Jeremy Lin is the latest among NBA stars to rise from humble basketball roots, and funnel momentum to the New York Knicks basketball team. Humble referring to graduating from Harvard University, after playing without a scholarship, and then entering into the 2010 NBA draft, undrafted. According to People Magazine, Jeremy Lin is the first NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent in the NBA, and as of late, he has been receiving a lot of attention.
Jeremy Lin’s basketball career to date has been about a hard work ethic, and not giving up, despite being passed up and passed around without metaphorically being passed to.
Many may have glossed over Jeremy because he doesn’t typically perform extra-flashy moves, which now may lead some to believe that he is that elusive diamond in the ruff, not noticed until given a chance to play real minutes in games that really count, until now – playing his first four games with the New York Knicks, starting February 10, 2012. This came after scoring a triple double with the Eerie Bayhawks on Jan. 20, 2012 in the NBA D-League, and being recalled to the Knicks three days later.
Friday, February 10, 2012, was a big night for Jeremy Lin, after scoring a career-high of 38 points, and beating the Los Angeles Lakers 92-85. Kobe Bryant went on record to say this about Jeremy: “Players don’t come out of nowhere…If you go back and take a look, his skill level was probably there from the beginning but no one ever noticed.” Such words carry massive weight, coming from the NBA 4-time All-Star MVP winner.
Even New York Knicks coach, Mike D’Antoni is stunned by Jeremy’s excellent performance, saying: “I don’t know what to tell you…I have never seen this. What he’s doing is amazing.”
The Associated Press has even called Lin “the most surprising story in the NBA.” His amazing debut has re-energized the New York Knicks, and has even received tremendous support from Knicks fans, chanting “M-V-P” after the game, as appreciation for his incredible contribution in the past four wins against the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
By the time the NBA Playoffs come around, if anyone is attributed to the success of this Eastern Conference franchise, it deserves to be Jeremy Lin, the hard-working hero in the story of the New York Knicks.
Sources:
Schwartz, Alison. Jeremy Lin: Five Things to Know About NBA Star. People.com.
Wojnarowski, Adrian. Jeremy Lin: Even Kobe bows to his star power. Yahoo! Sports.