Li-N-A: Jeremy Lin busts the myth of basketball genes

Jeremy Lin is not the first Asian-origin person to dominate on a basketball court. Asians of all backgrounds have been breaking ankles, hitting threes, dunking and shutting their opponents down, and they’ve been doing it in playgrounds, in sweaty gyms, in schools, colleges, and in professional leagues around the world. Lin isn’t even the first Asian to be an NBA star: a certain 7 foot 6 behemoth by the name of Yao Ming would like to take credit for that. Many others from China or Japan or Iran have had their brief stints at the highest level of the game.

But it is 6 foot 3 Jeremy Lin, an American of Taiwanese descent, holding no Yao-like size advantage over his opponents, who matters the most. Because with his incredible journey from the last person on the Knicks’ bench to becoming basketball’s biggest sensation, he has busted one of the biggest myths in basketball at its highest level: ‘Asians are just not made for the game.’

For a long time, that myth has plagued even the best Asian-origin players in the world, whether they were born in Asia or born in a country outside Asia but were of Asian descent. No matter how hard they tried, there had always been a voice – in their heads or out in the open – telling them that there is a limit to their talents. Telling them that no matter how good they become, they’ll never be good enough for NBA. Telling them that no Asian has ever been a basketball superstar (unless they were gifted with seven and a half feet of body length). Telling them that their genes were just not good enough for the game, that their parents’ chromosomes just didn’t have the athleticism to pass on down to them, that they’re better off becoming doctors or software programmers.

Having been covering hoops in India, I have had the opportunity of following Asian basketball closely over the past few years, and although it is still several steps behind hoops in North America or Europe, it has definitely taken a giant leap forward in the past decade. Asia is a diverse continent, and ballers from its different parts – from China, Iran, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Phillipines, and of course, our desi Indian players – hold the same dreams of hoops excellence that any young basketball player in North America or Europe does. They all want to be Like Mike, to be dominant at the most-respected level of basketball in the world, the NBA. And yet, that same voice whispers into their ears too, reminding them of the harsh stereotypical reality, telling them that NBA basketball is just not in their DNA.

And then comes along Jeremy Lin.

If you live on Planet Earth, you have probably caught a whiff of his story by now. Asian-American kid, goes to Ivy League Harvard, is undrafted in Division II of college basketball but signed by the Golden State Warriors where he only plays about 10 minutes a game for a measly 29 games, continues his struggle in the NBA’s Development League, is cut loose by the Warriors, is signed and cut by the Rockets, is signed by the Knicks in a desperate move to bolster up their weak backcourt, and plays limited minutes hoping to get his shot at a guaranteed contact by the 10th of February. The Knicks were an awful 8-15 when, on February 4th, Lin finally gets that shot, exploding for 25 points off the bench against the Nets. Since then, Lin has become the best player on his team, leading them to an 8-1 record, playing with unmatched passion on the floor, becoming a global sensation for his play, and making NBA history with most points scored in his first NBA starts. Within a matter of weeks, he has not only brought energy to a struggling franchise and their desperate fanbase and become the most exciting player to watch in the league, but also helped make the world believe that Asian-origin players can do what everyone else can do.

Experts have already tried to explain the phenomenon. Some have said that he’s a product of the point-guard friendly D’Antoni offense, some still doubt that he’s got the talent to be a game-changer, while some, unable to understand how he keeps doing it night after night, have turned to spirituality and to what Lin would himself describe as a reason for his success: that it’s a miracle from God.

But all these explanations fail to point out the obvious truth: that Lin is a gifted basketball player who worked harder than everyone else around him and believed in himself. He has a decent size for a basketball player, but beyond that, everything else has come from his persistence and hunger for success. The reason Lin slipped through the cracks of college and NBA scouts wasn’t because of his physical ability or hard work, it was, as his high-school coach suggested, because of his race. And with his success, thankfully, that issue can be put to rest, too.

In a recent USA Today article, author Jeff Zillgitt interviewed Thad Williamson, a University of Richmond professor of leadership studies, who said that, “Lin is changing perceptions of Asian Americans, in ways that both reinforce and deeply challenge existing stereotypes.

“On the one hand, he is the prototypical high-academic-achieving Asian American. But on the other hand he is a baller who has shown he can not only compete with but also excel against the world’s best players.”

Perhaps the strongest factor of Lin’s breakout has been that he hasn’t done it by being a Yao-like giant but by being a small player who plays like other small American players. Indian fans have their own hopes of seeing Indians making it to the NBA, but currently, the top prospects come from beyond seven-feet – whether they are Indian-Canadian brothers Sim (7’4”) and Tanveer (7’2”) Bhullar, or our own Punjabi prodigal son Satnam Singh Bhamara (7”1’). For Asians, it seemed that the easiest way into the league is being so tall that basketball scouts would be foolish to ignore you. But Jeremy Lin has made people believe that it is hard work – and not just height – that can take you to the top.

In America, the term ‘Asian-American’ is limited to East Asians and South-East Asians – those of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese and, like Lin, of Taiwanese descent. Indians, other South Asians – Pakistanis, Nepalis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans – are stereotypically put under the same desi banner. But just as Lin has broken the barrier to encourage Asian-American basketball players, the multitude of South Asians who have the athletic ability, talent, and desire to be the best just need someone to look past their skin colour and give them an opportunity.

At the end of the day though, Lin’s improbable ascent was also made possible because he had a disciplined American sports background, one that helped him become an elite athlete despite the colour of his skin. He was given the right coaching from a young age, followed the correct diet, had the advantage of world-class physiotherapists to help him stay conditioned, and was part of a system that encourages discipline in sports. No country follows this discipline better than the USA, which is why American basketball coaches and physiotherapists are in great demand around the world (including in India). Europe, South America, and some parts of Asia (like China) have also made sports development a high priority in their culture.

Lin’s breakthrough has shattered myths and proved that it is nurture, and not just nature, that makes one a basketball star. To follow his example, the same type of nurture and development has to be provided to other Asian youngsters with potential.

With Lin’s inspiring – or ‘Linspiring story – the first threshold has been crossed. Basketball is not a game of colour or genes but of talent, desire and discipline. No more should you let that voice in your head or the discouraging voice of another person ever tell you that you don’t have NBA basketball in your DNA. If Jeremy Lin can do it, then there’s hope for all of us.