Jeremy Lin: The NBA’s Great Tragedy by Spencer Young
How an inspiring figure for Asian-Americans around the world went from “Linsanity” to “Rock Bottom”https://t.co/hLQawuOqHg— LakerTom (@LakerTom) October 29, 2021
STANDING IN FRONT a large audience in Taiwan, Jeremy Lin began to break down. While in tears, despite the cheers from his many fans in the audience, Lin admitted “Man it’s hard. Life is hard.”
“In English, there’s a saying, and it says, ‘Once you’ve hit rock bottom, the only way is up,’”he continued. “But, rock bottom just seems to keep getting more and more rock bottom for me. So free agency has been tough, because I feel like in some ways the NBA’s kind of given up on me.”
Lin, who won a championship after joining the Toronto Raptors midseason, admitted that the championship brought little if any satisfaction to him.
In his speech, titled, “The Waiting Game,” Lin explained, “After the season I had to get ready for this Asia trip and it was the last thing I wanted to do. Because I knew for six weeks I would have to just put on a smile. I would have to talk about a championship that I don’t feel like I really earned. I would have to talk about a future I don’t know if I want to have. And honestly, it’s just embarrassing. It’s tough.”
He further elaborated on his thoughts, saying, “If I have a son, I don’t want him to make the NBA. You don’t have to deal with fame, you don’t have to deal with living your life and having all of your failures on display to the entire world.”
His comments sparked a debate in the sports world. Why was it that Lin, with career earnings of over $50 million and a degree in economics from Harvard, complaining about the life he leads?
The answer lies in the tragedy of his basketball career.
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NOBODY KNEW WHAT to expect when Jeremy Lin checked in with 3:35 left in the first quarter in a game featuring the Knicks and the New Jersey Nets. But, starting with his first basket on an aggressive drive to the basket to begin the second quarter, Lin took over the game.
Repeatedly, he ran screen and rolls, probing around the defense to find openings in the New Jersey defense. This aggressiveness led to many lob passes being thrown by Lin, who connected with teammates Tyson Chandler and Jared Jeffries for many baskets. Defensively, Lin was decisive, earning his first steal of the game just minutes after checking in; later, he stripped the ball from All-Star guard Deron Williams.
Heading into halftime, legendary commentator Mike Breen remarked that the game was “The Jeremy Lin Show.”
During their halftime intermission, Carmelo Anthony reportedly asked D’Antoni to give more minutes to Lin in the second half. And, after checking into the game midway through the third quarter, it was Lin who once again provided a spark, scoring seven points on an array of forays to the basket. Despite Breen noting that Lin looked “absolutely spent,” Lin received no rest for the rest of the game, playing out the remainder of the fourth quarter.
The results? 25 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, all new career-highs for Lin, and a 99–92 New York victory. With Anthony and his co-star, Amar’e Stoudamire, missing for an extended time, Lin was the new star for the Knicks, and D’Antoni intended to ride Lin’s success “like freakin’ Secretariat,” referencing an infamous racehorse.
And, while riding Lin’s success, the Knicks improbably embarked on a seven-game winning streak.
Among this unprecedented breakout for Lin, which infamously became known as “Linsanity,” included 23 points and 10 assists against John Wall, a former #1 overall pick, 20 points, 8 assists, and a game-winning free throw against Minnesota, and the Eastern Conference Player of the Week being awarded to Lin, who averaged 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals.
Despite Lin’s name dominating both basketball media and the sports world, Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant claimed he “didn’t even know what he [Lin] had done.” But, a career-high 38 points, 7 assists, and a triumphant 92–85 victory over Bryant’s Lakers quickly brought the hype around “Linsanity” to an all-time high, while proving the validity of Lin’s abilities. After the game, Bryant called Lin a “phenomenal” player who played “extremely well.”
In the coming days, Lin tore apart the defense of the reigning NBA champions, the Dallas Mavericks. Though the Mavericks assigned Shawn Marion, who is revered for his defensive abilities, to defend Lin, the Knicks’ ascending guard finished with 28 points, 14 assists, and five steals.
Five days earlier, the most iconic moment of Linsanity occurred. With the score knotted at 87-all against the Toronto Raptors, Lin, who had 27 points and 11 assists, dribbled down the clock. With the smaller Jose Calderon guarding him, Lin calmly pulled an off-the-dribble three — and he nailed it, bringing Toronto’s Air Canada Center to its feet and winning the game, going away.
After his heroic performance, including averaging 22.5 points and 8.7 assists per game before the All-Star break, Lin was named to the Rising Stars roster during All-Star Weekend — with his unprecedented success remaining as a first in NBA history.
Years later, in a section of The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis, Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey admitted his bias clouded his vision when it came to Lin.
“He [Lin] lit up our model,” Morey said. “Our model said take him with, like, the 15th pick in the draft.” However, the consensus among scouts was in stark contrast to Morey’s analytical, objective data, as Lin was supposedly a smart but un-athletic player, a label based on the stereotypes of Asian-American athletes in the sports industry.
In the following years, Morey and his analytics team measured the speed of the first two steps of NBA players. This ability to quickly speed up or change directions is a defining quality of a strong athlete — and, from Morey’s findings, Lin had the fastest first two steps in the NBA.
“He’s incredibly athletic,” Morey later said. “But the reality is that every f***ing person, including me, thought he was un-athletic. And I can’t think of any reason for it other than he was Asian.”
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And in the offseason, Lin was left with no offers, with the NBA seemingly giving up on him.
This is why Lin cried on stage in Taiwan. He didn’t cry because he sought another large contract, or he wanted to gain more fanfare than he already had, as some suggested.
No, Lin cried because he, as a little kid with big dreams from Palo Alto, watched as players spited his success, referees “swallowed their whistles” for him (a phrase meaning referees refusing to call fouls), and injuries ended any chance of him regaining the chance to fulfill the potential that made him an international superstar in the first place.
It is telling that Lin, who likely inspired more Asians and Asian-Americans in during his NBA career than any other player, save for Yao Ming, hopes that any child of his avoids the sport altogether. In other words, the potential to become a global icon doesn’t outweigh the pain caused by the bigotry and prejudice in the sports world.
Mark Twain, the famous American author, coined the infamous phrase, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” But at age-30, Lin has no more fight left to give. His athleticism is hampered by his hamstring and knee injuries, and his spirit is drained by having to put on a brave face for the millions of people he inspires.
This is Jeremy Lin’s story, and this is how a superstar athlete goes from dominating the sports world to being at “rock bottom.”
This is just a fabulous article by dear friend of the site Spencer Young for Basketball University. I excerpted key parts of the article but if you’re not following Spencer and the great work he does on Basketball University, you’re missing out on some great writing and reporting.
Thank you for writing this article as it touched on the struggle that so many Asian-American basketball players encounter trying to chase their hoop dreams in a racist America. It’s truly heartbreaking to hear how Jeremy’s career has reached a point where he now hopes Asian kids won’t chase the NBA dream he chased.
As a half-Chinese baller, I fell in love with Jeremy Lin and was a proud rider of the Linsanity roller coaster throughout his career. He was the basketball version of Bruce Lee for me and thousands of Asian kids who’ve struggled to get respect on the hardwood. Finally, seeing a Chinese-American kid playing in the NBA!
As a kid who’d been knocked down and brutalized on asphalt courts across Southern California and New York City, trying to prove I belonged, I understand exactly what Jeremy went through. Every Asian baller I know understands the rite of passage and challenge you have to endure at every new court you step upon. Keeping your cool when you’re smashed to the ground after taking a jumper or fouled mercilessly when driving into the paint, much of it racially directed.
I hope in time, Jeremy will realize how much he meant to other Asian hoopers and will assume a different take on his career. He was and will be an inspiration for every Asian or part Asian kid who wants to be a baller and dreams of someday making his high school varsity team or playing in college or even making it to the NBA. Thank you, Jeremy Lin. I will forever be in your debt and a loyal fan.
I always pulled for Jeremy Lin and it sounds like his current self is being very had on his past accomplishments. I think that eventually he’ll see how positive his imp-act was and if you look at the landscape of the NBA it’s littered with similar stories: Lin, Isaiah Thomas, Stephon Marbury, Brandon Roy, Greg Oden and even for a time our own Carmelo Anthony. All had careers cut short by unfortunate circumstances. In some ways his story is actually quite common
Where I think Lin has taken an undue amount of heat is from his heritage. Hearing him being called Wuhan or COVID ought to make anyone with a shred of decency angry. There is no place for that in a modern society and it’s unfortunate how tenaciously ours tries to remain rooted in a hurtful and self-destructive past.
Lin may have a future as a development coach or assistant. Keep pushing, never give up and never surrender. You done good, Jeremy, and you certainly deserve that championship ring, my man.