Jeremy Lin, who became an overnight sensation with the Knicks during the 2011-12 season as "Linsanity" swept through the NBA, announced on social media Tuesday that he will play for the Beijing Shougang Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association for the 2019-20 season.
The former Knicks and Nets guard posted a message on Twitter, writing "Beijing, I'm coming!" He posted a picture of himself in a Beijing jersey. He also posted a message on his Instagram account.
"All I can say is THANK YOU to the NBA, my family, inner circle, every fan who came to watch or rooted for me during these 9 years!" Lin wrote. "The journey and privilege to rep Asians at the NBA level has been amazing and Im overwhelmed with gratitude for each person who has been with me each step of the way.
"Equally excited for this next step with the Beijing Ducks! I always knew my path would go through the CBA solely bc I knew how much of an honor it would be to hoop in front of all my Chinese fans. Im here now and there is more history to be made!"
Lin, 31, spent last season with the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors. He was part of the Raptors team that beat the Golden State Warriors in June to win the franchise's first NBA title. But Lin did not garner much interest in NBA free agency. He said in an emotional interview in Taiwan last month that he had hit "rock bottom" and that "free agency has been tough." Lin also said that "in some ways the NBA's kind of given up on me."
Lin was an undrafted point guard out of Harvard but made his NBA debut with the Warriors in 2010, becoming the first Chinese American to make the league.
"Linsanity" was born during a 35-game stretch, including 25 starts, with the Knicks, who signed Lin on Dec. 27, 2011. Lin initially was assigned to the Knicks' G-League team but was called up on Jan. 23, 2012. He came off the bench against the Nets on Feb. 4 and scored 25 points with seven assists and five rebounds. In his next game on Feb. 6, Lin made his first career start and scored 28 points with eight assists. Lin scored 38 points against the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 10 and hit the game-winning shot against the Raptors four days later. The Knicks won seven straight games with Lin averaging 24.4 points, 9.1 assists and 4.0 rebounds during the stretch.
But Lin's stay in New York was short. He signed with the Houston Rockets in free agency on July 17, 2012. He played for the Rockets, Lakers and Charlotte Hornets before signing a multi-year contract with the Nets in free agency on July 7, 2016. Injuries limited Lin to just 37 games with the Nets, and he was traded to the Hawks on July 13, 2018.
Lin averaged 11.6 points and 4.3 assists in 480 games in his nine NBA seasons.
