http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page/nb ... -nos-75-51

Was Linsanity the start of something, or a phenomenon that will never be duplicated?

Both, probably. When Lin came off the bench and took over the NBA for a few weeks in 2012, leading the woeful Knicks to a seven-game winning streak, there was no precedent for an Asian-American player playing such a dominant, spectacular role for an NBA team. What's more, he did it in the world's media capital, and his exploits resonated instantly in New York, from coast to coast and across the globe.

Though his career has taken several twists, Lin remains a popular and productive player when healthy, and he has done more than any player other than Yao Ming to force NBA observers to reconsider the talents of players of Asian heritage. -- Royce Webb

Lin should have been rated higher than #75. Not sure why so many black players rated between #1-#75. They are a dime a dozen.


The 2nd closest might have been Paul Kariya of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks... but he was more of a Canadian-American and the Japanese aren't too crazy for hockey. Also, he was a high 1st round draft pick.

Kariya did appear in a hollywood movie -- Mighty Ducks.

The other Chinese-American who had a semi-phenomenon was Timmy Chang who came before Jeremy Lin. He was like a rockstar in Hawaii. He played the most prestigious position of all manly sports -- Quarterback. When he finished his college career, he was the leading passer of all time! He was the one to represent Hawaii and the Asian Pacific Islanders.


I don't think we'll ever see another Asian like Jeremy Lin in basketball in our lifetime. Nor will be ever see another dominant asian player like Yao Ming.