Jeremy Lin (林書豪), best known for his “Linsanity” run with the New York Knicks in 2012 and as a one-time NBA champion, announced his retirement from professional basketball yesterday after a decorated 15-year career in the US, China and Taiwan.
“As athletes, we are always aware that the possibility of retirement is never far away,” said Lin, the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA, in a social media post.
“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,” he wrote.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League.
Lin described it as “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,” noting his trailblazing role as one of the few Asian-American players in NBA history.
He was the first Asian-American player to win an NBA championship, having done so with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
“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,” he said.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
“Thank you all for believing in me, for walking with me, for celebrating my highs and picking me up in my lows,” the 37-year-old wrote. “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. Here’s to what’s ahead. Love you all.”
Born to a Taiwanese-American family in the San Francisco Bay area, Lin received no athletic scholarship offers and went on to play at Harvard University, where he was a three-time all-conference Ivy League player.
Lin signed with the Golden State Warriors in 2010, but saw little playing time. His breakout came in 2012 when he was promoted to the Knicks’ starting lineup, leading the team to a seven-game winning streak that sparked the “Linsanity” phenomenon.
Lin spent nine seasons with eight NBA teams, averaging 11.6 points, 4.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds over 480 regular-season games, before leaving the league in 2019 to play in China and later Taiwan.
In Taiwan, he won back-to-back championships with the New Taipei Kings last year and this year in the P.League+ and the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) respectively. He was named the TPBL regular season Most Valuable Player (MVP) in June and later the Finals MVP after averaging 22.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6 assists and 1.9 steals.
The Kings thanked Lin for his “professionalism, hard work and selflessness” in a statement yesterday.
“He showed true professionalism during his time with the Kings, and those memories will continue to stay with the team. We are honored to have had Lin’s devotion and contributions over the years and wish him the best in the next chapter of his life,” the team said.
Kings general manager James Mao (毛加恩) said that Lin contributed to the team not only through impressive statistics and victories, but through his perseverance and team spirit.
“Through his actions, he showed everyone what true professionalism is,” Mao said.
Chinese Taipei Basketball Association deputy secretary-general Chang Cheng-chung (張承中) said that Lin is a world-class basketball player and his achievements in the NBA are unprecedented.
“We are very happy that during his extraordinary 15-year basketball career, he spent three seasons in Taiwan and contributed greatly to the development of basketball in Taiwan,” Chang said.
“We respect his decision to retire and congratulate him,” Chang added, wishing Lin a happy retirement.
Additional reporting by Nian Miao-yun and Lu Yang-hsuan
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