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Up until February 4, 2012 Jeremy Lin was an NBA afterthought. In fact, he wasn’t even a thought at all. After putting up some impressive numbers at Harvard, Lin decided to forgo the typical Ivy League route and try to make his NBA dreams a reality.
This plan almost failed before it ever really started because Lin wasn’t selected in the 2010 draft, and likely could have hung up his sneakers after being passed on time and time again. But Lin has always had an air of resiliency about him and was eventually signed by the Golden State Warriors prior to the start of the season after a successful personal workout.
Lin was relegated to one of the last men off the bench for his favorite team growing up and played sparingly to say the least. Although he had somewhat of a cult following in the Bay Area, a la Brian Scalabrine because of his uniqueness, the Warriors didn’t see enough potential to keep him around after just one season. He was released and again saw his hoop dreams quickly fading.
He spent the summer prior to the 2011 season retooling his game, spending countless hours in the gym developing a jumper, polishing his handles, but most importantly building his confidence. Lin truly believed the call would come.
It finally did in late December, and it turned out to be from one of the league’s most storied franchises, the New York Knicks. This meant Lin would be on the floor at the Mecca of the basketball world, Madison Square Garden, night in and night out.
Something special and unlike anything the NBA had ever seen took place over the 35 games Lin played in New York; he became an international phenomenon. He overshadowed Carmelo Anthony on a nightly basis and proved to be not just a serviceable point guard but one that could actually be productive.
Now, Lin finds himself with the Charlotte Hornets and is on the verge of having the best chance to prove over an entire season that Linsanity wasn’t merely a fluke but actually something rooted in Lin’s talent on the floor.
The Lin experiment in Charlotte has gone exceptionally well thus far. The squad is 6-0 in the preseason, and Lin has scored in double figures in each of these games. He’s also showcased a more athletic frame which has allowed him to grab at least two rebounds in each contest.
What bodes well for the return of Linsanity is that he is paired in the backcourt with Kemba Walker. Anyone who has ever watched Walker knows that he is going to shoot, and shoot a lot; he is the definition of a ball-dominant guard. But this is exactly the kind of player Lin can flourish with. Lin is cerebral guard who doesn’t always need the ball in his hands to make an impact. Compare this to Walker’s backcourt running mate last season, Lance Stephenson, who was essentially Kemba 2.0.
Also, it’s been clear through this preseason the Hornets can finally play the up-tempo style of offense that reflects their youth with Lin running the show. While Stephenson created a logjam as soon as he crossed half-court, Lin is a fast-twitch kind of player who moves the rock efficiently. Both Walker and Lin will see their stat lines balloon if they are able to keep this symbiotic relationship going all season. Walker will be a more productive scorer while Lin will see his assist numbers reach career highs.
Lin has already far exceeded all of the expectations anyone ever had for him in the league except for maybe his own. It was never going to work for Lin in his other stops, but in Charlotte it looks like he may have found the NBA home he has been looking for. Linsanity very well could be back in big way this season.
Douglas Ammon is an NBA Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Who covers all things about the Association, follow him on Twitter @DA76er
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