Former NBA star Jeremy Lin (林書豪) has signed with the Kaohsiung 17LIVE Steelers of the P. League+, the club announced yesterday.
Multiple Taiwan-based franchises had been pursuing Lin, but the 34-year-old veteran chose the Steelers because he identified with the franchise’s “Big South Program,” and wanted to help bring more attention and resources to southern Taiwan’s basketball scene, the team said.
Lin’s “game, leadership and toughness will bring new stimulus to the Greater South’s basketball scene, and he will help bridge the gap between our younger and veteran players,” Steelers general manager Kenny Kao (高景炎) said in a video message.
Photo: AP
Kao said the club is still negotiating with Lin’s team on the timetable of his arrival in Taiwan, news conference for signing and debut game.
“KaoHsiung, here I come!” Lin, whose parents hail from Taiwan, wrote on Instagram.
The decision also means Lin would be reunited with his former teammates Aaron Harrison and Shawn Chou (周儀翔), with whom Lin played in the NBA and in China, the Steelers said.
Lin’s addition to the Steelers would bring fresh hope to the struggling team as they sit bottom of the six-league rankings with a 2-13 card.
Speculation about Lin possibly signing with a Taiwanese team began as early as last year, when questions about his performance and playing time in China started to appear.
His total points scored in his second season for the Beijing Ducks in 2021-2022 dropped to 309 in 507 minutes over 23 games from 871 points in 1,252 minutes over 39 games in his first season in 2019-2020.
Out of the seven games Lin played for the Guangzhou Loong Lions before leaving the Chinese league this season, there were two games in which he only played four minutes each.
In between his two stints in China, Lin spent time with the Santa Cruz Warriors, the Golden State Warriors G League affiliate, during the 2020-21 season.
Lin gained a huge following in Taiwan after he took the basketball scene by storm more than a decade ago, and even though that backing has moderated over the past few years, he would likely still be a big hit with any Taiwanese club, given how many fans follow him on social media.
Lin became the first American of Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA in 2010-2011 and shot to fame in 2012 with the New York Knicks.
The ensuing “Linsanity” craze began when Lin scored 38 points against the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers during an electrifying home win at Madison Square Garden.
His addition to the P. League+ is also likely to bring more attention from basketball fans from across Asia and the world.
Lin is to be joined by his brother, Joseph Lin (林書緯), a two-time P. League+ champion who plays for the New Taipei Kings.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old