Jeremy Lin has many links to the Los Angeles Lakers, past and present. Lake Show Life takes a look back at the six degrees of separation between Jeremy Lin and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Former Los Angeles Lakers point guard Jeremy Lin is officially out of the NBA now, signing with the Beijing Shougang Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. “Linsanity” is officially over when it comes to being attached to the NBA.
It actually ended sooner than that (More on that later!), but as long as Jeremy Lin has a huge cult following (Oh, he has many!), the residue of the good old days will always be there.
Coming back from a season-ending injury in Brooklyn last season, Jeremy Lin was traded to Atlanta for veteran leadership and to be a mentor to Trae Young. While Trae Young struggled early in the season, Lin held down the fort until Young caught on and gave Luka Doncic a run for NBA Rookie of the year.
Don’t think that Trae Young wasn’t appreciative. He showed it on Twitter when Jeremy Lin’s “rock bottom” speech went viral.
https://twitter.com/TheTraeYoung/status/1155512554678099974
But, by the time Trae Young figured out the NBA game, Lin was considered expendable and was bought out of his contract with the Hawks. That paved the way to the Toronto Raptors at the trade deadline.
Considering the Raptors went on to win the NBA title, most would think that this would be the highlight of Lin’s career. Well, it wasn’t.
Jeremy Lin was long since out of the rotation by the Eastern Conference Finals and was not a factor against the Warriors. It bothered him that some believed he didn’t deserve being the first Asian-American to win an NBA championship.
Playing only 27 minutes in the entire postseason and 1 minute in the Finals weighed on his mind too.
"“There were times I felt like I had to tell myself that I deserved a championship,” adding that as a competitor “who has played my whole life, I’m not used to not playing.” “I contributed to the team, I played 23 games in the regular season, I play against these guys all the time, whether it’s in workouts or whatever,” Lin said on the podcast. “Not only that, but even watching the game, talking to guys, giving my opinion, or being a voice ― I think that’s very, very valuable.”"
After the free agent market dried up, Jeremy Lin signed a deal to play in China with the Beijing Ducks. Classy as ever, Lin took to Twitter to thank the NBA and his fans for nine years of unwavering support.
Thanks to the NBA and everyone who's supported me the last 9 years! Will always cherish being able to rep Asians at the NBA level. Excited for the next step with the Beijing Ducks. Excited to make more history. Congrats lil bro on signing your contract extension on the same day! pic.twitter.com/gRoalAaoal
— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) August 27, 2019
Will Jeremy Lin be back in the NBA? Who knows? Plenty of NBA players have gone off to play in China and make it back in the league (J.R. Smith, Josh Smith are two that come to mind.), but Jeremy Lin will probably enjoy the success of Stephon Marbury, who left the league and became an icon.
Jeremy Lin played for a number of teams around the NBA, which included the Los Angeles Lakers for one season. But the NBA is smaller than fans think. Lake Show Life celebrates Jeremy Lin’s journey to China with the “Six Degrees of separation to the Lakers”.