What is “Linsanity” and how is it related to the NBA? All you need to know

Back in the 2011-2012 NBA season, New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin quickly rose from obscurity to become an international star. The phenomenon, which took place over only a couple of weeks, became known as “Linsanity” as fans flocked to see if Lin could keep it up.

Here’s the full story of the rise and fall of Jeremy Lin.

After going undrafted in 2010, Lin ended up playing in the Summer League, where he later earned a two-year contract with the Golden State Warriors. However, he bounced back and forth between the Warriors and their former D-League team, the Reno Bighorns, during his rookie season.

Lin was then cut twice in his sophomore season before signing a non-guaranteed contract with the injury-riddled New York Knicks in 2011. He was expected to be an afterthought for the team, but quickly put those assumptions to rest.

On Feb. 4, 2012, in a game against the New Jersey Nets, Lin got his opportunity and made the most of it in every sense. The game took place one week before the deadline for the Knicks to guarantee Lin’s contract, so the pressure was on.

Lin responded by scoring 25 points with seven assists and five rebounds off the bench in a rare Knicks win. New York had previously lost 11 of its last 13 games.

Lin later told “The Ringer” about the pressure he faced that night.

"So much stuff had to come together at the right moment—my back was against the wall," he said. "That was going to be it for me. My agent had actually called me before the game and said, 'If you don’t play well, tonight will probably be your last game in the NBA.'"

In the following game, Lin scored 28 points and provided eight assists in another win, this time against the Utah Jazz. However, it was his performance against NBA legend Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers on Feb. 10 that truly immortalized the legend of "Linsanity."

Lin finished the game against the Lakers with 38 points to put the world on notice.

Another one of his signature moments came shortly after when he hit a game-winning isolation 3-pointer versus the Toronto Raptors on Valentine’s Day 2012.

In his first five career starts, Jeremy Lin scored a total of 136 points, the most since the NBA-ABA merger. He also led the Knicks to 10 wins in 13 games and helped keep their playoff hopes alive.

Lin quickly went from a nobody who was reportedly sleeping on friends' couches and being mistaken for team security to becoming an international celebrity. He even landed on multiple Sports Illustrated magazine covers and earned a spot on TIME's list of The World’s 100 Most Influential People of 2012.

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The fall of “Linsanity”

New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin

Unfortunately, shortly after “Linsanity” started, Jeremy Lin suffered a torn meniscus on March 24, against the Detroit Pistons.

This injury effectively ended the "Linsanity" saga. Not only did Lin miss the playoffs for the New York Knicks, he never played another game for the team. He finished with a total of just 35 games played in New York. The team had a record of 20-15 in those games.

Lin later bounced around the league. He played for the Houston Rockets, LA Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors from 2012 to 2019.

The guard even won the NBA title as a reserve for the Raptors in 2019. However, he was never able to recapture the magic of Linsanity.

Linsanity may have been shortlived, but Jeremy Lin’s impact on the Knicks, the Asian community, and the NBA in general will never be forgotten.