The Legacy of Linsanity: 10 Years Later
Editorial illustration for The Ringer by Jarett Sitter
By: Daniel Chin
Source: The Ringer
For a couple of weeks in February 2012, Jeremy Lin was considered a superhero. Long before Shang-Chi would arrive in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Lin was the rare Asian American who broke barriers, performed incredible physical feats, and inspired audiences while wearing a costume—and you didn’t need to visit a movie theater and travel to another world to witness his work. All you had to do was tune into a TV or purchase a ticket to see the New York Knicks play at Madison Square Garden—if you could get your hands on one, that is—and watch as an undrafted point guard from Harvard University torched the opposition on a nightly basis.
If you were watching the NBA that season—hell, even if you weren’t—you probably remember some of the basic plot points and highlights of Lin’s ascent from relative anonymity to global superstardom. After being overlooked in the 2010 NBA draft, Lin flipped a strong summer league performance with the Dallas Mavericks into a two-year contract with the Golden State Warriors (with the second year non-guaranteed), and an opportunity to play for his hometown team in front of his friends and family.
