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That's insane. It's been suggested he was passed over because he's of Chinese decent. You'd think the teams would be climbing over themselves to get a good play
by wisty 15y ago
That's insane. It's been suggested he was passed over because he's of Chinese decent. You'd think the teams would be climbing over themselves to get a good player with a Chinese name, because that's a way to get tens (or hundreds) of millions of Chinese fans.
He's not the next Yao (since he's American born, for starters), but he'd still be worth a lot purely for the fans he'd draw.
While "hundreds of millions" is often just hyperbolic thinking, Chinese are keener on the NBA than Americans. Unless the world cup (soccer) or Olympics is on, it's the only spectator sport worth speaking of. And Chinese love brand-name goods, and sports memorabilia, though many are forged.
Plus, he's a good player.
- jwallaceparker 15y agoI'm a Knicks fan visiting China right now. Jeremy Lin's game against the Lakers was the lead story on the sports program on television last night. He could catch on here.
- j-kidd 15y agoI am a Nets fan for 12 years and hate the Knicks. Today I followed NYK vs MIN just because of Jeremy Lin. Game tied, 24 seconds left, and he got the ball in his hand. I could have became a Knicks fan if he made that layup. This is insane. Nets spent billions to build a new arena. Knicks got Jeremy Lin.
- ssharp 15y agoI highly doubt any team passed over him because of his ethnicity. That's insanely counter-productive and something that doesn't happen in modern sports, especially the NBA. Yao Ming was a #1 draft pick. The NBA knows it's strong position in China.
- MrMatters 15y agoIs Yao Ming the best comparison though? He's 7'6", something that sets him apart more than ethnicity would. I wouldn't be surprised if Lin's did play a part, maybe not overtly, just because Asians in the NBA are fairly underrepresented.
- jberryman 15y agoI don't know. That one Chinese player was highly sought after in the last decade in the NBA does not convince me that unconscious racial bias hasn't played a role here, not that I think malice has either. It seems obvious that Lin's Chinese descent is at least still a novelty in the NBA
- ssharp 15y agoI still have a very hard time chalking it up to racial bias, whether conscious or unconscious. If the NBA is lacking in Chinese players, I'd amount it to: 1. Chinese players' talents aren't good enough, or they simply don't fit into the NBA style of play 2. NBA teams are not good at transcribing their play to the NBA level Lin is an American, however, and has been playing US-style basketball his whole life. Lin's had a streak of statistically good games, and a much larger sample of below average play off the bench. I haven't watched his games and I don't know how good he is on defense, or how he looks in operating an offense. But even if he turns out to be a really great NBA player, it's not like he was the first professional athlete to be overlooked/underrated. John Starks, former Knick, who played a big role in the Knicks' success in the 90's was undrafted, as was Ben Wallace, a premier defender for the championship Pistons in the 2000's. The NFL also has a lot of once underrated talent. The Super Bowl losing Patriots have future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady, who has been an elite quarterback for about a decade now was the 199th player picked in his draft class. And one of his prime targets the past few years has been undrafted Wes Welker. Kurt Warner was undrafted, sign as a free agent, cut during the preseason and had to play several years in the Arena League before becoming a Super Bowl MVP and superstar quarterback.