Jeremy Lin joins Chinese team after hitting 'rock bottom' in NBA free agency
Amid a trade battle between the U.S. and China, longtime NBA guard Jeremy Lin, who gained international fame for sparking the “Linsanity” trend as a member of the New York Knicks, is set to continue his basketball career in the Chinese Basketball Association’s Beijing Shougang Ducks.
Lin, 31, confirmed the deal in an Instagram post on Tuesday. The Ducks said they are in the process of getting the necessary registration paperwork approved. The contract’s financial terms were not immediately known.
“I always knew my path would go through the CBA solely [because] I knew how much of an honor it would be to hoop in front of all my Chinese fans,” Lin wrote. “I’m here now and there is more history to be made!”
Lin spent nine years in the NBA and had stints with the Golden State Warriors, Knicks, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors. In 2012, “Linsanity” made international headlines as Lin led the Knicks on a lengthy winning streak with a series of high-scoring performances.
Lin won a championship ring in a reserve role for the Raptors last season but failed to attract much attention on the NBA free-agent market this offseason.
"In English there's a saying, and it says once you hit rock bottom, the only way is up," Lin said during a July appearance on a television station in Taiwan. "But rock bottom just seems to keep getting more and more rock bottom for me. So, free agency has been tough. Because I feel like in some ways the NBA's kind of given up on me."
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Lin earned more than $65 million during his time in the NBA, according to Spotrac.