Jeremy Lin Discusses Racism, Being 1st Asian American Player to Win NBA Championship

Professional basketball player Jeremy Lin appeared on the All the Smoke podcast with ex-NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson and discussed many different topics over an in-depth, wide-ranging interview that lasted over an hour-and-a-half.

Lin notably discussed his own personal experiences with racism, the importance of dialogue and empathy to combat hate, different phases of his basketball career and much more.

The former Harvard star was notably asked about being called "coronavirus" by a G League player during this past season. The guard publicized the incident but did not reveal the player's name, and he mentioned why he chose against doing so to Barnes and Jackson.

The point guard specifically pointed out the racism he said that ex-NBA player Kenyon Martin still experiences after he commented in 2017 that Lin wanted to "be black" (among other comments) after he wore dreadlocks.

Lin said that he wanted to go a "different route" in order for the unnamed G League player to avoid similar racist backlash:

"If we're upset about certain racist things happening, what are we going to do, turn around and be racist? Like, that just doesn't make sense. It doesn't matter what race you are, that's not solving the issue. So the whole point is about building awareness, and then building up, and learning how we can heal and go in the right direction."

As for the conversation with the player, Lin said they had a "great" talk. The player said he was unaware of the increase in hatred that Asian Americans had experienced due to being in the G League bubble and shutting off from the outside world as he concentrated on making the NBA.

The player also apologized, and Lin closed the topic as follows: "That was real, right? And we really got to each other and we really learned from each other and our perspectives change and that's why I went that route."

Lin was also asked about his experiences on the recent world champion Toronto Raptors and what that meant. The Bay Area native spoke about the bittersweet time:

"On one hand, it was so heavy, like, 'Dude you made history, first Asian American ever to win a championship'...there was a weight of...what that moment meant.

"I had gone through Linsanity, so at that time I was trying to really embrace and soak everything in because a lot of times when you accomplish stuff you don't realize what you did."

Lin then referenced Barnes and Jackson and their time on the "We Believe" 2006-07 Golden State Warriors, which upset the heavily favored (and NBA title favorite) Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs, noting that their impact on the Bay Area community may not have been realized until later.

However, Lin also noted that it was hard for him, as he only played for the Raptors briefly before being left out of the team's rotation. The guard mentioned that his injury-plagued years with the Nets, which included a season-ending ruptured patellar tendon on the opening night of the 2017-18 campaign, had some "real effects" on him.

That was coupled with what he termed a "downward" movement in his career when he started losing playing time (and fans and endorsements) in the mid-2010s and that he "started to see the cracks in the foundation" when he was in Toronto, noting how much it weighed him down.

The 33-year-old Lin is trying to break back in the NBA after a successful G League stint that saw him average 19.8 points on 50.5 percent shooting (42.6 percent from three-point range), 6.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds.

Lin didn't get a call-up before the regular season, and he expressed his disappointment that opportunities failed to arrive. However, he also noted his blessings, said that he has "no regrets" and is able to keep his head up high.

Lin is still making a tremendous impact off the court, though. He has done plenty of work trying to build awareness, specifically in regards to combating the significant increase in hatred and violence that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have experienced amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as noted by Stop AAPI Hate.

He notably spoke out in a video essay with Bleacher Report:

Jeremy Lin Speaks Out to #StopAsianHate

02:16

Lin played in the NBA from 2010-2019 before suiting up for the CBA's Beijing Ducks in 2019-20 and the G League's Santa Cruz Warriors this year.

His NBA career is best known for his dominant stretch of games during the 2011-12 New York Knicks, creating the "Linsanity" phenomenon that made him an overnight celebrity.