For nearly three weeks back in February, there was no escaping Linsanity: The drives. The crossovers. The running shots. The handshake. The song parodies. The puns. Jeremy Lin took New York City, the NBA and soon after, the entire sports world by storm.
In case you were living under a rock this past winter (or in a household in New York City with Time Warner Cable), Lin helped lead the banged-up Knicks out of a slump in which they lost 11 of 13. He helped them reel off seven straight wins. Along the way, he outscored Kobe Bryant with 38 points in a 92-85 win at Madison Square Garden that was nationally televised. Not long after, he waved off his teammates in the final seconds against Toronto before hitting a game-winning 3-pointer. The unassuming 23-year-old broke Shaquille O'Neal's NBA record for most points scored in his first five starts with 136. He even seemed to help Time Warner Cable and the MSG Network finally reach a deal (allowing Knicks fans in Manhattan to you know, actually watch the Knicks). The explosion of hype around the Asian-American point guard who was undrafted out of Harvard, seemed, in its own way, to be as much of a New York story as anything authored by Woody Allen, Martin Scorcese or... Spike Lee, who could be seen sporting a jersey from Lin's high school days in the front row at the Garden.
Of course, Lin's story was being followed far beyond the confines of Manhattan, with fans across the globe clamoring to buy his current jersey. In a turn of events that surely would have seemed hard to comprehend several months ago, Lin will be wearing -- and helping to sell -- another team's uniform next season.
Fast forward to July: Jeremy Lin is bound for Houston after the Knicks opted not to match an aggressive contract offer to the restricted free agent. Veteran point guards Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton will be distributing the ball in New York. As it became clear that Lin was likely heading for Texas over the past week, Knicks fans petitioned. But to no avail.
If everything is truly bigger in Texas then who knows how Linsanity will grow next season. But before turning the page on the New York chapter of Lin's career, let's take a trip down memory Lin (had to) to marvel yet again at some of the most memorable moments of Lin's surprising rise.
Related
Before You Go
