Former Toronto Raptors point guard Jeremy Lin is on a mission to prove that he can still play in the NBA.
Lin scored 40 points in his debut with the Beijing Ducks during a Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) preseason game against the Zhejiang Lions on Sunday:
Jeremy Lin has 40 points and 6 rebounds in his debut for Beijing Shougang, yet not enough for his team to overcome Zhejiang in a pre-season game pic.twitter.com/2plpWdXWdN
— Xinhua Sports (@XHSports) October 11, 2019
The 31-year-old won a title as a member of the Raptors last season and has been one of the steadiest backup point guards in the league, but he went unsigned this summer.
Lin was vocal about his displeasure with executives around the league, saying that the NBA had given up on him (via Michael Kaskey-Blomain of CBS Sports):
“I've given more of myself to God every single year and every year it gets harder. In English, there's a saying, and it says, ‘once you've hit rock bottom, the only way is up,'” Lin said at an event in Taiwan. “Rock bottom just seems to keep getting more and more rock bottom for me. So free agency has been tough, because I feel like in some ways the NBA's kind of given up on me. I always knew that if I gave anyone a reason to doubt, they would.”
As CBS Sports writer Jasmyn Wimbish states, there are multiple players that have made it back to the NBA after stints in China:
Michael Beasley has bounced back and forth between playing in the NBA and in China, getting second and third chances despite never living up to his No. 2 overall draft selection. Most recently, Jimmer Fredette got a two-year deal from the Phoenix Suns last season, after spending the previous three years playing in China. Fredette's second-year team option wasn't picked up by the Suns, but if he's able to get a seat at the table when Lin has had a far better NBA career than him, there should be no reason there isn't a spot for Lin, too.
Perhaps Lin will earn an NBA contract if he continues to show out for the Ducks.
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