With the Toronto Raptors Game 6 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, Jeremy Lin has become the first Asian American player to win an NBA championship ring.
The fact that Lin registered only 51.7 seconds of play time during the NBA Finals and tallied no other stats hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm of his fans who have gleefully sent out their congratulations on Twitter.
Lin’s journey to the championship platform is an inspiring one. After going undrafted out of Harvard, Lin slept on teammate couches and played in the D-league before finally getting his big chance in New York. Lin didn’t waste the opportunity, igniting a global craze known as 「Linsanity」 with his incredible play.
Unfortunately, a knee injury cut Linsanity short and Lin was never again able to recapture that same magic. He has, however, remained a valuable journeyman point guard, playing on eight different teams in nine seasons. He was signed by the Raptors in February and many thought he would be a part of the team’s playoff rotation.
However, Toronto coach Nick Nurse instead decided to stick with backup guard Fred VanVleet and Lin became essentially a human victory cigar, only entering the game once the outcome was no longer in doubt. Of course, there are much worse things than having a front row seat to the NBA championship. Afterward, Lin thanked God on Twitter for having finally reached the 「mountaintop.」