereotypes about the athletic prowess of Asian-Americans. In 2009, Sean Gregory of '' Time'' wrote the following in regard to Lin not having received Division I basketball scholarship offers: " inwas scrawny, but don't doubt that a little racial profiling, intentional or otherwise, contributed to his underrecruitment." In 2008, Lin said: "I'm not saying top-5 state automatically gets you offers, but I do think
ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
] did affect the way coaches recruited me. I think if I were a different race, I would've been treated differently." During Lin's college career, fewer than 0.5% of men's Division 1 basketball players were Asian-American. Peter Diepenbrock, Lin's high school basketball coach, stated in 2012 that 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". Based on comments that his talents were "deceptive", Lin stated in a 2013 ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'' interview that he had a "gut feeling" that his ethnicity contributed to his being undrafted. 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 in 2013. Some fans and commentators wrote off his Warriors signing as a publicity stunt. Larry Riley, the team's general manager, denied catering to the
Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
'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." While the team created a campaign around him, Riley said it would not have been advisable if Lin was not a basketball player first. Former player and coach
Rex Walters Rex Andrew Walters (born March 12, 1970) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Previously, he was the Associate Hea ...
, a fellow Asian American, added, "People who don't think stereotypes exist are crazy. If in'swhite, he's either a good shooter or heady. If he's Asian, he's good at math. We're not taking him." Lin's experience in the NBA draft was used as an example in the nonfiction psychology book ''
The Undoing Project ''The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds'' is a 2016 nonfiction book by American author Michael Lewis, published by W.W. Norton. ''The Undoing Project'' explores the close partnership of Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and ...
'' by Michael Lewis, which details how stereotypes can overwhelmingly influence a person's decision making, even in the face of contradictory evidence. In the book, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey stated that Lin did very well in pre-draft testing. "He lit up our tatisticalmodel," said Morey. "Our model said take him with, like, the 15th pick in the draft." A year after the Rockets failed to draft Lin, they began to measure the speed of a player's first two steps; Lin had the quickest first move of any player measured, and he was able to change direction far more quickly than most NBA players. "He's incredibly athletic," said Morey. "But the reality is that every fucking person, including me, thought he was unathletic. And I can't think of any reason for it other than he was Asian." The first time Lin went to a Pro-Am game in
Kezar Pavilion Kezar Pavilion, located adjacent to Kezar Stadium, is an indoor arena in the southeast corner of Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, United States (US). Built in 1924, the Pavilion seats 4,000 people and is owned and operated by the C ...
in San Francisco, a security guard told him: "Sorry, sir, there's no volleyball here tonight. It's basketball." 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. After signing with the Hornets, the five-year NBA veteran had to convince security at Charlotte's
Time Warner Cable Arena Spectrum Center is an indoor arena located in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. It is owned by the city of Charlotte and operated by its main tenant, the NBA's Charlotte Hornets. The arena seats 19,077 for NBA games but can be expanded to 20,20 ...
that he was a player. In a 2015 interview with
Pablo S. Torre Pablo S. Torre (born September 27, 1985) is an American sportswriter and the host of ESPN Daily. Torre hosted (with Bomani Jones) ''High Noon'', a daily show from the new ESPN studios in New York City's South Street Seaport. He is a regular guest ...
in '' ESPN The Magazine'', Lin expressed the 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 noted his reputation as a poor defender who lacked speed, while D'Antoni stated that Lin "was one of the quickest athletes we've ever worked out". Lin also opined that his performance with the Knicks may have gained excessive publicity due to his ethnicity. "People just aren't used to seeing Asians do certain things, so it creates a very polarizing effect," Lin stated. In 2015, Lin said, "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". Reflecting on the subject of race 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."
J. A. Adande J.A. Adande (; born October 25, 1970) is an American sportswriter, commentator and educator, who currently serves as the Director of Sports Journalism at Northwestern University. Career Adande began his career as a sports columnist for the ''Lo ...
of ESPN.com wrote that heightened ethnic sensitivity toward Asian Americans was "another way in'simpact resonates far beyond Madison Square Garden". 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".


Public image and impact

Lin has a popular YouTube account, and has made videos with YouTube personalities
Nigahiga Ryan Higa (born June 6, 1990), also known as nigahiga ( ), is an American Internet personality. Best known for his comedy videos on YouTube, Higa began making YouTube videos in 2006 and was one of the most popular creators on the platform in it ...
and
KevJumba Kevin Wu (born June 12, 1990) is an American former YouTuber best known under the username KevJumba. The ''San Francisco Chronicles Jeff Yang has noted that Wu is not a comedian in the conventional sense but that by "just talking eis, well, ...
. Lin and former Knicks teammate
Landry Fields Landry Addison Fields (born June 27, 1988) is an American professional basketball executive and former player. He is the general manager of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Fields played five seasons in the NBA for ...
appeared on the channel revealing their "secret handshake". 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. 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 Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
, I'm really proud of my parents being from Taiwan. I just thank God for the opportunity." In July 2011, the
overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...
''Vivid Magazine'' named Lin one of its top eight influential Chinese-Americans. In April 2012, Lin was named to the ''Time'' 100 as one of the most influential people in the world. On June 18, 2012, NBA TV announced that Lin was the first-ever winner of the "Social Breakout Player of the Year" Award. He was also the winner of "The EPIC Award". In July 2012, Lin won the
ESPY Award An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...
for Breakthrough Athlete of the Year. The New York Times wrote: "Jeremy Lin has given Asian-Americans a popular sports figure to relate to".
Bleacher Report Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Aug ...
called Lin an "American icon", explained: "To the rest of the world, Jeremy Lin may be that Asian basketball player from Harvard who was really famous for two weeks or an average NBA point guard who has bounced around from team to team. But for Asian-Americans, Jeremy Lin is our Brad Pitt, our second-most famous person in the world". In 2014,
Madame Tussauds Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer us ...
unveiled a wax figure of his likeness at its San Francisco branch. In 2016, Lin starred in an episode of the Comedy Central series ''Viralocity'', playing a heightened version of himself. On May 26, 2021, Jeremy Lin addressed the graduating class of Harvard College as their Class Day speaker.


"Linsanity"

After he became a starter for the Knicks, the Associated Press called Lin "the most surprising story in the NBA". Bloomberg News wrote that Lin "has already become the most famous sian American NBA player. Knicks fans developed nicknames for him along with a new lexicon inspired by his name, ''Lin''. Most popular was the word ''Linsanity'', the excitement over the unheralded Lin.
Time.com ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...
ran an article titled, "It's Official: Linsanity Is for Real". Other puns included " Words with Lin", " Linderella", "Lincredible", and " Super Lintendo".
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
player
Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...
said, "The excitement inhas caused in adison SquareGarden, man, I hadn't seen that in a long time". The Associated Press compared Linsanity to Tebowing. Lin appeared on the cover of ''Sports Illustrated'' with the headline "Against All Odds", which the ''Times'' called "the greatest tribute". 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 Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
. Linsanity reigns on". Lin's story was also on the front-page of many Taipei newspapers. "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. 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. The market capitalization of the
Madison Square Garden Company Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (also known as MSG Sports) is an American sports holding company based in New York City. MSG Sports manages professional sports teams. These include the National Basketball Association's New York Knicks and t ...
, the team's owner, rose by $250 million in February and $600 million by July 2012. The Knicks 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%. Lin's jersey became the best-selling online in the league in the week of February 4, 2012, and the Knicks the best-selling team; the team began selling Lin merchandise on February 10, and one souvenir stand at Madison Square Garden sold out before the game started. His merchandise dominated the displays at Knicks stores, while those for the team's high-priced stars—Anthony, Stoudemire, and Chandler—were moved to the sale racks. 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 Derrick Martell Rose (born October 4, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year of college basketball for the Memphis Tigers before being drafted ...
. Both Nike and
Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
introduced Lin-related athletic apparel, and expected that his fame would help sales in China. His popularity was attributed with growing the NBA's popularity there since
Yao Ming Yao Ming (; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and former professional player. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Associat ...
's retirement in the offseason; the audience for NBA games on television and online in China rose 39 percent over the previous season. Within three weeks of his first game as a starter, at least seven e-books were being published on Lin, and the
Global Language Monitor The Global Language Monitor (GLM) is a company based in Austin, Texas that collectively documents, analyzes, and tracks trends in language usage worldwide, with a particular emphasis upon the English language. It is particularly known for its ...
declared that ''Linsanity'' had met its criteria to be considered an English-language word. He appeared on a second consecutive ''Sports Illustrated'' cover, the first New York-based team athlete and the third NBA player in the magazine's history to do so. New York City restaurants introduced new food and bar items in honor of Lin, and sales of
Yanjing Beer Beijing Yanjing Brewery () is a brewing company founded in 1980 in Beijing, China. Yanjing Beer was designated as the official beer served at state banquets in the Great Hall of the People in February 1995. The company produced 57.1 million hecto ...
rose. 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 Manhattan's Chinatown () is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, bordering the Lower East Side to its east, Little Italy to its north, Civic Center to its south, and Tribeca to its west. With an estimated population of 90,000 to 1 ...
. An airline advertised "Linsanely low prices", bids for his
rookie card A rookie card is a trading card that is the first to feature an athlete after that athlete has participated in the highest level of competition within their sport. Collectors may value these first appearances more than subsequent card issues. Athle ...
exceeded $21,000 on eBay, and the press circulated rumors—denied by Lin—that he was dating Kim Kardashian. ''
Foreign Policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
'' speculated on his potential impact on Sino-American relations, and Jack and Suzy Welch wrote that Lin's rise was a lesson to business leaders to not let bureaucracy stifle unproven talent. Despite Lin's sudden fame, Sacramento Kings coach Keith Smart stated, "I knew inbefore 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." Lin trademarked the word ''Linsanity'' in 2012 to preempt strangers from profiting from his likeness. 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. A documentary film about Lin, titled ''
Linsanity Jeremy Shu-How Lin (born August 23, 1988) is a Taiwanese-American professional basketball player who last played for the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He unexpectedly led a winning turnaround with the N ...
'', premiered on January 20, 2013, at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
. It was shown at numerous film festivals before making its way into
art house An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...
s.
Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream p ...
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. In May 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...
, the Knicks re-broadcast a week of Linsanity games on the MSG Network. Lin stated: "When I first got the call from my agent like, 'Hey, he Knickswant to do this,' I was floored. Because with COVID, right now, New York is going through one of the toughest times that it has seen in decades. It is a very, very tragic time. And the Knicks were like, 'Hey, we need to do something to uplift everybody.'"


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". He has endorsed the following brands during his career: * Volvo * Nike (2010–2014) * Steiner Sports *
Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
(2014–2019) * Xtep (2019–2022) In November 2020, in partnership with Xtep, Lin released a signature shoe called Xtep JLin One, which was available in Asia.


Music

Lin has collaborated with fellow Asian-American rapper MC Jin on the single "The First Opponent". The music video was released on YouTube on May 28, 2019.


Philanthropy

In October 2016, Lin donated $1 million to Harvard University to support undergraduate financial aid and renovations to
Lavietes Pavilion The Ray Lavietes Basketball Pavilion at the Briggs Athletic Center is a 1,636-seat multi-purpose arena in the Allston neighborhood of Boston. Owned by Harvard University, it is the second-oldest college basketball arena still in use ( Fordham Uni ...
. In February 2020, Lin donated ¥1 million (about $144,370) to help those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also spoke out against the racism related to the outbreak, stating: "I’ve lived in China this past season and now being back on US soil, I'm saddened by the racist comments regarding the virus in China. There are real people suffering and real heroes working around the clock in service to others — please don't let your fear or ignorance rob you of seeing that. This world needs more compassion and empathy." In April 2020, Lin donated $500,000 to the nonprofits
Direct Relief Direct Relief (formerly known as Direct Relief International) is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides emergency medical assistance and disaster relief in the United States and internationally. The organization is headed by an inde ...
and Feeding America to help those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; he also wrote an article for '' The Players' Tribune'' in which he pledged to match donations up to an additional $500,000 and encouraged unity, writing: "Again, at a time like this that requires ''everyone'' uniting to survive, COVID-19 shouldn't be about East vs. West, politics, race or anything other than helping as many people as we can survive." In an NBA Together Virtual Roundtable held in May 2020, Lin further spoke out against anti-Asian racism, stating: "All it would take is 10 seconds to put yourself in the position of someone who is dealing with racism or somebody who is legitimately contemplating whether to go to the grocery store to get food for themselves or to not because they're afraid of being attacked. ... Sometimes the best thing you can do is to not post the hateful comment, or don't be a troll, or take a second to think about what you're saying or doing or if you know someone acting ignorant call them out. All these things are small steps in the right direction."


Personal life

Lin is an evangelical Protestant, and was a leader in
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
's Asian American Christian Fellowship during his time there.Jeremy Lin: Taking Harvard Basketball to New Levels
InterVarsity.org, Published March 12, 2010; accessed February 15, 2012.
Michael Luo
Lin's Appeal: Faith, Pride, and Points
'' The New York Times'', February 12, 2012, accessed February 15, 2012.
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. He hopes to become a pastor who can head up non-profit organizations, either home or abroad, and has talked of working in inner-city communities to help with underprivileged children. Lin's younger brother, Joseph, became a professional basketball player in Taiwan. His older brother, Joshua, studied dentistry at New York University. Lin said that he understands
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
, though he could use some help speaking it; he can also read and write a little. He took a few Mandarin classes while attending Harvard to try to improve. After joining the Knicks in 2012, Lin slept on a couch in his brother's one-bedroom apartment on the
Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...
of Manhattan, New York City. The night before his breakout game, he slept on the couch of teammate
Landry Fields Landry Addison Fields (born June 27, 1988) is an American professional basketball executive and former player. He is the general manager of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Fields played five seasons in the NBA for ...
. He relocated to a luxury condo in White Plains, New York, after his Knicks contract became guaranteed. Lin is a fan of the video game ''
Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''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. In 2016, Lin formed his own professional ''Dota 2'' team, known as J.Storm.


Discography


Singles


Notes


References


Further reading

* *


External links

* *
Lin's ''Dota 2'' organization
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lin, Jeremy 1988 births Living people American evangelicals American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in China American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Chinese descent American sportspeople of Taiwanese descent Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from California Beijing Ducks players Brooklyn Nets players Charlotte Hornets players Erie BayHawks (2008–2017) players Golden State Warriors players Guangzhou Loong Lions players Harvard Crimson men's basketball players Houston Rockets players Los Angeles Lakers players New York Knicks players Palo Alto High School alumni Point guards Reno Bighorns players Santa Cruz Warriors players Shenzhen Leopards players Sportspeople from Palo Alto, California Taiwanese men's basketball players Toronto Raptors players Undrafted National Basketball Association players