Jeremy Lin’s back should not stop his NBA comeback
- G League veteran still trying to prove himself to NBA teams 11 years into a championship-winning basketball career
- On and off court he has shown quality but lingering injury concerns might derail NBA dream for another season
Jeremy Lin said ahead of the NBA G League season that it was “like his rookie year” and in many ways it is.
He has returned to the Warriors, the team that took a shot on the undrafted guard from Harvard back in 2010, with the 32-year-old speaking of his gratitude to them in an interview with The Ringer.
“One, it makes me feel old. But it makes me feel grateful just because it does feel very much like it’s full circle and they gave me my first shot to play in the NBA. Now they’re giving me a shot to be able to get back into the NBA. So a lot of hometown love for sure,” Lin told the website.
This might be his 11th season as a pro but it is like his rookie year in that he is again trying to get NBA coaches to take a chance on him.
The veteran may be an NBA champion but he’s still an outsider. He spent last season in China with the Beijing Ducks after receiving no offers in free agency.
He made the decision to turn his back on the CBA this season – although he has promised his huge fan base that he will return one day – and put himself out there again. China can wait.
Lin sits out with back injury, NBA return in doubt
Red tape stopped the Golden State Warriors signing him and he is now with their G League affiliate trying to prove to their front office – and the other 29 NBA teams – that he is worth a shot.
Seven games into the G League season – which is taking place in a bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida – he has proved he is.
Lin is averaging 19.6 points per game so far, shooting 48.3 per cent from the field and 48.4 per cent on three-pointers.
Along with Kaiser Gates and Jalen Harris, Lin leads three-pointers made in a G League game this season with seven. Making threes is what the modern NBA is all about and it is a definite credit in the pro column.
Meanwhile, his 7.2 assists per game are third in the league, showing that he can run an offence.
Nine years on from Lin proving the NBA wrong by becoming a global star at the New York Knicks during the “Linsanity” period, the highlight of the G League season so far fittingly came against the Westchester Knicks
Jeremy Lin chases NBA second chance but teams should be chasing him
Lin has spoke of his regret at not soaking in Linsanity at the time but he looks like he is savouring his shot at NBA redemption, not least against the Knicks.
He led the Warriors with 29 points in 32 minutes, hitting seven of nine threes and dishing out nine assists.
Is that proof enough of his NBA talent?
“Jeremy Lin is still an NBA player, without a doubt in my mind,” Santa Cruz Warriors game announcer Kevin Danna told NBA.com this week.
“He knows how to play the game, he‘s a very good shooter and he still has a burst. He was unconscious against the Westchester Knicks, scoring 29 points and dishing nine assists on just 12 shot attempts and hitting 7-of-9 on three-point attempts. He’s made more than US$60 million over his NBA career for a reason and he’s only 32. He still has plenty in the tank.”
That might be the “hometown love” Lin spoke of but his fans far and wide are vocal. Calls for Lin’s return to the NBA have amplified on social media, with some even starting a petition – “Put Jeremy Lin back in the NBA” – on change.org to demand his return.
CBA champ or not, Jeremy Lin has answered critics in China
There are not many players in the G League with a pre-built global fan base but if there is one legitimate worry it is his injury record.
Lin sat out the overtime win over the Canton Charge with “back tightness” but he was back against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants the following day, coming off the bench to score 27 points on 50 per cent shooting and hitting four of his eight three-point attempts. There were another seven assists.
He then sat out Saturday’s win over the Salt Lake City Stars, presumably as a precaution.
“The best ability is availability,” they say but do NBA teams need to rely on him nightly? They rarely did in the nine years since Linsanity and he answered questions over his long-term health in the CBA last season.
Still Lin spoke ahead of this season that teams were unwilling to take him to camps with concerns over his health. “The G League bubble was the next step,” he told the media, “The next chance to be able to show people.”
He is showing them all that and more even if he is not playing, such as his role mentoring younger players, which teammates Jordan Poole and Nico Mannion have mentioned.
Jeremy Lin still ‘dream chasing’ ahead of G League start
“Jeremy is a great teacher for me,” Mannion told the media after the Warriors win over the Canton Charge, which Lin sat out.
Lin has proved he is in the G League to do more than teach, though. Now is the time for an NBA team to show whether they have learned their lesson and give him another shot.
