Undrafted
At the Portsmouth Invitational, Lin first met sports agent Roger Montgomery and later gave Montgomery a commitment. To Montgomery's disappointment, Lin went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft.[38] The NBA had not drafted an Ivy League player since Jerome Allen of Penn in the second round in 1995. The last Ivy League player to play in the NBA was Yale's Chris Dudley in 2003, while the last Harvard player was Ed Smith in 1954.[39][9] Eight teams had invited Lin to predraft workouts. Diepenbrock said that NBA tryouts do not play five on five. Lin acknowledged that the workouts were "one on one or two on two or three on three, and that’s not where I excel. I've never played basketball like that."[24] 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."[30] Lin joined the Dallas Mavericks for mini-camp as well as their NBA Summer League team in Las Vegas.[40] Donnie Nelson of the Mavericks was the only General Manager that 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."[23]In five Summer League games, while playing both guard positions, Lin averaged 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals in 18.6 minutes per game and shot a team leading 54.5% from the floor.[41][42] He outplayed first overall pick John Wall;[30] Lin scored 13 points to Wall's 21, but did so on 6-for-12 shooting in 28 minutes. Wall was 4-for-19 in 33 minutes.[43] While Wall received the biggest cheer for any player during introductions, the crowd turned on Wall and was cheering for Lin by the end of the game.[44] Lin received offers to sign from the Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, and an unnamed Eastern Conference team. In addition to the original three teams, the Golden State Warriors also offered Lin a contract.[45]
Golden State Warriors (2010–2011)
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.[51] "The San Jose Mercury News wrote that Lin "had something of a cult following" after his signing.[52] The San Francisco Bay Area, with its large Asian-American population, celebrated his arrival.[2] He became the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA.[2][53][54] Lin received the loudest ovation of the night in the Warriors' home exhibition opener at Oracle Arena when he entered the game in the fourth quarter.[55] The crowd had started chanting for him in the third quarter and cheered whenever he touched the ball. "That really touched me. It's something I'll remember forever," Lin said.[56] During the first month of the season, Oracle Arena fans continued to root for Lin to play in the end of games and cheered every time he touched the ball.[57] He drew the crowd's attention on the road as well. Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com attributed the attention Lin received out of town to the unique angle of "an Asian-American rising to rare basketball prominence".[5] ESPN.com NBA editor Matt Wong wrote after a game in New York, "Lin checked into the game to loud applause, presumably from the many Asian-Americans in attendance."[58] Still, Lin played more relaxed at home. "There's a lot of pressure on him at home, with all of the applause for just checking into the game, so I'm sure that cranks his nerves up a little bit," said teammate Stephen Curry. "You can tell on the road he plays a lot better, because he can just go out there, play and have fun."[57]
Lin noticed the expectations that followed him and warned, "I won't be an All-Star this year."[59] He was appreciative of the support, especially from the Asian-American community, but he also preferred concentrating on his play without all the attention when he had not "proven anything to anybody."[5] Smart saw that Lin was skilled at getting to the paint, but needed to learn to pass because, he said, Lin "couldn't shoot the ball at all". The coach also noticed that the player always arrived early for practice and left late. Lin studied and rehearsed Steve Nash and other top point guards' pick-and-roll plays.[30] Frank Hughes of Sports Illustrated wrote that he talked with the occasional "seeds of self-doubt", which he said was not common to hear in the NBA. Hughes also found it rare when Lin compared himself to the Phoenix Suns' backup point guard Goran Dragić.[60] "Neither of us is a freak athlete, but we're both effective and know how to play the game," Lin said.[61] Lin and Curry, the 2009–10 runner-up Rookie of the Year, received more interview requests than any other Warrior. Team officials regularly denied requests for Lin to help him keep his focus. He was approached to be the subject of documentaries.[5] Smart planned to take pressure off Lin since Lin had a tendency to be hard on himself and get frustrated,[59] but the coach admitted that he once succumbed to the home crowd's wishes and put Lin into a game in the wrong situation.[5]
Lin received little playing time during the season with two dominant ball-handling guards, Curry and Monta Ellis, starring for the Warriors.[62] He initially competed with Charlie Bell and Reggie Williams, and later Acie Law, for playing time at backup point guard.[63][64] Lin started the regular season on the Warriors' inactive list,[65] 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.[66][67] 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.[68][69] Lakers' guard Derek Fisher praised Lin for his energy and aggressiveness.[70] 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.[71][72] In a 89–117 road loss to the Lakers, Lin scored a (then) career-high 13 points in 18 minutes after scoring only seven total points in his first six games.[73][74]
Three times during the season, Lin was assigned to the Warriors' D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns.[75][76][77] Each time, he was later recalled by the Warriors.[78][79][80] He competed in the NBA D-League Showcase and was named to the All-NBA D-League Showcase First Team on January 14, 2011. Lin helped lead the Bighorns to a 2–0 record at the Showcase with averages of 21.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.5 steals.[81] Lin posted a season-high 27 points with the Bighorns on March 18.[82] In 20 games he averaged 18 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists with Reno.[30] Lin initially felt he was not good enough to play in the NBA, but he later realized he was learning and getting playing time in the D-League that he would not have received with the Warriors.[83][84] Lin credited Bighorns coach Eric Musselman with "helping him regain [his] swagger."[85] Musselman recalled that Lin was a good scorer for himself but was not yet skilled at "using the whole floor". He scored many offensive fouls, but Musselman believed Lin was as good as Gilbert Arenas in the dribble drive, an ability "you can't teach". The player continued to improve his pick-and-roll, how to handle double teams and traps, and improved his jump shot and, especially, his three pointer. Musselman also noticed that Lin, who as an NBA player received first-class airplane tickets, gave them to his teammates.[30]
The Warriors saw Lin as a potential backup for Curry.[30] Lacob said the team received more than one trade offer for Lin while he was in the D-League, but he was happy with Lin's progress as an undrafted free agent. "He's a minimum, inexpensive asset. You need to look at him as a developing asset. Is he going to be a superstar? No."[86] He finished his rookie NBA season averaging 2.6 points on 38.9 percent shooting in 29 games.[87]
2011 offseason
Lin recovered from a patellar ligament injury to his knee during the 2011 NBA lockout.[88] In September 2011, Lin played a few games for the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) club Dongguan Leopards at the ABA Club Championship in Guangzhou, China, where he was named the MVP of the tournament.[89] Shanghai Sharks president and former NBA star Yao Ming also tried, unsuccessfully, to sign Lin for the upcoming CBA season;[90] Lin explained[91] that as someone still under contract with the Golden State Warriors, he could not play in the CBA as the league would only admit NBA free agents.[92] A few days before the lockout was lifted on November 26, Lin had been close to signing with an undisclosed club in Italy.[93]Lin worked to improve his jump shot during the offseason by abandoning the shooting form he had used since the eighth grade. He also increased his strength, doubling the weight he could squat (from 110 pounds (50 kg) to 231 (105)) and almost tripling the number of pull-ups that he could do (from 12 to 30).[88] He increased his body weight from 200 pounds (91 kg) to 212 (96)—including 15 pounds (6.8 kg) of muscle—added 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) to his standing vertical jump and 6 inches (15 cm) to his running vertical jump, and improved his lateral quickness by 32 percent.[30][94] Due to the lockout, he never got a chance to workout for new Warriors coach Mark Jackson.[95] On the first day of training camp on December 9, 2011, the Warriors waived Lin. He was a favorite of Lacob,[96][97] but the Warriors were freeing up salary cap space to make an offer to restricted free agent center DeAndre Jordan;[98][99] Lin was due to make nearly $800,000 that would have become fully guaranteed on February 10, 2012.[2][100] The San Francisco Chronicle said Lin would have had trouble beating out rookie guard Charles Jenkins.[101]
On December 12, 2011, Lin was claimed off waivers by the Houston Rockets.[102] He played seven minutes in two preseason games with the Rockets, who already had Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragić and Jonny Flynn as point guards with guaranteed contracts.[103][104] On December 24, before the start of the season, the Rockets waived Lin to clear payroll to sign center Samuel Dalembert.[62][105]
New York Knicks (2011–present)
On January 28, Davis suffered a setback that postponed his Knicks debut.[113][114] Then New York considered releasing Lin before his contract became guaranteed on February 10 so they could sign a new player. However, after the Knicks squandered a fourth quarter lead in a February 3 loss to the Boston Celtics, coach Mike D'Antoni decided to give Lin a chance to play due to "desperation", according to experts. "He got lucky because we were playing so bad," said D'Antoni.[114][115] Lin had played only 55 minutes through the Knicks' first 23 games, but he would unexpectedly lead a turnaround of an 8–15 team that had lost 11 of its last 13 games.[116][117][118]
On February 4, against the New Jersey Nets and All-Star guard Deron Williams, Lin had 25 points, five rebounds, and seven assists—all career-highs—in a 99–92 Knicks victory. Teammate Carmelo Anthony suggested to coach Mike D'Antoni at halftime that Lin should play more in the second half. After the game, D'Antoni said Lin has a point-guard mentality and "a rhyme and a reason for what he is doing out there."[119][120][121] In the subsequent game against the Utah Jazz, Lin made his first career start playing without stars Anthony, who left the game due to injury, and Amar'e Stoudemire, whose older brother had died. Lin had 28 points and eight assists in the Knicks' 99–88 win.[122][123] Stoudemire and Anthony missed the next three and seven games, respectively.[121][123] D'Antoni stated after the Jazz game that he intended to "rid[e Lin] like freakin' Secretariat."[124] Basketball trainer David Thorpe said in hindsight that such a statement of confidence so soon by a coach was "incredibly rare", and likely gave Lin the confidence to continue to play aggressively despite making mistakes.[115]
Players playing that well don't usually come out of nowhere. It seems like they come out of nowhere, but if you can go back and take a look, his skill level was probably there from the beginning. It probably just went unnoticed.
—Kobe Bryant, after Lin scored 38 points on February 10, 2012.[125]
On February 14, with less than a second remaining, Lin scored a game-winning three-pointer against the Toronto Raptors.[123] The basket so amazed the Lakers, watching on TV, that veteran player Metta World Peace ran by reporters shouting "Linsanity! Linsanity!" and waving his hands above his head.[132][133] Lin became the first NBA player to score at least 20 points and have seven assists in each of his first five starts.[134] Lin scored 89, 109, and 136 points in his first three, four, and five career starts, respectively, all three of which are the most by any player since the merger between the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the NBA in 1976–77.[130][135][136]
In the following game against the Sacramento Kings, Lin recorded 13 assists and led the Knicks back to .500.[137] New York had a 7–0 record after Lin started receiving major playing time, 6–0 with him starting.[138] The winning streak ended in an 89–85 loss to the New Orleans Hornets; Lin scored 26 points but had nine turnovers. His 45 turnovers in his first seven career starts were the most since individual turnovers began being tracked in 1977–78.[139] 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."[140]
In his 12 starts before the All-Star break, Lin averaged 22.5 points and 8.7 assists, and New York had a 9–3 record.[141] He played in the Rising Stars Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend.[142] He was omitted from the original Rising Stars roster, but was added after his sudden rise to stardom.[143] Some media outlets—including USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and CBSSports.com—stated that he deserved to play in the All-Star Game.[144][145][146]
The Knicks in March replaced D'Antoni with Mike Woodson, who ran fewer pick-and rolls and more isolation plays. Lin had excelled running pick-and-rolls under D'Antoni.[147] After the March 24 game against the Detroit Pistons, Lin complained about a sore knee, and an MRI later revealed a small meniscus tear in the left knee. Lin opted to have knee surgery and missed the remainder of the regular season.[148][149] Lin averaged 18.5 points and 7.6 assists during his 26 games as an everyday player. In the first 10 games, he averaged 24.6 points and 9.2 assists, shooting 49.7 percent from the field but with 5.6 turnovers. In the next seven games, he averaged 16 points and 7.7 assists with 3.9 turnovers. In the last nine games, Lin averaged 13.6 points and 5.9 assists and shot only 39.1 percent while dealing with his then-undisclosed knee injury.[150]
He became a restricted free agent at the end of the season.[113] His success over only 26 games left teams uncertain about his overall standing among the league's point guards. Some still believed he was suited as a bench player.[150] On July 5, 2012, it was reported that Lin and the Houston Rockets had agreed to terms on a four-year, $28.9 million contract. Lin can sign the offer sheet with Houston on July 11 after the league's July moratorium. The Knicks would have three days to match the offer.[151]
Career statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | Harvard | 28 | 0 | 18.1 | .415 | .281 | .818 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 4.8 |
| 2007–08 | Harvard | 30 | 30 | 31.3 | .448 | .279 | .621 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 12.6 |
| 2008–09 | Harvard | 28 | 28 | 34.8 | .502 | .400 | .744 | 5.5 | 4.3 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 17.8 |
| 2009–10 | Harvard | 29 | 29 | 32.2 | .519 | .341 | .755 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 16.4 |
| Career | 115 | 87 | 29.2 | .481 | .333 | .733 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 2.0 | .6 | 12.9 | |
NBA
- Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | Golden State | 29 | 0 | 9.8 | .389 | .200 | .760 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.1 | .3 | 2.6 |
| 2011–12 | New York | 35 | 25 | 26.9 | .446 | .320 | .798 | 3.1 | 6.2 | 1.6 | .3 | 14.6 |
| Career | 64 | 25 | 19.1 | .437 | .313 | .793 | 2.2 | 4.0 | 1.4 | .3 | 9.2 | |
International career
Taiwanese media reported that Lin declined an offer from the People's Republic of China to play in the same tournament;[158] however, the Chinese Basketball Management Center denied having ever approached him.[159]
Lin was named to the USA Basketball Men’s Select Team to scrimmage against the 2012 USA Olympic team candidates, but he did not participate due to his restricted free agent status with the Knicks.[160][161]
Racial issues
Sean Gregory of Time wrote of Lin's zero Division I scholarship offers: "[Lin] was scrawny, but don't doubt that a little racial profiling, intentional or otherwise, contributed to his underrecruitment."[162] Diepenbrock stated, "If [Lin] was African American or Caucasian, it might have been a different deal"; he did not think Lin's race affected his recruiting until later seeing 10 Division I coaches express interest in a black student who Diepenbrock assessed as "a nice junior college player."[163] Lin said: "I'm not saying top-5 state automatically gets you offers, but I do think (my ethnicity) did affect the way coaches recruited me. I think if I were a different race, I would've been treated differently."[164] Walters added, "People who don't think stereotypes exist are crazy. If [Lin's] white, he's either a good shooter or heady. If he's Asian, he's good at math. We're not taking him."[165]Diepenbrock said that people without meaning any harm assume since Lin is Asian that he is not a basketball player. The first time Lin went to a Pro-Am game in Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco someone there informed him: "Sorry, sir, there's no volleyball here tonight. It's basketball."[166] During Lin's college career, fewer than 0.5% of men's Division 1 basketball players were Asian-American.[162][164] Lin has regularly heard bigoted jeers at games such as "Wonton soup", "Sweet and sour pork", "Open your eyes!", "Go back to China", "Orchestra is on the other side of campus", or pseudo-Chinese gibberish.[9][162][164] Lin says this occurred at most if not all Ivy League gyms. He does not react to it. "I expect it, I'm used to it, it is what it is," says Lin.[162] The heckling came mostly from opposing fans and not as much from players.[167] According to Harvard teammate Oliver McNally, a fellow Ivy League player once called Lin the ethnic slur chink.[162] In January 2010, Harvard played against Santa Clara University at the Leavey Center, just 15 miles from his hometown of Palo Alto, California. Playing to a capacity crowd that included droves of Asian Americans wanting to see his homecoming, his teammates told him, "It was like Hong Kong."[168]
Lin considers himself a basketball player more than just an Asian American. He understands that there have not been many Asians in the NBA. "Maybe I can help break the stereotype," said Lin.[169] "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."[170] Prior to the 2010–11 NBA season, Americans of Asian descent who played in the NBA included Wataru Misaka, Raymond Townsend, Corey Gaines, Rex Walters, and Robert Swift.[45][171][172] "[Lin's] carrying the hopes of an entire continent. I only had to carry the hopes of Little Rock, Arkansas. He's accomplished a lot more than I have already," said Derek Fisher, who had won five NBA championships with the Lakers, after his first game against Lin.[70] Lin is setting an example for prospective Asian athletes in America who rarely see Asian-Americans playing on their favorite teams.[173] "I don't look Japanese," Walters said, referring to his mother's ethnicity. "When they see [Lin], it's an Asian-American".[174]
Some fans and commentators wrote off his Warriors signing as a publicity stunt.[2] Larry Riley, the team's general manager, denied catering to the Bay Area’s large Asian population. He understood that some people would see it that way. "We evaluated him throughout summer league," Riley said. “All that had to happen was for him to confirm what we already believed."[24] While the team created a campaign around him, Riley said it would not have been advisable if Lin was not a basketball player first.[175]
I know a lot of people say I'm "deceptively athletic" and "deceptively quick," and I'm not sure what’s deceptive. But it could be the fact that I’m Asian-American. But I think that’s fine. It's something that I embrace, and it gives me a chip on my shoulder. But I'm very proud to be Asian-American and I love it.
—Jeremy Lin, during 2012 All-Star Weekend interview[176]
Public image
Lin has a YouTube account,[200] and has made videos with YouTube personalities Nigahiga and KevJumba. Lin and teammate Landry Fields eventually appeared on a video on Lin's YouTube Channel revealing their "secret handshake".[201] 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 a honor. I'm really proud of being Chinese, I'm really proud of my parents being from Taiwan. I just thank God for the opportunity."[202] In July 2011, the overseas Chinese Vivid Magazine named Lin one of its top eight influential Chinese-Americans.[203] In April 2012, Lin was named to Time Magazine's 2012 list of the "Top 100 Most Influential People in the World."[204] On June 18, 2012, NBA TV announced that Lin was the first-ever winner of the "Social Breakout Player of the Year" Award.[205] He was also the winner of "The EPIC Award".[206]"Linsanity"
 External images | |
|---|---|
 | Lin on February 20, 2012 cover of Sports Illustrated |
| Lin on February 27, 2012 cover of Sports Illustrated |
| Lin on February 27, 2012 cover of Time |
Within three weeks of his first game as a starter, at least seven e-books were being published on Lin,[222] and the Global Language Monitor declared that Linsanity had met its criteria to be considered an English-language word.[223] He appeared on a second consecutive Sports Illustrated cover, the first New York-based team athlete[224] and the third NBA player in the magazine's history, after Jordan and Dirk Nowitzki.[225] An airline advertised "Linsanely low prices",[226] bids for his rookie card exceeded $21,000 on eBay,[227] and the press circulated rumors—denied by Lin—that he was dating Kim Kardashian.[228] Foreign Policy speculated on his potential impact on Sino-American relations,[229] and Jack and Suzy Welch wrote that Lin's rise was a lesson to business leaders to not let bureaucracy stifle unproven talent.[230] Despite his sudden fame Sacramento Kings coach Keith Smart stated, “I knew [Lin] before he was Linmania. He’s still the same humble guy. The guy has not changed a bit, which is real special for a young man.”[231] Lin's jersey finished that season as the second highest selling in the league behind Derrick Rose's.[232]
Endorsements
Personal life
Lin is an evangelical Christian who was a leader in Harvard's Asian American Christian Fellowship during his time there.[233][234] 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.[120] He hopes to become a pastor who can head up non-profit organizations, either home or abroad,[60][235] and has talked of working in inner-city communities to help with underprivileged children.[167] Lin's younger brother, Joseph, plays basketball for Hamilton College,[236] and older brother, Josh, is a dental student at New York University.[237]When Lin was asked if he was fluent in Chinese, he stated that he could understand it, but could use some help speaking it.[202] In an interview conducted with NBADraft.net, Lin stated that he could only speak Mandarin, not Cantonese, and could read and write a little. He had also taken classes while attending Harvard to try to improve.[238] Lin in early 2012 slept on his brother's couch in a one-bedroom apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City.[239] The night before his breakout game, he slept on the couch of teammate Landry Fields.[240] He relocated to a luxury condo in White Plains, New York, after his Knicks contract became guaranteed.[241]
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