Jeremy Lin Lauds Manny Pacquiao For His Deep Faith in God; Houston Rockets Point Guard Ready For NBA Preseason Game Against Indiana Pacers

Jeremy Lin said he appreciates Manny Pacquiao's courage in showing off his newfound faith, believing everyone is entitled to express their religious ideals as long as they are trying to be themselves.

"Everyone has the right to be themselves," Lin told GMA News. "I think for him to talk about what's important to him, I don't think anybody should be able to say what he can or can't say who he is as a person. As long as he's trying to be real, that's fine."

Lin, who took the sporting world by storm after he came out of nowhere to lead the New York Knicks to playoff contention in 2012, is in the Philippines along with the Houston Rockets as they play the Indiana Pacers in Manila on Friday morning (Thursday night).

Like the eight-time division world champion, Lin is also a devoted Evangelical Christian and the issue was tackled deeply in the critically-acclaimed documentary film entitled "Linsanity," which hit theaters last week.

"Hopefully they can see through the story and chase their dreams and their passions, regardless of their race, their size, their gender, or whatever," Lin added.

When asked about the factors that kept him humble despite his success, the Rockets point guard gave credit to his deep faith in God.

"It's why I do what I try to do, and try to be the person who I try to be. "It's a constant battle. We're human, and there's that constant element of pride that you have to fight. I just want to be as much of myself as I can, and be as real and as authentic as I can be," added Lin, who is expected to start on Thursday.

Of course, Lin talked about the expectations for the Rockets this upcoming season and Dwight Howard's effect on the team as a whole.

"We're definitely gonna go into the post a little more but to be honest, we don't want to change our identity too much," Lin told GMA. "We just want to add in to it, we want it to be as smooth a transition as possible, getting him up to speed with the way we like to run and the way we like to play, and at the same time compromise with his game and utilize his strengths."

After their stint in Manila, Lin and company will travel to Taiwan for an encore game with the Pacers on Saturday.