Former New York Knicks guard and franchise icon Jeremy Lin has officially called it a career, as he formally announced his retirement from basketball on Saturday.
“As athletes, we are always aware that the possibility of retirement is never far away,” Lin said in his post. “I’ve spent my 15 year career knowing that one day I would have to walk away, and yet actually saying goodbye to basketball today has been the hardest decision I’ve ever made.”
Former Knicks guard Jeremy Lin officially announces his retirement
Lin is most known for his run with the Knicks during the 2011-12 season, famously dubbed “Linsanity.” Lin burst onto the scene in that February with an average of 20.9 points and 8.4 assists, and included many memorable moments that still live in infamy.
That run included a game-winner against the Raptors on the road, and a dominant 38-point showing against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. It was a run that gave Knicks fans something to cheer about, and he quickly became a global icon.
Unfortunately, “Linsanity” was short-lived, as he signed with the Houston Rockets following that famed 2012 season. Lin averaged 15.2 points and 6.1 assists in two seasons with Houston before he bounced around a few teams, including the Lakers, Hornets, Nets, Hawks, and Raptors.
Lin played 15 seasons of professional basketball
Injuries began to riddle his career in the later stages. He suffered a season-ending ruptured patellar tendon in the 2017 season opener and dealt with hamstring injuries the season before.
Luckily for Lin, he was able to make it back and eventually was a part of the NBA Champion Raptors team in 2019. That would be the last season Lin would play in the NBA before taking his career overseas, and he has now decided after 15 professional seasons to call it a career.
Lin will always be an icon in the sports world, but especially among Knicks fans. His run in that famed 2012 season will always be remembered for uplifting a passionate fanbase, and he turned in a strong basketball career as well.