Jeremy Lin is set to become the first ever player of Taiwanese descent to join the ranks of the National Basketball Association after ESPN reported that the Golden State Warriors have reached an agreement to sign him to a two-year contract with a partially guaranteed salary of US$500,000 per year.
If the deal is inked, the 21-year-old son of Taiwanese parents will also become the first player from Harvard University to make it to the NBA in 57 years.
After not being selected in the 2010 NBA Draft, Lin drew the attention of several big-league squads with his stellar play for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas earlier this month.
Lin averaged 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals in his outings with the Mavericks, shooting a team-leading 54.5 percent from the floor. He also proved scouts wrong for overlooking him in the draft with his strong defense, quickness on the court and ability to read the game, all qualities that the team’s owner praised in Lin after seeing him play.
It is hard to understand how the 191-centimeter Harvard point guard was overlooked in the draft last month after finishing the final year of his NCAA career averaging 16 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per game. More importantly, he was selected to the All-Ivy League First Team and was among the five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award for most valuable player in Division I college basketball.
Lin conceded that it is difficult for a player to make a name for himself playing in the Ivy League. “The bad thing about playing for Harvard is that it is harder to get noticed, but the good thing is that you can get a higher standard of education,” he noted.
Besides shining on the court, Lin also gained some valuable academic experience at Harvard, even working as an assistant to a California state senator in an internship program during his time at college.
Lin blossomed as a force on the basketball court well before his college days, captaining Palo Alto High School to the Division II state title in California. He was also named first-team All-State and Northern California Division II Player of the Year in his senior year.
Following his recent strong showing in the NBA Summer League, several of the big-league teams, including the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers, tried to sign Lin to a contract. However, being a native of the Bay Area and a Warriors fan since childhood, Lin opted in the end to join the Golden State squad.
Another factor behind Lin’s decision is the fact that the Warriors’ need for guard depth behind its starters presents a greater opportunity for him to gain playing time, and therefore to potentially let his skills shine on basketball’s grandest stage of all. (SB)