With his game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer on Tuesday night, Jeremy Lin capped off the New York Knicks' dramatic come-from-behind victory to defeat the Toronto Rapters on VaLINtine's Day. He may have also catapulted the NBA to success this season.
Just weeks ago, J.Lin/Linsanity/Linning/[Fill in Lin pun here] was playing in the NBA's D-league. With his headline-grabbing and unprecedented mid-season surge, however, Lin has earned his spot as the Knicks' starting point guard and nearly single-handedly turned around the team's disappointing season.
The Knicks have won six games in a row, and J.Lin has put up impressive numbers during the stretch (his most memorable performance came on last Friday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, when he scored a career-high 38 points and seven assists. Although the season is still young, the Knicks have reversed course in just one week from the NBA's most disappointing team to a legitimate playoff contender. Lin, not team's high-paid stars Carmelo Anthony or Amare Stoudamire, has saved the Knicks season, and likely coach Mike D'Antoni's job in New York.
After nearly 15 years of disappointing, sometimes dismal seasons, Madison Square Garden is alive again, and New York City can't stop talking about the Knicks. To put things into perspective, consider this: Just several years back, Knicks fans protested nightly outside of the Garden calling for the team's ownership to fire their resented coach Isiah Thomas.
Now, Madison Square Garden Co. shares are at a record high, the Knicks' average household television rating is up 70 percent since Lin joined the starting lineup, and jersey sales are skyrocketing. I watched the Knicks-Lakers game at a bar in Harlem, and have not felt that kind of energy from fans since the great playoff duels between the Knicks and Miami Heat in the late 1990s.
Beyond the Knicks, Lin may be saving the NBA as well. Just a few months back, the NBA took a massive credibility hit during a multi-month lockout which pitted owners against the players. Although TV ratings thus far have been fantastic, the season did not even begin until Christmas Day, a fact which left many fans exasperated, annoyed, and eager to tune out the league. Over the past few years, LeBron James' drawn-out and obnoxious free-agent saga, combined with poor play around the league (Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley said he was "embarrassed" by the current quality of play) have angered fans and damaged the league's brand.
Lin is leading a one-week NBA basketball revival. His Cindarella story has inspired Asian-Americans, boosted NBA sales in China, and turned the basketball world upside down. He's consistently been one of Google's top searches for over a week. All anybody can talk about is the NBA.
Whether Lin can sustain his incredible momentum and lead the Knicks back to greatness remains to be seen. But he's got New York and the country talking about basketball again, no small feat for a 23-year-old from Harvard, of all places.