Even ten years after the big hype, Linsanity is still known to every NBA fan. A string of stellar performances for the New York Knicks made Jeremy Lin an instant global star in 2012. In an interview with SPOX he talks about the sudden rise and fall, dealing with the hustle and fans pushing boundaries.
In the 2010 draft, interest in the young Harvard graduate was still limited, Lin had to work out a chance in the G-League in the best basketball league in the world. He used that in the 2011/12 season in the Knicks jersey – and how!
After just 55 total minutes of action in the first 23 games of the season, Lin exploded on February 4, 2012 with 25 points against the New Jersey Nets. Promotion to starter followed, a crazy run with 18.5 points and 7.7 assists on average until the end of the season, Gamewinner and a worldwide hype.
But as his career progressed, the 33-year-old was no longer able to build on his successes in the Big Apple. After stints with the Rockets, Lakers, Hornets, Nets, Hawks and as a bench presser with the Raptors championship team, his NBA career ended in 2019. Lin then went to China, where he became an All-Star again in 2020.
As a global brand ambassador for LingoAce, the leading online language learning platform for Chinese and English, he is now also committed to better education and equal opportunities for children, among other things. Here the son of Taiwanese parents talks about his commitment, racism against the Asian American community and his career in the NBA.
Lin in Interview: “Incredible ending for the NBA chapter”
Mr. Lin, after the Suns were eliminated from the playoffs, you tweeted that you wished Chris Paul one more ring before he retired. You’re ahead of him in that regard. Do you sometimes pinch yourself when you see the ring?
Jeremy Lin: I’ve had a great journey, the championship crowned my career. My last game in the NBA was in the 2019 Finals with Toronto, that’s an amazing ending to this chapter. I actually have to pinch myself sometimes.
Has the ring found a place in the trophy cabinet or is it safely stored in the safe?
Lin: I keep it in a safe place, it’s difficult even for me to get to it. That’s why I don’t have it with me very often. Maybe once a year I’ll dig out the ring and look at it. Every time I think: “Wow!” I keep forgetting how big this thing is.
Jeremy Lin: “It was very difficult to process Linsanity”
You only played a small role on the Raptors championship team. Individually, you had your best years in the NBA with the New York Knicks. When you hear the name Jeremy Lin, everyone thinks of Linsanity. Ten years later, how do you think back to the crazy weeks of the 2011/12 season?
Lin: When Linsanity started, I didn’t like talking about it. To me, it felt like a ghost, like a giant shadow chasing me. Everyone had enormous expectations that I felt I couldn’t live up to. It was very difficult for me to process Linsanity at the time, even a few years later. Looking back today I am very grateful.
What led to this change?
Lin: The older I get, the more I realize: Linsanity wasn’t just about basketball. It was about something so much bigger. Even today, ten years later, what happened back then still plays a big role for many people. Fans still ask me about it. There’s even a new documentary about my 38-point game against the Lakers coming soon. I used to not even like the term Linsanity, but now I appreciate that a lot of people draw inspiration from it.
Is it true that you slept on teammate Landry Fields’ couch the night before your breakthrough because you didn’t have your own apartment yet?
Lin: Landry’s couch gets the most publicity, it’s easy to forget that I slept on my brother’s couch for six weeks. He had company that night, though, so I had to go to Landry’s for the night. And as luck would have it, my breakout game followed the next day.
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