After using his
pinpoint passing to extend the Knicks' winning streak to seven with a 100-85
victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, Lin said he was happy to show
that Asian-Americans could thrive in the NBA as could players from elite
academic institutions such as his alma mater Harvard.
"There are
definitely stereotypes, obviously," Lin said about preconceived notions
about Asian-Americans being able to compete at the NBA level.
"There's a lot of
them. The more we can do to break those down by the day, the better we'll
become. Hopefully in the near future we'll see a lot more Asians and
Asian-Americans playing basketball in the NBA."
California-born Lin
said he was looking forward to returning to the homeland of his parents after
the NBA season to host a basketball camp.
"I did that last
summer as well," the soft-spoken 23-year-old said. "I have a strong
passion for the game and I have a strong passion for Taiwan
"The kids were
awesome. It was one of the highlights of my summer, so it's something I
definitely want to do again."
Lin, who was not
recruited by any U.S.
ELITE SNUB
Despite shining on the
Ivy League stage, he was not drafted by any NBA teams. After playing less than
10 minutes per contest in 29 games last season for the Golden State Warriors,
he was cut by two clubs this season before being signed by the Knicks.
He said he would also
like to dispel the notion that players from elite academic universities could
not compete at the highest level.
"That's another
stereotype," Lin added. "Ivy League basketball is definitely on the
rise. Harvard basketball is on the rise."
Lin said he was trying
hard to stay focused and not get caught up in the excitement generated by his
dazzling results since getting a chance to play.
"I want to be the
same person, before and after. I don't want to let anything affect me or this
team. Playing in New York
"We need to make
sure we're sticking together. We put our egos aside, and when we put our egos
aside and really buy into coach (Mike) D'Antoni's system we're going to win
games."
Lin said the most
surprising thing to him had been the way the Knicks (15-15) had bonded as a
team.
"We were losing
games and could have started pointing fingers," he said about losing nine
of 10 before this winning streak.
"It's unbelievable right
now. The camaraderie on this team is just ridiculous. It's just a joy to be
around them every day. You show up to the practice facility and it's all smiles
across the board. That's the beauty of team sports and that's the beauty of
basketball."
