Bhubaneshwar- NBA icon Jeremy Lin has decided to hang up his sneakers for good, announcing his retirement in an emotional Instagram post Saturday. At 37 years old, the veteran point guard is letting the final buzzer sound on a remarkable 15-year basketball career that, for a few weeks in 2012, made him an international phenomenon and turned New York City into the center of the basketball universe.
“It’s been the honor of a lifetime to compete against the fiercest competitors under the brightest lights and to challenge what the world thought was possible for someone who looks like me,” Lin wrote. “I will forever be the kid who felt fully alive every time I touched a basketball.”
The Defining Chapter: ‘Linsanity’
Lin’s career caught fire in 2012 when he was unexpectedly given a chance with the New York Knicks. As a starting point guard, he led the team to a thrilling seven-game winning streak, sparking the global sensation known as “Linsanity.” In the wake of his sudden stardom, Lin, then 23, graced the covers of Sports Illustrated and Time magazine, the latter of which named him one of the world’s 100 most influential people.
At the height of the craze, he hit a game-winning three-pointer with less than a second on the clock against the Toronto Raptors. He also became the first NBA player ever to score at least 20 points and dish out seven assists in each of his first five starts.
A Career of Defying the Odds
Lin’s journey was one of constantly breaking barriers. As the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA, he challenged stereotypes from his days at Harvard, where he became the first Ivy League player to record at least 1,450 points in his college career. Despite his success, he went undrafted in 2010.
After being cut by both his hometown Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets, Lin finally found his footing with the Knicks. Following his breakout season in New York, he went on to play for the Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, and others before landing with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, where he made history again as the first Asian American player to win an NBA championship.
Lin later took his career to China and Taiwan, where he played for the Beijing Ducks and Guangzhou Loong Lions, and the Kaohsiung Steelers and New Taipei Kings, respectively. He finished his career as the MVP of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League.
“This is a ride I never wanted to end but I know it’s time,” Lin wrote. “I will forever miss playing basketball in front of you all but our time will go beyond just playing. Here’s to what’s ahead.”
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