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Jeremy Lin: I 'More Than Proved' I'm an NBA Player with G League Performance
May 12, 2021
Former NBA player Jeremy Lin told jeremylin.net in an exclusive interview (h/t Jonathan White of the South China Morning Post) that he believes he "more than proved" that he's still capable of playing in the NBA based off his recent G League performance.
Lin explained that he believes his talent was on display and he showed himself still capable of competing in the Association:
"And so in my current situation, where I feel I’m still being asked to prove myself, it's very public knowledge what I did in the G league. I more than proved that I was a top player–that I'm an NBA player–and that I could do things that people didn't know I could do. And that is very obvious unless you're blind or you just don't want to see it. And so I think from my standpoint it's like 'Hey, of the top 11 [in scoring], I was seventh.'
"Everyone else has a contract. Of the top four in assists, I was fourth but everybody in front of me has one. If you look at efficiency or just being on the second best defensive team with the second best defensive rating and having to guard positions one through four, everything is all there for everybody to see. And so that, for me, is something that I do think should be talked about or needs to be talked about as to why I'm still fighting some of these uphill climbs, and why I'm still fighting certain stigmas.
White noted the fan site spoke with Lin on April 19, and the interview was made public this week.
The guard was seventh in the G League regular season in scoring with 19.8 points on 50.5 percent shooting (42.6 percent from three-point range) per game for the Santa Cruz Warriors. Lin also added 6.4 assists per game.
Lin's remarks came after being was asked about an Instagram story he recently posted. In that story, Lin mentioned that he was the only top-10 G League scorer who had not signed with an NBA team.
The ex-New York Knicks star was also asked about how he balances speaking out against the racism and hatred experienced by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with taking time to "ruminate and absorb the situation."
"That's a great question," Lin said. "I think, for me, in general, my guiding principle has always been to just pray about it. I'm actually a really emotional person. I like to jump to conclusions. I like to problem solve, and do things like that. And so, sometimes I have to be stopped from myself. So I try to always pray before I make any rash decision."
Lin notably revealed in February that a G League player called him "coronavirus" while the two were on the basketball court during a game. He mentioned that news amid speaking out against the stark increase in hate crimes and violence against Asian American and Pacific Islanders, as reported by Stop AAPI Hate.
Lin played in the NBA from 2010-2019, posting 11.6 points and 4.3 assists per night. He spent the 2019-20 season with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association, averaging 22.3 points per game.
The 32-year-old is best known for his torrid stretch for the 2011-12 Knicks, when he became an international superstar while averaging 25.0 points per game (including 38 against the Los Angeles Lakers) during a nine-matchup span in February 2012.
Linsanity was born during that stretch, and the former Harvard star was able to catapult himself to a successful NBA career that he's looking to jumpstart and continue.