by SHARON CHANG Art Editor
Coming out of nowhere, point guard from Harvard, Jeremy Lin, has given the New York Knicks a winning streak that captured worldwide public attention, similar to Tim Tebow all over again.
After receiving no athletic scholarship and not being drafted out of college, Lin reached a partial guaranteed contract deal with his hometown Golden State Warriors. He rarely played his rookie year, and was assigned to the National Basketball Development League three times.
After playing four years of basketball at Harvard and being cut from the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors, he signed a contract with the New York Knicks. In February, he unexpectedly led a winning streak with New York while being promoted to the starting lineup. Lin rapidly gained national popularity.
Lin has had the best-selling jersey in the NBA as of February 4, when he played in an NBA game for more than 30 minutes for the first time. He has also been featured in Sports Illustrated two times in a row, which has not happened to many basketball players.
Lin has brought a winning streak to the Knicks. The Knicks vs. Hawks game was one highlight for him, winning 99-82. Lin scored 17 points and made nine assists. To top that off, Lin scored 28 points and made 14 assists in the Knicks vs. Mavericks game, which the Knicks also won 104-97. Lin also outscored Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant on February 24 with 38 points. Lin made a game-winning three-pointer at the last second, beating the Toronto Raptors 90-87. All this LIN-sanity excitement brought the attention to President Obama as well.
White House spokesmen, Jay Carney, says that President Obama is closely following the rags to riches story of the sudden star of the New York Knicks. Carney says Lin’s game-winning three-pointer at the end of the game against Toronto was one of the main subjects of conversation with the president aboard Marine One.
Many people argue that this LIN-sanity sensation may not last any longer than it has. The return of point guard Baron Davis, who has not played this season due to a herniated disc, could cause Lin to lose his role as a starter in New York. Knicks’ coach Mike D’Antoni will have a tough choice to make.
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