He isn't the first Asian to play basketball nor the first short person. People should try to stop building sports people up to heights they may never actually achieve.
Wow, I don't think you really get the entire story. No one expected this guy to do anything in the NBA. This is a guy who was sleeping on his brother's sofa in NY after the sudden call up to the Knicks from the D-League and his fateful chance to start. After toiling and scratching for an opportunity, he is finally given the chance to start, and suddenly the Knicks have won 7 in a row and Lin is breaking NBA scoring records while transforming the entire atmosphere and team dynamic. Now, the Knicks aren't a last place team anymore and many are predicting a playoff run for them.
He has already achieved what nobody in a million years could have ever expected of him.
This isn't just about the first Asian-American person to play in the NBA (and there is a big difference between Lin and Yao, who is a Chinese national). This is about a guy who had to battle through a lot of adversity and all probability to get a glimmer of a chance, and when he was finally given that opportunity he is absolutely tearing it up.
Summing things up:
* Despite being a stud in high school, Lin was passed up by Cal, Stanford, and UCLA. He never got a chance with them. Some coaches say race likely played a part in the reason why he wasn't ever really considered a candidate.
* Lin then went to and graduated from Harvard with a 3.1 GPA in economics. The last person to play in the NBA that went to Harvard was 58 years ago.
* After graduating, Lin was undrafted, and had to claw his way into the NBA. Once there, he was still never given a starting role until finally impressing in the D-League and being called up to the Knicks bench. As the Knicks were toiling with a terrible record and both Melo and Stoudemire were unable to play, they took a chance on playing Lin and that is the beginning of Linsanity.
* Probably partly because of his path to the NBA, Lin is extremely humble despite all the madness going on around him. He is very thoughtful, thankful, and displays a great deal of humility in all the interviews he has been in since the beginning of "Linsanity". This is quite a stark contrast to many of the ego-maniacal, selfish, showboat players that seem to be the rule rather than the exception these days in the NBA (*cough* LEBRON *cough*).
And now, some highlights of what he has done the last 7 games:
* The Knicks have won 7 out of 7 games since Lin was given his chance.
* MOST POINTS IN FIRST FIVE STARTS - PLAYERS WHO BEGAN CAREER SINCE 1976-77 SEASON
1. Jeremy Lin 136 2011-12
2. Shaquille O'Neal 129 1992-93
3. Freeman Williams 125 1981-82
4. Jerry Stackhouse 124 1995-96
5. Dominique Wilkins 124 1982-83
* Lin has completely transformed the Knicks team. Manning the point, he has great court vision and puts the other players in position to succeed. His enthusiasm, confidence, and spirit has rubbed off on his teammates in a big way. He is averaging 9.1 assists per game the last 7 games, and coming of a 13 assist performance in just 26 minutes played in a blowout against the Kings.
* Lin has given Asian-Americans another rare sports hero and icon to aspire to. You can't tell me that negative stereotypes about Asians in American sports don't exist. Even with successes like Ichiro and Ming (who aren't American) the perception that Asians are by in large not capable of playing serious competitive sports pervades, and with Jeremy Lin exploding in the media and going crazy on the basketball court it will hopefully begin to change this mindset. It is a major step in the right direction that actually yes, Asians can play physical sports and can actually be really good at them.
The fact that Lin is actually American and actually made it gives other Asian kids in America the idea that by playing hard and giving your best effort it is actually possible to make it in the American sports world. This isn't some 7'6" freak from China with mad skills, nor is it the mysterious Japanese slap-hitter with crazy contact skills but little power... this is an All-American boy who worked really hard and made it to the top against all
odds... and just so happens to also be Asian.
