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
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS