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Celebrate a decade since Linsanity

This weekend online screenings & conversations with the director & special guests are happening online

LiFTED | Marcus Aurelius | 24 Feb 2022


February of 2012 is only 10 years ago, but with worldwide pandemics and the possibility of World War III on our hands, it feels like 20 or 30 years since Jeremy Lin set the world on fire with his play at point guard for the New York Knicks. This weekend, Montage celebrates a decade of Jeremy Lin’s rise with a screening of the Linsanity documentary, as well as some panel discussions with the filmmaker and some special guests.

New York City is one of the biggest markets in the world, and their basketball team, the Knicks, even though they haven’t been good for a long time, still have a very hardcore and vocal fan base. In December of 2011, the NBA lockout just ended so teams were scrambling to get players. Jeremy Lin was undrafted and unproven and had been on multiple teams to start off his NBA career. He was waived by Houston and picked up by the Knicks as a bench player.

In January, Lin was playing no more than 10 minutes a game, and the Knicks lost 11 of 13 games, so the coach decided to shake things up. Against their crosstown rival, the Nets, Lin played 36 minutes and put up 25 points and people started whispering. In the next game, Lin played 45 out of 48 minutes and scored 28 points. The Knicks were 2-0 when Lin got big minutes so New York got excited.

The Lakers were coming to Madison Square Garden and Kobe loved playing at the mecca of basketball. Lin stole the show and scored 38, and the Knicks had just won three games in a row. For the next few games, Linsanity ran wild in New York and all over Asia, as Jeremy Lin brought respect in basketball to people who didn’t have much of it over the years. Soon, though, Lin got hurt and was out for the season. He ended up getting signed by the Rockets and Linsanity in New York was over.

Jeremy Lin never recaptured that glory, but he has been made an idol in Asia over the past decade. He became a basketball journeyman and had a lot of success in the Chinese Basketball League.

A who’s who in Asian culture will be involved in the panel conversations about Linsanity and what it has meant for the Asian community. Hosted by Phil Yu, the author of the Angry Asian Man blog, guests will include the director Evan Jackson Leong, Ronny Chieng, comedian on the Daily Show, Michelle Yu, an Emmy-winning reporter, and more.

For those that want to watch Linsanity, it’s streamable at Montage here. For those interested in reliving Linsanity through moderated discussion, go here to sign up.