Jeremy Lin set the NBA world on fire in February of 2012, putting together an improbable run for the New York Knicks that would forever be remembered as ‘Linsanity.’ Lin, a bench player at the time, was only averaging six minutes of action per game in 2012 before that fateful day on Feb. 4 that started it all. That day Lin came off the bench and played 36 minutes for the Knicks. He scored 25 points and dished out seven assists en route to a 99-92 victory over the Nets. His life would never be the same after that performance.

The rise of Linsanity

Linsanity took the NBA by storm in 2012. Jeremy Lin put a struggling Knicks team on his back for three weeks, leading them to seven straight wins and 10 wins in 13 games. Lin averaged 22.3 points and nine assists per game over that magical stretch. He scored a career-high 38 points against the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers on national television.

Lin’s rise to stardom was unbelievable in its own right, but it was even more unprecedented considering what his career was like before Linsanity started. Lin didn’t even see the floor in more than half of the Knicks’ games before February. He was at the end of the bench on a team that had lost 11 of its last 13 games. The only reason Lin even saw enough playing time to become a star was because head coach Mike D’Antoni got fed up watching the team struggle and decided to mix things up. Little did D’Antoni know, he was doing much more than just giving a few extra minutes to a bench player.

Lin then exploded for over 20 points in six straight games. On Feb. 14, Lin solidified his legendary status by hitting a game-winning three against the Toronto Raptors. He scored 27 points and tallied 11 assists in the game. A few games later, he had 28 points and 14 assists in another win against the Dallas Mavericks. The NBA world couldn’t get enough.

Jeremy Lin’s carousel of team changes after Linsanity

Jeremy Lin tore his meniscus in April of 2012, putting an end to Linsanity for good. He sat out the rest of the 2012 season and was cut by the Knicks afterward.

Since then, Lin played seven more NBA seasons with six different franchises. Lin started in Houston with the Rockets, where he started all 82 games and averaged 13.4 points per game in 2013. A year later, he moved to more of a bench role and his minutes diminished. He did, however, record the best shooting numbers of his career so far in 2014 for the Rockets.

Lin signed with the Lakers in the offseason and went on to shoot a career-high 36.9 percent from three in 2014. Again, his minutes and points per game dropped from the previous year. Lin went on to play for the Charlotte Hornets and the Brooklyn Nets in the next two seasons. He was a starter for Brooklyn in 2017 and averaged 14.5 points per game, his highest since his season with the Knicks.

Injuries started to pile up for Lin around this time. He missed 46 games for the Nets in 2016-17 but finished the year strong. Unfortunately, Lin ruptured his patella tendon in the season opener the next year. He missed the entire season.

Lin returned to the court in 2018, where he played for both the Hawks and Raptors as a bench player. His final stint with the Raptors was the worst shooting period of his career, and Lin was forced to move on from the NBA following the 2018-19 season.

Jeremy Lin is now flourishing in the Chinese Basketball Association

Lin signed with the Beijing Ducks of the CBA for the 2019-20 season when it was clear his NBA options were limited. He has led the Ducks to a 15-9 record so far. Lin is averaging 24.4 points and 5.8 assists per game in the CBA, leading the Ducks in both categories this season.

Lin recently scored a CBA career-high 36 points in a victory over the Guangzhou Long Lions. He has scored 20 points or more in all but three games this season.

The CBA might actually be one of the first professional basketball leagues to resume play amid the coronavirus lockdown. The league is aiming to start up again on April 15. Lin will be back getting buckets on the hardwood very soon, as Linsanity lives on in China.