Jeremy Lin Read online

  “Toney Douglas is a better shooter, a better scorer, and a better player,” explains commentator Mike Breen as Jeremy Lin, somewhat nervously, checks in at the scorer’s table and enters his first significant game as a New York Knick. He’d logged a few minutes in the Knicks’ previous game against Boston, but coach Mike D’Antoni had gone with Douglas in the second half.

  Breen later states that Lin “doesn’t have a chance” defensively against Nets point guard Deron Williams, but later takes the comment back when Lin contests a shot.

  He drives for a layup in the second quarter, and then at the other end steals the ball and hits an outlet pass to Douglas. He later finds Jared Jeffries with a bounce pass on a pick-and-roll. “He sees the floor well,” says Breen. On the other end, Lin pulls down a rebound. He seems to be playing at a different speed than the other nine players on the court, who, in true NBA fashion, may be pacing themselves. He finishes the half with 6 points and 4 assists.

  Lin misses a lot of open jumpers early in the second half, but perhaps most important, he’s taking them. He’s not afraid to pull the trigger when an opportunity presents itself. He’s not playing like a D-League call-up just looking to assimilate and stay out of the way.

  “Jeremy Lin right now looks absolutely spent,” says Breen, right before Lin drives to the basket, scores, and draws a foul to end the third quarter. He’s eclipsed his season high in minutes, with 21. He does look exhausted, gasping for breath at the free-throw line. For the first time, the Garden crowd chants “Jeremy.”

  Despite his fatigue, he drives and finds Jared Jeffries and Amare Stoudamire in the fourth quarter. He hits a pull-up 15-footer for his 17th point in the fourth quarter.

  “This is the Jeremy Lin show here in Madison Square Garden!” Breen exclaims as the crowd comes alive after Lin hits a reverse layup. “But if the Knicks lose this game, it’ll be long forgotten, except for the Lin family.” The Knicks cling to a tenuous 92–86 lead as Kanye West’s track “Power” plays over the arena PA system. “I’m livin’ in that 21st century, doin’ something mean to it, do it better than anybody you ever seen do it,” West raps. Lin drives, sinks a reverse layup (again), and draws yet another foul. He seems to be drawing on an unlimited reserve of creative energy.

  “The Knick players can’t stop smiling, and even laughing,” Breen points out. When the final buzzer sounds, the scoreboard reads 99–92, Knicks. “A magical night for Jeremy Lin.”

  “I’m just thankful to God for this opportunity, to come out and play for this team and get a win,” he tells an interviewer, post-game.

  “I said I’m gonna go back and play this game just as aggressive,” he tells Nichols of his recent success. “Last year I was trying to fit in . . . to not make mistakes. This year, I said I’m gonna make sure I do it my way. If I go down, I’m gonna go down fighting.”

  5

  I Did It My Way

  No Fear of Man

  In God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?

  —Psalm 56:11

  But more, much more than this, I did it my way.

  —Sinatra

  Jeremy Lin said the following, in a recorded testimony at a church in June of 2011:

  When Paul wrote in Philippians to press on for an upward prize, he was living for that, and it made his life meaningful (Philippians 3:15). And I realized I had to learn to do the same. I had to learn to stop chasing the perishable prizes of this earth, I had to stop chasing personal glory, I had to learn how to give my best effort to God and trust him with the results. I have to learn to have enough faith to trust in his grace and to trust in his sovereign and perfect plan. I had to submit my will, my desires, my dreams—give it all up to God and say, “Look, I am going to give my best effort, go on the court and play every day for you, and I’m going to let you take care of the rest.” This is something I struggle with every day. . . . Playing for great stats is nice, but that satisfaction—that happiness—is only from game to game. It’s temporary.

  What’s interesting about this, among other things, is that it was one of those random, under-the-radar church appearances by a fringe D-Leaguer/call-up that went largely unnoticed by everybody until about two weeks ago when Google was blowing up with searches for Jeremy Lin videos. It came at a time when Lin was, I’m sure, flattered to be asked to speak and thankful for the extra little bit of money it provided him.

  * * *

  Aside: According to The Post Game, a Yahoo Sports blog, Jeremy Lin’s No. 17 jersey is the NBA’s top online seller since February 4. Knicks merchandise sales are No.1 overall in the NBA since Lin’s breakthrough game. The Knicks have raised average ticket prices by 27 percent since Lin scored 25 points off the bench against New Jersey.

  * * *

  Now, I’m sure Lin’s agent’s assistant’s celly is blowing up with requests for Lin to give keynote talks for tens of thousands of dollars at big Christian conferences like The Gospel Coalition or Together For the Gospel, on the main stage in front of a life-sized picture of Matt Chandler’s next book and right before Lecrae descends from the rafters to rap a new version of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” Such is the nature of evangelical fame.

  We’re lucky to have this pre-fame version of Lin’s testimony. It’s significant that he says, “I had to learn to stop chasing the perishable prizes of this earth, and I had to stop chasing personal glory” before he actually had the perishable prizes and personal glory. Understandably, famous Christians usually get asked to speak and give testimonies after they’ve become famous and after they’ve already gotten what they’re insisting they don’t want. It’s easy to say you don’t want something if you already have it.

  * * *

  Aside: As I type this, I’m in the process of receiving texts from my own agent, telling me that there are two other major Christian publishers doing Jeremy Lin biographies at the same time I’m doing this Jeremy Lin book. I text the following to my agent: “Help me to not feel nauseated by this.” I know I’m becoming a part of the very same Christian Athlete Business that I’ve always bent over backward to distance myself from. The business where evangelicals fall all over themselves to make a buck/name off of the latest kid who scores 30 points and says the word “God” in a postgame interview. At face value there seems to be no “downside” to these relationships, which keep the shelves full of quickly written but semi-shallow Christian jock bios and keep kids’ heads full of dreams. I’m worried a little for Lin. He’s going to get a one-way ticket to the weird world of Christian publishing and media where “message” has been sharing a bed with “profitability” and “marketing” for so long that they’re common-law married. The fact that I’m a part of this world, and have been for a while, freaks me out. Lord, help me to write a Jeremy Lin book that is valuable, and Lord help me to write a Jeremy Lin book that does right by the gospel first, and then does right by Jeremy Lin.

  * * *

  Ironic, given the last aside, that I’m writing a chapter titled “No Fear of Man.” The fact of the matter is that I’m fearful of a project like this, for a lot of reasons. But Lin’s fearless play is an inspiration to me, and should be an inspiration to fans. Journalists will bend over backward to find reasons for Lin’s pluck and courage, but I would assert that it stems from his understanding of the gospel and the sovereignty of God. There’s a difference between intellectually assenting to God’s sovereignty and feeling it in one’s heart—and I would assert that Lin’s play is evidence of the latter level of communion with God. And I would argue that it was Lin’s early disappointments that brought him there.

  In Psalm 51:17, David writes: “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” David learned that it was through his confession of sin, repentance, and a brokenness of spirit that he drew near to God. And perhaps Jeremy Lin learned, on those long developmental league bus rides, that communion with God far transcended NBA dreams or individual glory.

  Lin says that hi
s favorite verses are Romans 5:3–5: “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

  Maybe it’s proof of my own spiritual immaturity, but I have a hard time hearing a verse like that from somebody who hasn’t suffered. Maybe it’s because Lin has been on the outside looking in—and for a time was denied access to a dream—that I can hear this from him and genuinely be glad for his success. He has been called into offices, at least twice, and been told that he’s been released. He has packed up his gear. He has gone undrafted. He has gone without a scholarship.

  Ironically, now that Lin has “the perishable prizes of this earth” as well as “personal glory,” he may need our prayers more than ever. And if the Knicks showdown with the Miami Heat is any indication, perhaps the pressure is getting to him.

  6

  New York Knicks vs. Miami Heat

  February 23, 2012

  Everything is safe which we commit to Him, and nothing is really safe which is not so committed.

  —A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

  Jeremy Lin scrimmaged the varsity tonight. The Heat are like the Ivan Drago of NBA basketball. Outfitted in sleek, shiny black uniforms, they look like basketball-playing bodybuilders compared to Lin and the Knicks. They look bigger, faster, stronger, longer, and meaner. They all but brought Jeremy Lin to midcourt before the game and said, “I must break you.”

  I knew when Lebron drove the basketball right into Lin’s chest in the first quarter, that Lin had jumped into the proverbial deep end of the pool. There is an “Oh my, what have I done?” look in his eyes.

  We know that his impact on the Knicks has transcended his own eye-popping numbers. With Lin on the court, the Knicks have shot 48.3 percent as a team; with him on the bench, they’ve shot just over 33 percent. The Knicks have scored 81 points more than their opponents with Lin on the court, and 17 fewer than their opponents without him. Going into the Heat game, Lin is 8–2 as a starter, averaging 23.8 points per game and hitting 50 percent of his field goals. (On the flip side, he’s also racked up 59 turnovers in 10 starts—the most since turnovers became an official statistic.)

  Lin stated, before the game, that he’s “just got to stay aggressive” against Lebron James. Easier said than done. The Heat boast the league’s best record (26–7), and they’ve had a few games in which to compile a scouting report on Lin, which must have read something like, “Maintain constant pressure, cut off the swing pass, and make him go to his left.”

  Miami hits the accelerator early in the first quarter. The phrase “It’s a playoff atmosphere” is overused in sports, but it’s true tonight. Actually, the atmosphere in Miami is more like a rumble in a dark alley somewhere. Bron Bron, Bosh, and D-Wade look mad. They look like they want to reassert their place at the top of the league’s pantheon of stars. It looks personal.

  At 7:19 of the first quarter, Lin looks completely gassed. He’s been an offensive non-factor thus far, facing double teams and turning the ball over, as Lebron seems to cover the entire width of the court in a stride or two. Lin misses a pull-up jumper and ends the first quarter with 0 points and 3 turnovers. He’s on the bench with a towel over his head to start the second quarter.

  I’m rooting for Lin in this game if only so that the making of a new rivalry emerges—a rivalry that Lin will need to remain relevant. As I’ve mentioned before, the NBA is a league of individual stars (for better or worse), and those stars have always had foils. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had Dave Cowens. Jordan had Isaiah Thomas. Magic had Larry. For Lin to become and stay transcendent, he’ll need to prove that he can hang in these championship fights.

  If there’s a bright spot for the Knicks, it’s that backup point guard Baron Davis shows signs of life in his minutes, and the hope is that he’ll be able to provide some much-needed rest for Lin as the season progresses.

  Though Lin has only 2 points and 6 turnovers in the first half, he keeps the dribble alive and keeps attacking the rim.

  “The guy showed fortitude, faith, and toughness to keep banging on doors,” says Heat coach Eric Spoelstra of Lin’s emergence, in an interview.

  “They [Heat] are one of the best pick-and-roll defenders,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said after the game. “They come at you real quick. The first time you see it, the speed is overwhelming and I think it took [Jeremy] a while to adjust. He didn’t have the legs, it looked like. He played last night, and it happens. He’ll use it as a learning experience. Our whole team will. We played arguably the best team in the NBA, and it set a bar that we have to get up to.”

  Lin said afterward that he couldn’t remember another game where it was hard just to dribble the ball. He said the Heat did a good job of forcing him left, which the book says is a weakness of his, and not letting him make the swing pass to disrupt the Heat’s defensive rotations. He said the next time he faces the Heat he’ll try to make them work harder and make sure his passes jump-start the Knicks’ offense better and are directed exactly where they need to go.

  While he was addressing a media room of around fifty reporters after the game, Lin said he wasn’t going to use the back-to-back fatigue as an excuse. Instead, he gave a lot of credit to the Heat’s speed and athleticism on defense. He said the next step would be to review the game tape and see where he can improve.

  “They did a great job of making me uncomfortable,” said Lin, who mentioned that playing consistently well has been his toughest challenge recently. “We’re a no-excuse team, so fatigue doesn’t really matter. Everyone’s tired at this point. Everyone has a sixty-six-game schedule, so we’ve just got to look at film and get better. I think that’s going to be exciting because this team is young in terms of players coming in and coming back. Obviously as a point guard, I have to make sure that I’m learning.”

  7

  Basketball and Gospel

  God and the Christian Athlete; God and the Christian Fan

  Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

  —1 Timothy 1:15–17

  I know that without Thee I can do nothing, that everything with which I shall be concerned, however harmless in itself, may prove an occasion of sin or folly, unless I am kept by Thy power. Hold Thou me up and I shall be safe.

  —“Morning Needs,” from The Valley of Vision

  Basketball, and sports in general, is nothing if not proof of the idea that everything can prove to be an occasion for “sin or folly.” Lin’s ascension to stardom in New York, as fun and inspirational as it has been, is shaded by the reality that if Lin gets hurt, hits a cold streak, or just plain wears down, he will be largely forgotten and/or outright hated. Much has been written about the “hostility” of the New York media market, but I would argue that all fans and indeed all people are born this way.

  The doctrine of inherited and total depravity is all over scripture: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The human heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9). The natural man is dead in trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2:1). By nature, we pass our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating on another (Titus 3:3). We are inclined toward evil (Genesis 6:5).

  We see this each day in sports. We see it in our inclinations and reactions as fans, and we see it in the players themselves, even our heroes. It’s just a small example, but Michael Jordan proved his “imperfection” when he used his Hall of Fame speech as a public forum for airing all of his grudges and profes
sional dirty laundry. As beautiful and near-perfect as he was on the court, he has disappointed many people off it. Charles Barkley proves his imperfection each time he goes on television and talks out loud.

  It’s a great paradox: While Jeremy Lin is the best and most inspirational of players right now, he is also, at the same time, the worst of sinners as Paul was when he wrote his letter to Timothy. As I am, as I sit and type this. And while there’s much common grace and much to enjoy about the Lin narrative, the most important and hopeful thing about Lin is that he is in a right relationship with Jesus Christ.

  It’s a hard thing for Christian fans to hear. We want to think of our heroes as perfect (see: Tebow Worship) because we want to think of ourselves as having the potential for perfection inside us. Professional sports, we think, provide a context in which we can see perfection, but they’re also a context in which we see the depravity that lives in all of our hearts—a depravity that can only be made right by the work of Christ on the cross. As A. W. Tozer says in The Pursuit of God, we can’t rend the veil of sin ourselves. “God must do everything for us. Our part is to yield and trust. We must confess, forsake, repudiate the self-life, and then reckon it crucified.”

  What we often lose in the Christian Athlete Narrative are these gospel essentials. We often get a picture of God that stops with “Bestower of Talent” but fails to include “Righteous Judge.” The truth, if Scripture is to be believed, is that our sins will either be atoned for on the cross or paid for in hell. When we confess, repent, and ask God to forgive our sins, Scripture says that “he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). In light of the dark stain of our sin, this seems too easy, and on one hand it is. But often our tremendous pride keeps us from crying out to God for help in this fashion—like the thief on the cross cried out, and was saved, in the final moments of his life. There is glorious comfort and freedom from guilt in this gospel truth, and that truth is at the heart of the humility that propels Jeremy Lin.