Jeremy Lin went from being a bench warmer lucky to be on an NBA roster to being the most popular player in the league in a matter of weeks. “Linsanity” took over the NBA as soon as the former Harvard point guard started lighting it up for the Knicks. Being on magazine and newspaper covers became the norm for Lin. He recently admitted that the sudden buildup of “Linsanity” got to his head.
“If I’m being honest, in some ways, yes,” Lin told the Bay Area newsgroup. “I fought it every day. But I think subconsciously it had its effect, everyone catering to you. People were saying only good things for so long that when people said negative stuff, it was like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on?'”
That last quote is pretty funny. Lin got so used to hearing praise that he wondered what was going on when anyone said anything negative. But at least he’s being honest. Who wouldn’t have been affected had they been in his situation? I think it’s a credit to his humility that he can at least admit it.
Lin turned down most endorsements offered to him because he wanted to concentrate on improving his game during his time off, not making money. He also was very humble and spoke graciously about his teammates after games. Lin may have been affected by Linsanity, but he sure handled it exceptionally well.
