Unless you have been living under a rock for the past week, chances are you’ve heard of a guy named Jeremy Lin. For those of you who find that stone represents the pinnacle of roofing technology, and are offended by my cliché mockery, I apologize: here’s a bit of background on the topic.
Jeremy Lin is the new starting point guard for the New York Knicks. He was an unheralded prospect coming out of his California high school who walked onto Harvard’s basketball team and, despite being eligible for the 2010 NBA Draft, was not selected. The Golden State Warriors, Lin’s hometown team, signed him to a two-year contract, and he became the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA; however, he failed to make a significant “Linpact” in his only season in Oakland. New coach Mark Jackson had no desire to keep him, and he was waived on December 9, 2011. The Houston Rockets picked him up, but released him just two weeks later. Both of these setbacks, while troubling at the time, seem to have been blessings in disguise for Lin.
The New York Knicks picked him up to compete for their backup point guard spot, as they desperately needed help with the position. Lin’s contract with the team was not guaranteed, and he had been waived from two teams in the last month, so he carried a healthy dose of cynicism with him in his car, with the rest of his possessions and basketball gear. In a now-famous anecdote, he stayed on his brother’s couch on the Lower East Side during his first couple weeks with the Knicks.
The Knicks lost 10 of their 13 games from January 12 to February 3, and failed to get any noteworthy production out of mediocre point guards Toney Douglas, Iman Shumpert, and Mike Bibby. Coach Mike D’Antoni knew his job was on the line, so he decided to give Lin a chance to play on February 4 against the New Jersey Nets. Lin rose to the challenge, notching 25 points, seven assists, and five rebounds (each a career high). In 36 “Linutes” off the bench, he provided the spark that the Knicks had been looking for all season, propelled them to a victory, and proved that he deserved to start at point guard.
D’Antoni knew it. Lin started the first game of his career two days later against the Utah Jazz, scoring 28 points, dishing out eight assists, and again driving the Knicks to victory. After assembling his first career double-double against the Washington Wizards two days later and leading the Knicks to their third straight win, “Linsanity” was sweeping the NBA. The 89 points he had scored in his first three NBA starts were the most by any player in his first three starts since the NBA merged with the ABA in 1976.
With the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant coming to New York on the evening of Friday, February 10, most expected Lin to wilt under the pressure of “Lincreasing” national attention and prove to be just another one-week flash in the NBA pan. Alas, the critics were silenced when he outdueled Bryant, scoring 38 points and amassing seven assists to spur the Knicks to their fourth straight win. After that night, “Linsanity” became the talk of the internet and began to reverberate outside NBA circles. Three games later, the Knicks have won seven straight behind their new starting point guard, who only “Lintensified” the frenzy surrounding him when he hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to beat the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, February 14.
And frenzy is putting it lightly. He has drawn praise from everyone from Time and Sports Illustrated to Magic Johnson and even President Obama. But he is a polarizing figure, and some have attributed the media’s veneration of Lin to his Asian heritage. Boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr., no stranger to controversy, tweeted, “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.”
“Money” Mayweather might want to check his statistics again, though. No player—black, white, blue, or otherwise—has ever scored as many points in his first five NBA starts. Other critics of Lin point to his high number of mistakes; in his six starts, he has averaged a disconcerting six turnovers. While that criticism may be fair, most of these “Linconsiderate” detractors are nitpicking. He went from playing only once every three nights to being the starting point guard for the New York Knicks in just two games. He has only appeared in 45 NBA games, making him effectively a rookie, and he will “Linimize” his turnovers as he accrues more experience.
It’s unclear whether Lin will come back to Earth or continue his “Lintriguing” rise. Either way, his ascension from Harvard walk-on to starting point guard for the New York Knicks, despite numerous setbacks, should be a “Linspiration” to us all.