He’s not a household name like Tim Tebow, or at least he isn’t yet, but New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin has become the latest sports phenomena figurehead, taking over the NBA’s biggest market in a mere seven days.
In the absence of superstars Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, Lin has taken New York City by storm, breathing life into the hapless Knicks, who had lost 11 of 13 games before his arrival.
Since his 25-point breakout performance in a 99-92 win over the Nets on Feb. 4, Lin hasn’t gone away; moreover, he continues to exceed expectations and now has a nation of basketball followers asking, “is this guy for real?”
Similarly to the aforementioned Tebow, Lin keeps proving his critics wrong in the most important statistical category—wins. The Knicks have won five straight heading into tonight’s matchup against the Raptors, which is their longest streak of the season.
The fact they have done this well without Anthony or Stoudemire only contributes more to the sensationalism of Lin.
Before emerging against the Nets, Lin had played sparingly, averaging 2.3 minutes and 8.2 minutes in December and January, respectively.
Now, the undrafted rookie from Harvard has been playing at such a high level this past week that he has NBA general managers, such as the Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey, regretting the fact they did not take Lin seriously as a player.
“We should have kept [Lin],” Morey said in a tweet Thursday. “Did not know he was this good. “
And like that, the sports world has another person to rally around. Someone that nobody believed in and now has come back with unbreakable resolve and poise. And name isn’t Tim Tebow.
So where does the Lin-mania go from here with Anthony and Stoudemire expected to rejoin the Knicks (13-15) lineup this week?
In their respective absences, Lin has taken over, averaging 39 minutes and scoring above 20 points in each of the five wins. In addition, he has recorded 40 assists in that same five game span.
While the basketball world holds their breath to see if Lin’s legitimacy proves to be long-term, Knicks fans must believe Lin can help this team going forward.
Before Lin exploded onto the scene, the Knicks were the joke of the league, underperforming tremendously compared to the talent level on the roster. All of sudden, they are the talk of the league and it’s not because of ‘Melo or Amare. Lin has infused life into the Big Apple and that much can’t be denied.
“I feel like I’m in a dream right now,” said Lin after Saturday’s 100-98 victory over Minnesota.
He’s not alone in thinking this is all a dream; however, it’s up to him to make what feels like a fantasy into a reality.
It’s happened before and that’s the real beauty of sports—give someone a stage to perform and sometimes they will just do that.Lin has his opportunity in the Big Apple. His moment is now.
