The Story: Seemingly out of nowhere, New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin has sent shockwaves through the sports world after mounting a series of stellar performances against some of the NBA's top talent. The league's first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent, the undrafted Lin, 23, is an evangelical Christian whom some have dubbed "the Taiwanese Tebow."
The Background: A little more than two years ago, Lin was a senior point guard at Harvard. "He's a special player who seems to have a special passion for the game," one opposing coach said. "I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the NBA one day." Despite such optimism, however, the two-time All-Ivy League selection's name wasn't called in the 2010 NBA Draft. Though the Golden State Warriors eventually picked him up as a free agent, he warmed the bench for most of the 2010-11 season.
A little more than two months ago, Lin was cut from the Warriors and then from the Houston Rockets before finally being picked up by the Knicks. A little more than two weeks ago, Lin was reinstated to the Knicks' bench after being demoted to their D-League squad for a game. And now, following a flurry of spectacular games, the once unwanted guard is more likely to be caught on Sportscenter than on the bench.
