An end to the 'Linsanity' as curtain falls on storied career

Although never the tallest or the strongest among his peers, Asian-American hoops star Jeremy Lin has secured his legacy as a larger-than-life global influencer after he called time on a 15-year professional career.

Lin, a point guard born in California to parents both with Chinese heritage, announced on Saturday his retirement from professional competition in a social media post, capping a storied career that spanned nine seasons in the NBA, three years in the Chinese mainland's CBA and short stints in Taiwan's TPBL.

Despite a serious knee injury, suffered in October 2017, cutting short his prime in the NBA, Lin said he could leave the court without regret, knowing that he's done everything his worn-out body would allow.

"As athletes, we are always aware that the possibility of retirement is never far away. I've spent my 15-year career knowing that, one day, I would have to walk away, and yet, actually saying goodbye to basketball today has been the hardest decision I've ever made," the 37-year-old posted on Instagram.

"I've lived out my wildest childhood dreams to play in front of fans all around the world. I will forever be the kid who felt fully alive every time I touched a basketball.

"Thank you all for believing in me, for walking with me, for celebrating my highs and picking me up in my lows. This is a ride I never wanted to end, but I know it's time. I will forever miss playing basketball in front of you all, but our time will go beyond just playing."

Lin's retirement left his legion of millions of fans in China lamenting the departure of a role model for all Asian players, with the hashtag "Jeremy Lin retires" trending on Weibo, accumulating over 43 million views on the platform — where Lin has 7.5 million followers — as of Monday afternoon.

Playing as point guard throughout the majority of his career, Lin averaged 11.6 points and 4.3 assists in 480 games across nine NBA seasons for eight franchises, notably with the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets. He was on the Toronto Raptors' NBA championship team in the 2018-19 season, his final year in the North American league.

Entering the league as an underrated graduate from Harvard — known better for nurturing Nobel Prize winners than NBA prospects, Lin rose to international stardom in early 2012 after helping the then beleaguered Knicks start a winning surge with a series of explosive individual performances off the bench, inspiring the "Linsanity" fad that immediately took the basketball world by storm.

One of the highlights of "Linsanity", during which Lin scored at least 20 points in nine of 10 games, was a 38-point, seven-assist effort in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers, as he outscored the late Kobe Bryant in front of a roaring crowd at Madison Square Garden.

After being asked what advice he had for Lin after the game, Bryant joked: "What can I say when he scores nearly 40 points?"

Standing 1.9 meters tall and weighing 90 kilograms, Lin's strong presence with a slender build in the brutally competitive NBA has resonated with ordinary fans from Asia, motivating them to chase their own hoops dreams, regardless of stature, and has broken stereotypes that Asian guards could never thrive in the fast-pace, high-intensity NBA game.

After capping off his NBA adventure, Lin took his talent to the CBA by signing with the Beijing Ducks for two seasons, helping the capital team to reach playoff semifinals in the 2019-20 season.

In his final active season as a player, he led the New Taipei Kings to defend its TPBL championship in June and was named the league's Finals MVP for his average of 22.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and six assists in the club's 4-3 series win over Kaohsiung Aquas.

After hanging up his impressive collection of jerseys, Lin's impact is expected to continue off the court, as he passes on his skills and experience to young hoops hopefuls via his JLin NextGen Camp in his hometown of Palo Alto, California.

"I think Asian basketball still has a lot to improve in the areas of elite training. I am excited for the opportunity to share my years of understanding and knowledge," he said.

Yang Hanchu contributed to this story.