There was little to no fanfare when Jeremy Lin signed a non-guaranteed contract with the New York Knicks on December 27th, 2011. After a rookie season at the Warriors, he was claimed off waivers after going undrafted in the 2010 draft out of Harvard.
It was expected that he’d cover for an injured Iman Shumpert and would eventually be cut by the Knicks. But after only 55 minutes of game time and the Knicks losing 11 of 23 games, Lin would breakout against the New Jersey Nets on February 4th, 2012, which was the start of the phenomenon we all know as Linsanity.
Out of nowhere, Lin guided the Knicks to a 99-92 win against the Nets, finishing with 25 points and 7 assists. Lin shot 10-of-19 from the field on a night Carmelo Anthony shot 3-of-15.
Lin would continue the Knicks winning streak in the following games but Linsanity hit its peak on February 12 at Madison Square Garden. Jeremy Lin scored a career high 38-points and led the Knicks to a remarkable 92-85 win against the LA Lakers. Lin outperforming Kobe Bryant, who finished with 34 points.
Jeremy Lin donned the famed Knicks home uniform when he outperformed Kobe. A rare piece, I’ve got a Jeremy Lin 2012 Knicks home jersey in the THE5THQTR collection. Lin was able to form a great chemistry with Knicks teammate Tyson Chandler. Chandler became Defensive Player of the Year that season and shot a league-leading and career high 68% from the field. I’ve also got a Chandler jersey from 2012 which you can checkout at THE5THQTR collection.
Related: How Good Was Tyson Chandler?
Two days after outdueling Kobe, the legend of Linsanity added a new chapter against the Raptors. Lin scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter which included the game-winning triple with 0.5 seconds left.
Mid-February 2012 marked the peak of Linsanity and his numbers trended well throughout March. Coach Mike D’Antoni however resigned on March 14th, and at the end of the month, Lin’s season ended due to a torn meniscus which he needed surgery on to repair. The end of March 2012 would mark the end of Linsanity.
At the end of the season and after 35 games for the Knicks and averaging 26.9 minutes, 14.6 points and 6.2 assists per game, the Rockets signed him to a three-year, $25 million deal with the Knicks unwilling to match the deal.
After 11 seasons in the NBA, Lin joined the Beijing Ducks in 2019. Although Jeremy Lin never became an all-star in the NBA, he did win an NBA championship with the Raptors in 2019 and become an All-Star in the CBA while at the Beijing Ducks.
Jeremy Lin will always be remembered for leading the Knicks to a seven-game winning streak in 2011-12, turning around the Knicks season and launching the legend of Linsanity. He almost single handedly helped the 2011-12 Knicks finish seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a regular season record of 36-30, in a shortened season due to the 2011 NBA Lockout.
The Knicks would lose in five games to the Miami Heat in the first round of the NBA Playoffs but their Game 4 win ended an NBA worst 13-game playoff losing streak.
