While he didn't play in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Jeremy Lin still found himself being a topic of discussion this past All-Star Weekend, both with ex-teammates and league officials.
It's been a little over a year that "Linsanity" swept New York and the world, when Lin's February stretch of play both brought the struggling Knicks into playoff contention and made Lin, a little-known Asian American point guard out of Palo Alto, Calif., into a household name. Despite his success, Lin bolted to Houston in free agency for a three-year, $25 million contract instead of opting to stay with the Knicks.
Several months later, the Knicks, with a 32-18 record at the All-Star break, have been thriving, with Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler selected to play in the All-Star Game and New York holding the lead in the Atlantic Division for a huge chunk of the first half of the season.
"For New Yorkers right now, this is definitely a special time," Anthony said during the All-Star Weekend festivities. "New York basketball has been down for so long. There's been so much (negative) talk about New York over the past eight to 10 years. So (it's nice) for New York to be back to where that ... energy in New York is back.
Meanwhile, Lin has solidified his position as a starter on the Houston Rockets, though his statistics have been up-and-down this season. Despite this, Lin's popularity continues to thrive among fans, finishing a close second behind eventual All-Star Game MVP Chris Paul in the NBA fan voting for All-Star Game starters; the 24-year-old point guard even appeared in the Skills Challenge of All-Star Saturday Night.
However, Chandler insists that there are no hard feelings toward his ex-teammated and told reporters during All-Star Weekend that he was happy for Lin's success.
"First of all, Jeremy Lin, I'm happy for him and what he's been able to accomplish here in Houston showing people he's not just this fluke," Chandler said. "It was a great time in New York.
"He provided and created a spark for a team that was going through a whole lot, a lot of injuries and a lot of turmoil. I think he will be forever remembered for what he did in New York."
Meanwhile, Lin's popularity as a player has helped the NBA boost its popularity in Taiwan and China, according to NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver. This allays any fears that Lin's moving from New York to Houston would have affected his fan exposure.
"The Houston Rockets have continued to remain a popular television attraction, both in China and in Taiwan," Silver said, according to the Houston Chronicle. "I think he's demonstrated that he was not a flash in the pan, that he's a highly successful NBA guard who's continuing to grow in his development.
"And I think he's continued to grow as a person. He's engaged in lots of different marketing activities in the offseason. But most importantly, people are seeing that he has real growth potential as a player.
"I think from a global standpoint our teams appear virtually throughout the world, and the ultimate impact economic is yet to be measured. It's still the case that as our fans become more sophisticated in markets such as China, he's not the most popular player. The most popular players are the ones that win championships. Jeremy has a ways to go from that standpoint. But it's fun to watch his growth as a person and as a player," Silver added.
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