Explanation of Why New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin Is NBA's New Favorite Son

The San Antonio Spurs are on the verge of playing their best ball all season, Derek Rose could be out for longer than Bulls fans hope, the Thunder and Heat are rolling, but it is Jeremy Lin that is getting the attention of all NBA fans.

Yes, still.

I was watching ESPN's First Take this morning and they did their seemingly regular debate on Jeremy Lin. They compared him to Tebow, did a rundown of his five-game performance and talked about Flloyd Mayweather's choice words regarding Lin's race.

There have been a lot of reasons why the world is so fascinated with Jeremy Lin...a lot of reasons. And I am here to explain what is the most prized reason that the world is talking about the newest Knickerbocker.

Jeremy Lin Is Asian-American: 3/10

It just isn't that important. Sure, he is the first one in the NBA, but it isn't that big of a factor. But the fact is that he is a big, athletic guy, is. Not all Asian-Americans are his size.

If he were 5'8" doing the things that he has done, sure it would be more of a story, but the guy is 6'3", he is 200 pounds and he has turned out to be an extremely athletic guy. His wingspan is 6'5".

The truth is that he is a big guy that can play basketball. He is Asian-American...big whoop. Larry Bird is white, but when you play at the level he did for so many years, nobody cares anymore.

Larry Bird is Larry Bird; Jeremy Lin is Jeremy Lin. If he continues to play well, being Asian-American just won't matter.

Jeremy Lin Went to Harvard: 1/10

No, Jeremy Lin playing in Harvard is not an exciting story. It may not be the most competitive school for sporting teams, but they still play sports.

People come from all over the world to play in the NBA. Some come from Duke and Kentucky, others came straight out of high school and a couple have walked in off the playground.

Coming from Harvard and succeeding in the NBA is not a big deal.

Jeremy Lin Has Scored More Points in His First Four Starts Than Any Player in History: 6/10

This is the biggest point thus far.

While many ESPN analysts have said, "Who cares about this? No one thinks about this," they are wrong. We do think about it, or else no one would be talking about it.

Elias Sports Bureau, to name one, does nothing but stats, and people are saying no one cares about stats? Wrong! If it weren't important then we wouldn't have heard about it over 100 times to date.

Jordan didn't do this, LeBron didn't do this, Kobe didn't do this, Kareem didn't do this—it is a big deal.

Will he be as good as any of those guys? Probably not, but he has done something pretty incredible in this stretch. It is a hot streak and hot streaks are always talked about.

Jeremy Lin Was Cut from Two Teams/Sent to D-League: 8/10

This, unlike Lin coming from Harvard, is the true underdog story and this is why he is getting some attention. A lot of players have come into the spotlight after being traded by a couple of teams.

But unlike the ones that were traded for better players or cap relief, Lin wasn't given that respect. The Warriors and Rockets didn't think Lin was good enough to have him ride their bench.

They could have held on to him and traded him for cap relief to a team that desperately needed it, bu they just decided to cut him because he was no good to them for any reason.

First of all, he went undrafted. He later signed with the Warriors after receiving offers from the Mavericks and Lakers (both of which needed point guards—if he signed he might not have gone through all of this) but he chose his hometown Warriors, who waived him a year later.

The Rockets signed him for all of 12 days before cutting him. The Knicks sent him to the D-League, where he got a triple-double of 28 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. Three days later the Knicks called him up.

This is the underdog story. Not his being Asian-American, not his going to Harvard, but the fact that nobody wanted to take a chance on him.

The Knicks took a gamble, threw him in the game, then threw him in as a starter because they had no one else—and they may have found the guy to run the point for the next couple of years.

Jeremy Lin Plays in New York City: 7/10

Everything is bigger in Texas, is blown out of proportion in L.A. and is under the spotlight in New York.

Playing in New York has helped out Jeremy Lin more than he could have ever dreamed of. Whether the Knicks are good or bad, people are going to know about it because they play in the greatest city on Earth.

Madison Square Garden is the most famous arena in the world, and when you play in that arena—and when you do the things that Jeremy Lin has done—people are going to notice and people are going to talk (entirely too much) about it. Enough said.

But I had to give it a seven only for one simple reason, and that is below.

Jeremy Lin Led Knicks to Five Wins in a Row: 10/10

THIS IS THE BIG REASON, AND THIS IS THE REASON NOBODY IS TALKING ABOUT.

And let me be clear here because the bold header of this paragraph is a bit misleading. Yes, the Knicks have won five in a row, but it isn't so much about the wins as it is all about one thing: He has done something that not even Carmelo Anthony or Amare Stoudemire could do.

The reason playing in New York is not a 10/10 is for the simple reason that he is doing something that two All-Star leaders are not doing. He is making the Knicks good and is the sole reason for that.

If Lin played on the Kings, would he be as big a story? Yes, if it played out the same way.

Tyreke Evans goes out with a two-to-four week injury and Demarcus Cousins misses four straight games due to a family death. Then Lin comes in and gives the Kings a five-game winning streak?

It's a big deal.

Derek Rose is out. Luol Deng is out. Jeremy Lin starts for the Bulls and puts up the numbers he did and the Bulls win five in a row? Yes, it is a big deal.

It's not that he is playing in New York, it is not that his team won five in a row, it is not that he is putting up ridiculous stats for a guy that "couldn't play." It is because he is doing something that two proven guys couldn't do. He made the Knicks a team, put them on his back and made them not only worth watching, but made them flat-out good.

He made them winners.

If Jeremy Lin were on the Knicks two years ago Pre-Melo and Pre-Stat, if he came in and played with Chandler, Gallinaro, Jeffries, Felton, Eddy Curry and whoever else those sour Knicks had, and he came in and went on a five-game streak putting up the numbers he did, would it be as big? No.

It would be big, don't get me wrong, because he came from nowhere. But to do this all the while knowing that two of the best players in the game couldn't do it? That is huge.

Jeremy Lin has made the Knicks good, but has he made the New York organization start thinking Melo and Amare are trade bait? Well, no, not yet. But if it continues for a year or two, who the hell knows?

Jeremy Lin is very good, and while it may be early, he will be an MVP candidate in the next couple years playing exactly like—and putting up very similar numbers to—Steve Nash.

If a small white guy can change an organization like Nash did, Jeremy Lin can do the same thing.