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Ten years ago, the sports world was taken on by a phenomenon known as Linsanity.
Jeremy Lin was an undrafted point guard for the New York Knicks who had one of the more improbable rises to NBA stardom. In a sit-down with People Magazine, Lin discussed the HBO Max documentary, "38 at the Garden," which chronicles his rise to stardom.
To understand Lin’s rise to stardom, we must start at the beginning of his basketball career. Lin, who grew up in the San Francisco, California, area, was the Northern California Player of the Year in high school, but despite that, he received no scholarship offers.
He went on to play at Harvard and was a three-time All-Ivy League player. Even so, he was not drafted by the NBA. He signed on to play for the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets and was cut by both. He was signed to the Knicks midseason after they suffered a rash of injuries.
Another thing that made Lin unique was that he was an Asian-American player. There have been a few Asian players who have played in the NBA, most notably Yao Ming, but there were no Asian-American stars at this point.
The breakout of Linsanity
In a game on Feb. 4, 2012, against the New Jersey Nets, coach Mike D’Antoni felt the team needed a spark and put Lin into the game. It was a breakout game for Lin, who put up 25 points, seven assists and five rebounds in a 99-92 win.
The documentary covers this moment and the following games in which Lin performed well and the Knicks were winning. This led to buy-ins from his teammates and Knicks fans. What makes this moment extra special is the response from the Asian community, which now had a basketball hero who looked like them.
"I haven't always been very comfortable with, you know, Linsanity and the spotlight," Lin said.
Being in the biggest media market in the world amplified what Lin was doing on the court. Linsanity was one of the biggest news stories of the time, particularly in sports media.
How to watch "38 at the Garden"
The title of the documentary comes from what some people view as the biggest night of the Linsanity phenomenon. It was Feb. 10, 2012, when the Knicks hosted the LA Lakers at Madison Square Garden. On basketball’s most storied floor against one of the league's most storied franchises, Lin faced off against one of the all-time greatest players.
With Lin facing Lakers icon Kobe Bryant, the belief was that this was the night the fairytale would end. Kobe being the star that he was and a good defensive stopper would put an end to Linsanity.
Lin responded by having his best game, outscoring Bryant 38 to 34 in a 92-85 win.
Lasting Impact of Linsanity
The 38-minute film focuses on the social impact of Linsanity off the floor in the Asian community. It features prominent Asian-American figures such as ESPN journalist Pablo Toure, journalist Lisa Ling and comedian Hasan Minhaj.
"I would want my fans to walk away remembering that this was my experience, and they got to witness it, but my story could be their story," Lin said.
The documentary also discusses the discrimination the Asian community has experienced since Linsanity as well as the overall impact of that moment for Asian-Americans. Lin told People that he hopes that the film can resonate with Asian-Americans.
"38 at the Garden" can currently be streamed on HBO Max.
