Jeremy Lin spent the 2020-21 season with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League.
Jeremy Lin seems to have made peace with the end of his NBA playing days.
In an Instagram post from his account on Tuesday night, Lin posted a farewell of sorts to the NBA after he failed to get a call-up from the NBA G League this season.
“May 16th. In my mind was an imaginary circle around this date for an NBA callup,” Lin wrote “The final deadline. After a year in the CBA [Chinese Basketball Association] where I overcame mental barriers from my past, I KNEW I was still an NBA player. Teams all asked if I still had the hunger, health and skill to hang in the NBA. They wanted to see me hoop in-person.
So I gave up a season overseas to go down to the G League — a move few vets dare make. I’ve always known I need to jump through extra hoops to prove I belong so this was par for the course.”
Lin wrote that he watched as “others” got opportunities to jump to the NBA from the G League, but since his opportunity never came by his deadline, he is moving on.
This season, Lin averaged 19.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists and shot 50.5% overall (and 42.6% on 3-pointers) for the for the Santa Cruz Warriors.
“For reasons I’ll never fully know, that chance never materialized. But I proved I’m better than ever and an NBA player. And like I’ve said before … dream big dreams, risk big heartache,” Lin wrote.
“I’m blessed and had an NBA career beyond my wildest dreams. I had the luxury of taking a year to chase a dream w/o worrying about paying bills. … I didn’t get it done, but I have no regrets. I gave my ALL and hold my head high. As for what’s next, I trust what God has in store for me.”
Lin last played in the NBA during the 2018-19 season, which he split between the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors as a reserve. Prior to that, he played for the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets. During a memorable stretch of games in February of 2012 that became known as “Linsanity,” Lin and the Knicks put together a long winning streak that captivated the fanbase and the city.
He spent last season with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association and had previously criticized former U.S. president Donald Trump for his use of the term “Chinese virus” in regards to COVID-19.
In February, Lin wrote in a Facebook post about the need to remind his followers that racism and stereotypes have an impact on Asian Americans. He said he was called “coronavirus” on the court while playing in the NBA G League.
Lin was undrafted out of Harvard but ended up playing nine seasons in the NBA and posted career averages of 11.6 ppg, 4.3 apg, 2.8 rpg and 1.1 spg in 480 games.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
