Getty Jeremy Lin poses for photos after being introduced as a member of the Kaohsiung Steelers.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Jeremy Lin returned to his Bay Area roots in an effort to resurrect his NBA career. After getting a championship ring at the Golden State Warriors‘ expense in 2019, he joined up with the team’s G League affiliate less than two years later as a last resort.
He crushed it, too, averaging 19.1 points and 6.4 assists while shooting 50.7% from the floor and 43.1% from three-point range across 11 appearances. And yet, he never got the call for another opportunity in the Association — from the Warriors or otherwise — and, since then, his pro hoops journey has been fraught with peril.
At least it had been, anyway, until he decided to ink a deal with the Kaohsiung Steelers of the P. League+ (PLG) in Taiwan back in February.
Since making the call to resume his career there, all the 34-year-old has done is elicited images of his Linsanity heyday with the New York Knicks more than a decade ago.
Former Warrior Jeremy Lin Sets Scoring Record in Taiwan (After Having Set Assist Record Previously)
Lin led the once-struggling Steelers to a franchise-record eighth-straight win on Sunday against the New Taipei Kings. Along the way, he scored more points than any PLG player ever had in a single game.
In 36 minutes of action, the nine-year NBA veteran dropped a whopping 50 points on 19-of-30 shooting, sinking four three-point shots and adding 11 assists, 10 rebounds and two steals to complete the triple-double.
“Praise the Lord really, the past two years was never easy,” Lin said in the wake of his 50-point bomb, via the South China Morning Post. “I came here not knowing how much I have left in the tank… I had no idea what I can offer the team as a player so I was surprised with the performance, it’s just I happened to be hot-handed today.”
This wasn’t Lin’s first record-breaking performance in Taiwan, though. During his PLG debut against the Formosa Dreamers, he tied a standing record with 13 assists. He went on to break the record on March 26 with 15 assists versus the Taoyuan Pilots, then surpassed his own mark with 16 dimes against the Dreamers a week later.
Lin’s Impact Goes Well Beyond His Hefty Box Scores
Much as he did when he burst onto the scene with the Knicks — following a low-key beginning with the Dubs — Lin has altered the Steelers’ reality in a big, bad way with his arrival.
Before Lin made his debut, the Steelers were languishing at the very bottom of the PLG standings with a 2-17 record. Now, though, they’re suddenly sitting “pretty” at 15-21 on the campaign. Not only that — they currently find themselves in a dead heat with the Dreamers for the league’s fourth and final playoff spot with four games left to play.
Lin has made a similar impact on Kaohsiung from a popularity standpoint. Per Focus Taiwan, viewership of the club’s live-streamed games on YouTube more than doubled — and began outpacing the rest of the PLG’s teams — after the baller entered the fray.
In other words, Linsanity 2.0 is running strong in East Asia.