First Of All, Who Is Jeremy Lin?
Jeremy Lin is a professional basketball player who came from Taiwanese and American descent. He was born on August 23rd of 1988 in California. His basketball career started in high school, where he consolidated himself as one of the best players on his junior varsity AND senior varsity basketball teams. He then went on to play for Harvard University’s basketball team, where he had an outstanding career. Therefore in 2010, Jeremy Lin made the bold decision to declare for the 2010 NBA draft.
His NBA Journey
Despite his incredible performance for his school teams, Jeremy Lin unfortunately went undrafted in 2010. He then signed as a free agent for the Golden State Warriors in the 2010-2011 season, where he then bounced around teams, until he finally found his place in the New York Knicks in the 2011-2012 season. For this season, Jeremy Lin’s role was nothing more than a benchwarmer. However, when some of the starters such as Iman Shumpert and Baron Davis were injured, Jeremy Lin was given a chance to start in the upcoming games.
Linsanity
Upon coming off the bench, Jeremy Lin blew away expectations, he shocked everyone by scoring huge numbers in a consecutive amount of games, one of these games included 38 points against Kobe Bryant on the Lakers, who was also nominated as the 12th best player in the league. This massive scoring streak led to the viral phenomenom “Linsanity“, which refers to the insane scoring nature of Jeremy Lin for this time period (get the play on words?). For the inspiring weeks in which Linsanity happened, Jeremy Lin averaged 22 points and 9 assists, for seven consecutive games! This marked Jeremy Lin as a global icon, especially for Asian-American communities.
The Downfall
Although Linsanity was great, all good things must come to an end, and during the peak of Jeremy Lin’s prime, he suffered a knee injury which took him out for the rest of the year. The New York Knicks then decided to sign him away to the Houston Rockets, which shocked many fans as Jeremy Lin was a pivotal piece in thier team. After signing to Houston in 2012, things never felt the same for Jeremy Lin. He was getting less playing time and was being overshadowed by better performers, such as the Houston star, James Harden who was averaging 26 points and 6 assists.
What About Now?
After being traded around some more, Jeremy Lin decided to stop playing in the NBA and play overseas for Taiwan, where he is currently playing for the New TaiPei Kings. He has not officially retired from basketball yet, but in many interviews he has hinted at this idea.
His Legacy
Although his prime was short lived, Jeremy Lin captured the worlds attention and broke lots of barriers for Asian-American athletes. His legacy and career can serve to remind us that it doesn’t matter how long you do something for, it matters how well you do it.
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