How the NBA Failed Jeremy Lin
Contents
How the NBA Failed Jeremy Lin – The New York Times
The NBA’s Mistakes
The NBA’s Lack of Vision
It’s no secret that the NBA has been slow to catch on to Jeremy Lin’s talents. He was undrafted out of college and spent most of his first two seasons riding the bench for the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets. Even when he did get a chance to play, it was usually in limited minutes and at the end of blowouts.
But everything changed when Lin was given a chance to start for the New York Knicks in February 2012. He took the basketball world by storm, averaging 22.5 points and 8.7 assists per game in his first 10 starts. He was especially dominant in big games, putting up 27 points and 11 assists against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, 28 points and 14 assists against Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls, and 38 points and 7 assists against Rajon Rondo and the Boston Celtics. For a brief period of time, “Linsanity” was taking over New York City.
Unfortunately, just as Lin was hitting his stride, he suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Knicks went on to win their first playoff series in 13 years without him, but they were eventually eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in the second round.
While Lin recovered from his injury, the Knicks made a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks for point guard Tyson Chandler. They also used their amnesty clause on former All-Star power forward Amar’e Stoudemire, effectively ending any hope of Lin playing a significant role on the team going forward.
With Chandler manning the starting point guard spot and Stoudemire serving as his backup, Lin became expendable in New York’s eyes. They declined to match the Houston Rockets’ $28 million offer sheet for him in restricted free agency, making him a member of their archrival instead.
In Houston, Lin has flourished alongside fellow young stars James Harden and Chandler Parsons. The Rockets have quickly developed into one of the best teams in the Western Conference, thanks in large part to Lin’s playmaking ability at the point guard position. He is currently averaging 12.5 points and 6 assists per game while shooting 47 percent from three-point range.
The Knicks, on the other hand, are mired near the bottom of the standings with little hope for immediate improvement. They have wasted two years of Carmelo Anthony’s prime by surrounding him with mediocre talent, bad contracts, and poor coaching. And it all could have been avoided if they had simply had vision enough to see what Jeremy Lin could become.
The NBA’s Inability to Adapt
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional men’s basketball league in North America, composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). It is widely considered to be the premier men’s professional basketball league in the world.
However, the NBA has been unable to adapt to one of its newest and most popular players, Jeremy Lin.
Lin is an Asian American player who initially went undrafted out of Harvard University. He then had a very brief stint with his hometown Golden State Warriors before being waived. After being claimed by the Houston Rockets, he was again waived and picked up by the New York Knicks.
It was with the Knicks that Lin truly became a household name. In February 2012, he led the Knicks on a seven-game winning streak, during which he averaged 27 points and 8 assists per game. However, just as quickly as he had risen to prominence, Lin was sidelined with an injury and then relegated to the bench once he recovered.
Despite his success on the court, Lin has been largely ignored by the NBA marketing machine. He has been left off of All-Star ballots and was only recently given his own signature line of Nike shoes – well after players like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant all had theirs.
It’s clear that the NBA has failed to capitalize on Jeremy Lin’s popularity. In a league that is becoming increasingly globalized, they are missing out on a golden opportunity to connect with Asian American fans – one of the fastest growing demographics in the United States.
Jeremy Lin’s Success
The NBA failed Jeremy Lin. He was never given a chance to truly succeed in the league. He was always relegated to a bench role, and when he was given an opportunity to start, he was never given the proper resources to succeed. The NBA failed Jeremy Lin because they didn’t give him a chance to be great.
Jeremy Lin’s Humble Beginnings
Jeremy Lin is a professional basketball player who has played for numerous teams in the NBA. He is currently a free agent. Lin is of Taiwanese and Chinese descent, and he is the first American of Asian descent to play in the NBA.
Lin was born in Los Angeles, California, on August 23, 1988. His parents, Shirley and Gie-Ming Lin, are immigrants from Taiwan. Shirley came to the United States in 1978 to study nursing, and Gie-Ming followed two years later. They met while attending University of California, Berkeley. Jeremy has an older brother named Josh and a younger brother named Joseph.
Lin was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and he attended Palo Alto High School. He was not highly recruited out of high school and he was not offered any athletic scholarships to attend college. Lin instead opted to attend Harvard University, where he played basketball for the Crimson.
Jeremy Lin’s Unprecedented Rise to Stardom
In 2012, Jeremy Lin came out of nowhere to capture the nation’s attention. A Harvard graduate, Lin was undrafted and had been waived twice by NBA teams before catching on with the New York Knicks. He quickly became a sensation, leading the Knicks to a winning streak and creating a global phenomenon known as “Linsanity.”
Lin’s story is an inspirational one, but it’s also one that highlights the shortcomings of the NBA. Despite his obvious talent, Lin was repeatedly overlooked and underestimated by NBA teams. It wasn’t until he got his chance with the Knicks that he was finally able to show what he could do.
The NBA has long been criticized for its lack of diversity, and Lin’s story is a prime example of that. There are plenty of talented players who never get their chance to shine because they don’t fit the mold of what an NBA player is “supposed” to look like. Jeremy Lin is proof that the NBA needs to do a better job of finding and developing talent, regardless of race or ethnicity.
The Fallout
The NBA’s treatment of Jeremy Lin is a failure on many levels. It’s a failure of the system, it’s a failure of player development, and it’s a failure of race relations. The fallout from this failure is still being felt today, and it’s holding back the NBA from being the truly global sport it should be.
The NBA’s Loss of Jeremy Lin
In the 2012-2013 season, Jeremy Lin was one of the most talked about players in the NBA. He had come out of nowhere to lead the New York Knicks to a winning record and was being hailed as the savior of the franchise. Then, just as suddenly, he was gone. Lin’s story is a cautionary tale about the NBA’s treatment of Asian-American players.
Lin was born in Los Angeles to Taiwanese immigrants. He played basketball at Palo Alto High School and then at Harvard University, but he went undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft. He spent time with a number of different teams before finally landing with the Knicks in 2012.
Lin burst onto the scene in February of 2012, averaging 20 points and 8 assists per game while leading the Knicks to a 7-3 record. He quickly became a sensation, with fans flocking to Madison Square Garden to see “Linsanity” live. However, just as quickly as he had risen to stardom, Lin fell out of favor with the Knicks organization.
The Knicks began to phase Lin out of the offense, preferring veteran players like Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire. At the end of the season, they declined to match an offer sheet from the Houston Rockets, making Lin a free agent.
Since leaving the Knicks, Lin has had a rocky career journeymanning around the league without ever regaining the success he found in New York. Some have speculated that racism played a role in his fall from grace; after all, Asian-Americans are vastly underrepresented in both coaching and executive positions across the league. Whatever the reason, Jeremy Lin’s story is a cautionary tale about how quickly success can turn to failure in the NBA.
Jeremy Lin’s Departure from the NBA
It’s been five years since Jeremy Lin burst onto the scene with the New York Knicks, and his career has been a roller coaster ride ever since. From his unlikely ascent to NBA stardom, to his struggles with injuries and inconsistency, to his current role as a backup point guard for the Charlotte Hornets, Lin has had an eventful few years in the league. But despite all of his ups and downs, one thing has remained constant: Jeremy Lin is one of the most popular players in the NBA.
Lin’s popularity is due in large part to his unique story. He was an undrafted player out of Harvard who became an overnight sensation with the Knicks in 2012. His success on the court was matched by his endearing persona off of it, and he quickly became a global icon. In many ways, he was the perfect ambassador for the NBA.
Butlin’s time in the spotlight was short-lived. Just as quickly as he rose to prominence, he fell out of favor with the Knicks and was unceremoniously dumped by the team after just one season. He bounced around from Houston to Los Angeles to Charlotte over the next few years, never regaining the form that made him an All-Star in 2012.
Now, at age 29, Lin is facing an uncertain future in the NBA. He’s fighting for minutes on a Hornets team that doesn’t seem particularly interested in playing him, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll be back in the league next season. It’s a far cry from where he was just five years ago, when he was one of the most electrifying players in basketball.
So what happened? How did Jeremy Lin go from international icon to fringe NBA player? There are a number of factors that have contributed to Lin’s decline, but perhaps the biggest one is that he simply isn’t very good anymore.