Before the main stream media Linfestation after Lin shut up Kobe, the impressive Lin stat I was going to give you was that he’s the first player since LeBron James in 2003 to average 20+ points and 8+ assists in his first two NBA starts. Now, that stat is that no player in the NBA has scored more points in his first three starts since the NBA/ABA merger. Let’s rewind a bit though, before Lin had outdueled and upstaged Kobe, passed MJ, LeBron, Shaq, and everyone else in the modern NBA in terms of a scoring start to career, and had completed the fast path to icon status in only a week.
The Lincredible Journey to Stardom
It’s an understatement to say that Jeremy Lin doesn’t have the classic formula for a basketball upbringing. Lin was born the son of two 5’6 Taiwanese immigrants and raised in the fairly wealthy suburb of Palo Alto, CA just across the street from Stanford. Sounds like possibly the right upbringing environment for a nuclear physicist or Google executive, but certainly not the best fit for basketball success.
The Harvard Hurricane’s Linspirational story is the complete opposite of that of the last Asian player to have a serious impact in the NBA, Yao Ming. In case you were unaware, Yao Ming is the closest thing to an engineered basketball superstar that the Chinese could conjure up. He was twice the size of a normal baby at birth, and his parents were 6’7 and 6’3, as well as the two best basketball players in China. He was raised to be a basketball star, and he successfully became one in the NBA until his tragic foot injuries.
No, Jeremy Lin is different. He’s excelled on the court at every level, but every step of the way he’s been doubted and told he couldn’t play. His dad had a passion for basketball that he shared with his kids, playing with them as often as he could at the local Palo Alto YMCA. Jeremy luckily missed out on the short gene from his parents and kept growing into his solid 6’3 200 pound point guard frame, developing a reputation as one of the best high school players in all of California with his leadership for Palo Alto High School.
Fast forward to the California Division II State Baskeball Finals in 2006, where Lin’s undermanned and undersized Palo Alto High School team is supposed to have its surprise run to the state title stopped playing perennial powerhouse Mater Dei, a team featuring Taylor King, who is the 3rd all time leading scorer in California high school basketball history, as well as Travis Wear and David Wear, two skilled 6’10 twins who currently play at UCLA. Mater Dei was undefeated in California, but Lin somehow willed Paly to the championship upset.
Still, Lin received no interest from his choice school, UCLA, or even the local choice, Stanford, who showed only a “fake interest” in Lin. The future star was treated like a mere Taiwanese trinket and ended up going to Harvard without a basketball scholarship, even though he had just proven he was as good as any player in the state.
Despite excelling in college, the high-brow hooper was undrafted after struggling to distinguish himself without 5-on-5 drills in workouts. He caught some attention though after outplaying John Wall in the #1 overall pick’s first preseason game, and the Warriors, Mavericks, and Lakers (!) made offers. Lin chose to play for Golden State, his hometown dream team. I’ll just say that if the Lakers had him, they would be legitimate title contenders. I guess you Lin some you lose some.
The Cambridge Commander’s year with the Warriors and the D-League was underwhelming, but he did establish a cult following of Asian Americans rooting for the best Asian-American basketball hope since Robert Swift.
Fast forward again to now. Less than a month after playing in the NBDL, Lin’s cult following has exploded, building off a combination of Asian pride and citywide enthusiasm in New York that Lin is taking in after the Giants’ Super Bowl victory. Spike Lee is gawking so much in the stands he might have to roll up a joint movie to tell the most Lincredible story in recent NBA history (Linvictus?). Since stepping into a starting role for the Knicks after their two “bona fide superstars” were forced to miss time, the Knicks have played as well as ever, winning their last 4 games to get back into the playoff mix under Lin’s lead. The Lin Dynasty has begun in New York.
Why this level of Linsanity though? The Chinese have already bought TV rights so they can air Lin’s games to his fan base overseas. In only his second career start, Lin was hearing MVP chants in Madison Square Garden against the Jazz. Those chants only got louder Friday night against Kobe and the Lakers, as Lin absolutely humiliated Kobe. He lived out every every Asian-American’s basketball player’s dream of all dreams, to be cast aside by Kobe and then shove it in his face by outplaying him head-to-head on the court.
"Asian-American basketball player" is a term not often heard in the NBA, strangely, and it is a term that Jeremy would probably rather cast aside, considering how much disrespect it’s caused him at every level of evaluation as a player. What Jeremy Lin is doing is acting as a long overdue hero for a fan base that needed one. Asian-Americans are visible on just about any pickup basketball court, and even though they aren’t the typical kind of athletes you see in the NBA, they know the game. Asian ballers seem to be stereotyped as undersized, quick, almost ninja-like ball handlers, who play with a determined focus. Those types of players certainly exist (and they can be dominant at the pickup level), but there are just as many Asian Americans who are pure shooters, crafty big men, lockdown defenders, lazy defenders, and everything in between. So to say Lin plays “Asian” is unfair, to him and to the legions of skilled Asian-American ballers nationwide.
The True Way of the Linja
This is how Jeremy Lin actually plays, and these are his qualities that should allow him to continue to succeed. He has a versatile offensive skill set with more deadly weapons in than the Linja turtles. Lin has great size for a point guard, and he uses his body well to protect the ball. He’s good at being aggressive and maintaining his dribble with his body control. He has a sick hesitation dribble that he uses frequently to get his defenders off balance. Lin is fairly quick and decently athletic, but he's far from being a Wade or Rose type athlete. He makes up for his lack of athleticism with his strength and solid finishing ability though.
He is an infectious leader, and he understands how to use his teammates’ skills properly. It’s as much his attitude has anything that has so quickly endeared him to fans. Mike D’Antoni is the most thankful Lin supporter out there, as Lin's saved D'Antoni's job by proving that the ex-coach of the year remains a point guard instructor extraordinaire. No offense in the NBA would fit Lin better, and Lin couldn’t ask for a better coach/team situation now. Lin has been great at running the pick and roll in D’Antoni’s offense with Tyson Chandler, and he’ll find only another capable pick and roll partner in Amare Stoudemire once he returns. I’m glad Lin also understands that Steve Novak is a 6’10 shooting machine (98% FT in college!) who is an automatic 3 points if given time and space behind the arc . He understands the niches of every one of his teammates’ games, and all of them are playing better after Jeremy’s Linsertion into the Knicks’ lineup.
What really is Lin's ultimate skill that endears him to fans and teammates is his modesty about all his recent success, the genuine smile on his face as he achieves his lifelong dream of basketball stardom, how he always points the focus away from himself towards other players in interviews. Basically he has the Tim Tebow trait.
Lin Tebow
The Fake ESPN dubbed Jeremy Lin the Official Asian Tim Tebow, and it’s hard to dispute that the two breakout athletes have some uncanny similarities.
Both are devout Christians. Tebow is practically the son of the Lord, and Lin is a lifelong Christian who one day hopes to be a pastor.
Both achieved academic success at prestigious universities, Jeremy Lin getting a 3.1 GPA at Harvard, and Tebow outdoing him with a 3.6 at the University of Florida.
Both have a Lintrospective quality where they are self aware of their game and their limitations, which should aid them as they improve upon their flaws and work hard throughout their careers. What does Lin think of his game? He compares it to Goran Dragic’s, which when I think about it is the perfect comparison. Both players are 6’3 scorers who use crafty dribbling, euro steps, and creativity in the paint. Spot on comparison by Lin that no analyst could top.
Both have been doubted due to unfair racial stereotypes. Tebow suffers being a white quarterback in a fullback's body with questionable throwing ability who relies on his running to create the offense. Lin suffers from being judged as inferior in skill to his counterparts just because he doesn’t look the part of NBA superstar when that is what he is.
And that’s where the similarities end between Tebow and Lin. Jeremy Lin is the real deal. He has had undisputable success on his team and individually on the basketball court. Tebow’s run as a starter and into the AFC divisional round was anything but indisputable. Tebow’s skillset is undeniably inferior to most quarterbacks, and much of the Broncos’ success was due to other players stepping up to keep the game in reach for the first 3 quarters of Tebow suckage. Well, Lin should face no such controversy.
The Taiwanese Taskmaster’s midrange jumper is money, his crossovers are unique and consistently manage him to get penetration, he’s great at drawing contact and finishing strong with his deceptively strong frame, and mostly he has an uncanny feel for the game in 5 with his ability to set the pace and control the game. There's no lack of skill or performance in this case. Sure, his numbers now are a bit Linflated due to the hype and the lack of quality point guards he’s had to go up against (John Wall, Devin Harris, Deron Williams, Derek Fisher), but it’s hard to write off his run as a fluke.
The only thing stopping the Harvard Hurricane from further entrenching himself in history is Linjury and the increased burden of heavy minutes. He has set himself up well for this current media storm, making his presence felt on the Linternet on Twitter and YouTube. Lin is friends with the #2 and #10 most subscribed users of all time, Nigahiga and Kevjumba, and by appearing in their videos that are seen by tens of millions, he’s only expanded his legend
For now though, Jeremy Lin remains humbled. He returns to the life the Lincognito life in New York, crashing on his brother’s sofa where he’s been sleeping the last few nights. The NBA will be hard-pressed though to put Linsanity to bed, as the young star’s dream appears to have no end in sight.
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