Jeremy Lin is a Taiwanese-American to plays withinside the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The basketball player gathered a lot of attention when he led the New York Knicks into a win in the 2011-12 season. His victory opened the doors for massive media and fans’ curiosity hence contributing towards the generation of the ‘Linsanity’ period.
The former Knicks player currently plays for the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Furthermore, he became the first Asian American ever to win a Championship title. He won with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
Lin is also famous in the Youtube world with his collaborations with YouTube sensations like Ryan Higa and KevJumba. Besides that, he also dropped a single with a fellow Asian American Rapper, MC Jin, on YouTube.
The point guard has faced many racial biases and issues in his journey to becoming a basketball sensation.
Nevertheless, the CBA player has had a pretty incredible basketball career. Because of the dedication and love for the game, he was also the recipient of the ‘Breakthrough Athlete of the Year‘ in the EPSY Awards.
Before getting into details about the player’s life, let’s look at some quick facts.
Quick Facts about Jeremy Lin
Full Name | Jeremy Shu-How Lin |
Birth Date | August 23, 1988 |
Birth Place | Torrance, California |
Nick Name | Linsanity, Lintasttic |
Religion | Christian |
Nationality | American |
Ethnicity | Taiwanese, Chinese |
Education | Harvard University |
Horoscope | Virgo |
Father’s Name | Gie-Ming Lin |
Mother’s Name | Shirley Lin |
Siblings | Two; Joseph Lin and Josh Lin |
Age | 33 Years Old |
Height | 6 ft 3 in |
Weight | 200 lb |
Hair Color | Black |
Eye Color | Brown |
Build | Athletic |
Profession | Basketball Player |
Current Team | Beijing Ducks |
Position | Point Guard |
Active Years | 2010-present |
Marital Status | Unmarried |
Girlfriend | None |
Children | None |
Net Worth | $36 million |
Social Media | Instagram, Twitter |
Merch | Jersey, T-Shirt, Trading Cards |
Last Update | May, 2022 |
Jeremy Lin | Early Life, Family, And Education
The former Warrior was born to Gie-Ming Lin and Shirley Lin, who were immigrants from Taiwan. He was born on August 23, 1988, and was brought up in a Christian family in Palo Alto, California.
His father, Gie-Ming, was the one who taught him and his two brothers to play basketball in the YMCA.
Furthermore, Lin’s mother formed a National junior basketball program, where he played and grew up to love the game. Despite facing criticism from other people for letting her sons play too much, she didn’t let it bother her and let her sons play.
Lin has two brothers, namely Joseph Lin and Josh Lin. His older brother, Josh, is a board-certified pediatric dentist who likes to play basketball in his free time, too, while his younger brother, Joseph, is a basketball player just like him who plays for the Fubon Braves.
The former NBA player completed his high school education at Palo Alto High School, where he was named first-team All-State and Northern California Division II Player of the Year.
He went on to Harvard University to further his education and graduated in Economics while maintaining a 3.1 GPA.
Jeremy Lin | Age, Height and Weight
The former Raptor weighs about 200lbs, which is about 91 kgs and is 6 feet 3 inches high. Lin recently celebrated his 32nd birthday on August 23, 2020.
Jeremy Lin | Basketball Career
College Career
Lin initially wanted to attend his dream schools like Stanford University and the University of California, Los Angeles.
But due to their lack of interest and no guarantee in providing him a spot in the team eventually made him choose Havard University.
Havard’s coach wasn’t very thrilled seeing him play, to begin with, but when he saw him play his best in a game, Lin soon became Havard’s top recruiter.
Moreover, they were afraid that his dream school, Stanford, might offer him a scholarship. Later on, UCLA and Standford both expressed their regrets about not recruiting such a fantastic point guard.
In his freshman year, the Taiwanese American player was physically the weakest in the team, but he went to be named to the All-Ivy League Second Team in his sophomore year.
During his junior year, he became even bigger and better by being the only player who ranked in the top ten in his conference in the NCAA Division I Men’s basketball.
While he was in his senior and last year at Havard, he became one of the 30 candidates nominated for the John R. Wooden Award.
The Ducks player got quite the attention when he scored his career-high 30 points and nine rebounds against the Connecticut Huskies.
Not to mention, he set a record left and right in Havard, and no wonder the school was lucky to have a hard-working player.
Professional Career
In the 2010 draft, to his dismay, none of the teams selected the Ducks player. Later on, he joined the Mavericks and was also invited by the general manager to play in the NBA Summer League.
After the summer league, he received offers from Dallas Mavericks, LA Lakers, and the Golden State Warriors.
Playing Career with the Golden State Warriors
The CBA player chose to play for his home team, the Warriors and signed a two-year deal with them. The Warriors held a press conference to welcome him into the group, which was unusual for an undrafted rookie.
Because of the extensive residency of Asian Americans in the Bay Area, he was given a warm welcome.
The 32-year-old soon became very appealing to the Asian community for representing their culture and heritage in the NBA. Likewise, he very much appreciated the love and appreciation of the people.
As a point guard, Lin received little time to shine as the team already had two leading point guards, namely Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis. However, he did make his debut on the Warriors’ Asian Heritage Night.
The player received a standing ovation from the audience as he was the first Taiwanese American to play in the NBA. Moreover, the Warriors considered Lin as a possible backup for the star point guard Curry.
Playing Career with the New York Knicks
During the off-season, Lin improved as a player by increasing his strength and healthy weight from 91 to 96 kg. Moreover, he put in the effort to make every change to improve himself. He was waived to the New York Knicks.
In the 2011-12 season, he started by playing in the D-League to be called three days later by the Knicks. As the team was playing terribly out of desperation, Coach Mike D’Antoni gave Lin a chance to show off his skill.
To their surprise, he helped the Knicks to recover from the losses and won against teams like Washington Wizards, LA Lakers.
Furthermore, Lin made a legendary game-winning three-pointer against the Toronto Raptors with less than a second remaining in the clock that set off the ‘Linsanity’ phenomena.
Knicks’s former coach D’Antonio, confirmed by former Knicks players, revealed in 2016 that some of them resented Lin for the ‘Linsanity’ period.
Playing Career with the Houston Rockets
Lin’s career with the Rockets was not a remarkable one. In the first place, he struggled to do well in the team and sat out games because of his injuries and back pain.
When he played against the Knicks and defeated them by 22 points and nine assists, he was booed.
However, he scored the highest of 65 points in two of the games, his season-high of 34 points and 11 assists, and nine three-pointers. Furthermore, he won in New York by scoring 21 points in the game.
Due to some injuries, he missed out on games but came back and helped defeat the Cavaliers. After the season, the CBA player was traded to the LA Lakers.
Playing Career with the Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers could not utilize Lin to his utmost potential. On top of that, he struggled to fit in as he and the coach had a different basketball playing approach. Jeremy had a difficult time adapting to the coach’s offense.
As a result of which the coach decided not to let him play and instead benched him. However, later on, he was returned to the starting lineup. He missed a few games as he suffered an upper respiratory infection.
Playing Career with the Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets, And Atlanta Hawks
The Californian signed a two-year, $4.3 million deal with the Hornets. He only played a season with them and had scored a season-high against Toronto.
On top of that, he was also voted for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award and finished in seventh place.
Hornets offered him to play again, but he declined and instead chose to become an unrestricted free agent. The basketball player then signed a three-year, $36 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets.
He played an injured season with the Nets, as a result of which he missed a lot of games. Lin was traded into Atlanta Hawks; however, he did not play a lot and was hired as a mentor for a fellow player.
Playing Career with the Toronto Raptors
The former Knicks player then signed with the Raptors in 2019. He struggled initially, and further, his injury contributed to limiting his abilities in the court.
When he won the championship title with the Toronto Raptors in the first NBA held outside the USA, he became the first Asian American to win the title. Furthermore, he also became the first Havard graduate to play in the NBA finals.
Afterward, he wasn’t signed to any other teams and expressed his grief towards it in a motivational speech. He shared that he felt like the NBA had given up hope for him.
Playing Career with the Beijing Ducks
In August of 2019, Lin reportedly signed a $3 million deal with the Ducks in the CBA League. The player had also offered to play in other places like the European League, Russia, Israel.
Moreover, he led his team to a win against Tianjin Gold Lions with 25 points and nine assists.
At the season’s end, he was the finalist for CBA Defensive Player of the Year and also was the starter in CBA All-Star Game. Lin has been a very appreciated player in the Ducks and CBA.
You can watch Jeremy Lin’s career statistics on the website of basketball-reference.
Highlights
You can watch Jeremy Lin’s basketball highlights:
Jeremy Lin – Dunk
Here is a video of Jeremy Lin’s dunk:
Jeremy Lin | Racism
The basketball player has been subjected to racial slurs and issues regarding his Asian heritage throughout his basketball career.
During his Havard career, he has been called names like ‘Wonton Soup,’ ‘Open Your Eyes,’ ‘Go Back To China’, and many more.
On top of that, many media and publications have used the ethnic slur ‘Chink’ to describe him. A well-known boxer tried to undermine his success in the ‘Linsanity’ Period saying the hype is sole because he’s Asian and not his hard work.
ESPN wrote an article under the headline ‘Chink in the Armor,’ which they apologized for after the Asian American community’s outcry. An editor in The Times even wrote that racial profiling might have led to his under recruitment in the NBA.
Jeremy Lin | The Linsanity Period
The Taiwanese American Player grew in popularity during the Linsanity period. The cultural phenomenon started when he made a three-pointer for the Knicks, leading them to a win with not even a second remaining in the game.
The former Knicks’ player’s jersey sales went up like no other’s and soon became the bestselling Knicks’ jersey. The popularity of the Madison Square Garden and, as a result, its market capitalization grew.
The audience for NBA games in China grew relatively larger too. He then became the first New York-based team athlete to appear on the consecutive Sports Illustrated cover.
Also, there were food and drinks in his name. On top of that, a documentary film titled ‘Linsanity’ was aired at several film festivals. Even Ben and Jerry ice-cream introduced the ‘Lin-Sanity’ flavor.
Jeremy Lin – Dreads
Lin explores a lot with his hairstyle. He changes it very often. He even went for dreads.
Lin was of the opinion that his dreads were a form of honoring African-American culture. He has witnessed his native Taiwanese culture appropriated in America and wanted to show respect to the place’s culture that gave him home.
Jeremy Lin – Love Life and Relationships
The former NBA player, as of 2020, is unmarried and not known to have been linked with anybody. While he was in the Knicks, he was rumored to have dated Kim Kardashian, which he has denied.
Reportedly a Taiwanese fan also shared that she and Lin are married, but the player was confused as he didn’t even know her.
Jeremy Lin | Net Worth And Salary
As of 2020, the player is worth $36 million and earns around $15 million.
He would’ve been worth more, but he declined many sponsorship and deals during the Linsanity period stating that his main objective is to play the game of basketball and that earning sales and money is secondary.
Despite that, he has endorsed brands like Volvo, Nike, Steiner, and Adidas during his entire career. His endorsement with Nike ended in 2014, and he currently supports Adidas.
Jeremy Lin | Social Media Presence
The former NBA player has almost 2 million followers on Instagram. He appears to be quite active and shares a lot of adorable pictures of his family and friends. Besides that, he also shares photos of his games and highlights.
The player also has around 2.5 million followers on Twitter. He appears to be relatively constant with his tweets and replies, and his followers like Stephen Curry and celebrities like Justin Bieber.
He has voiced his concern about the racism and importance of the BLM movement in America. On top of that, he also donated and raised money for charity.
Common Queries about Jeremy Lin
How many rings does Jeremy Lin have?
Jeremy Lin has one championship ring.
What nationality is Jeremy Lin?
Jeremy Lin is an American national. His parents were Taiwanese immigrants.
What did Jeremy lin major in at Harvard?
Jeremy Lin graduated from Harvard University in 2010. He has a major in economics. He scored 3.1 grade-point on average.