‘I feel like it’s my duty’: How Palo Alto native, former NBA standout Jeremy Lin is guiding the next wave of Asian American basketball players

PALO ALTO Jeremy Lin cringes a little bit when he hears people talk about his infamous Linsanity run The Palo Alto native and former NBA standout never thought he would still be hearing stories about his legendary two-week stretch during the - season over a decade later but learning about how he served as an inspiration to Asian Americans brings a smile to his face Every time I hear about Linsanity I m like Don t tell me how old you were when it happened Lin reported the Bay Area News Group on Saturday I didn t think we would still be talking about that right now But every year I ve seen that the story is still very prevalent It s still very relevant A lot of people still care about it Seeing people tell me they were in middle school or elementary school when it happened it s crazy seeing time fly Just years after Linsanity shook up the sports world Lin is grateful to have inspired the next generation of Asian American basketball players On Saturday he held his inaugural JLIN NextGen Basketball Camp in Palo Alto where he brought together the top Asian American college basketball players from across the country for two days of expert training and intense workouts The players who attended Saturday s camp weren t even in high school when Lin had his breakout moment But learning from the person that inspired them to try and play basketball at the highest levels was a dream come true for the group of players I was just super excited that he gave me the opportunity to come and was excited when I saw the invite to the camp stated Stanford guard Ryan Agarwal It was crazy to see his longevity and his greatness even when he wasn t in the media spotlight Stanford basketball athlete Ryan Agarwal right dribbles the ball during the NextGen college basketball camp taught by former NBA star Jeremy Lin at the Pinewood Pursuits Center in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Aug Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Former NBA star Jeremy Lin right teaches basketball skills to players during his NextGen college basketball camp at the Pinewood Programs Center in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Aug Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Stanford basketball contestant Ryan Agarwal lays up a shot during the NextGen college basketball camp taught by former NBA star Jeremy Lin at the Pinewood Exercises Center in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Aug Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Former NBA star Jeremy Lin teaches basketball skills during his NextGen college basketball camp at the Pinewood Programs Center in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Aug Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Show Caption of Stanford basketball contestant Ryan Agarwal right dribbles the ball during the NextGen college basketball camp taught by former NBA star Jeremy Lin at the Pinewood Initiatives Center in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Aug Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Expand Lin just completed his th pro season right now playing for the New Taipei Kings of the Taiwanese Professional Basketball League As his playing days wind down Lin believes the next phase of his life will be to help mentor the next generation of Asian American players to get to where he once was Related Articles WNBA says fan was arrested for throwing sex toy in Atlanta threatens ejection ban moving forward Shorthanded Valkyries power through fatigue down Chicago Sky on road Valkyries sign Kaila Charles following injury to center Monique Billings Valkyries survive Mystics comeback to notch road win get back to Valkyries win against Dream spoiled by fan who threw sex toy onto court It was super dangerous I definitely see myself getting into this space To what degree or what that role looks like I don t know Lin noted But I will for sure be pouring into the next generation and sharing my thoughts Hopefully I can import certain wisdom This camp is a big first step We ve never done something like this I guess this is somewhat of a transition for me from being a performer to being a coach Lin s NBA career took him to Charlotte Brooklyn Atlanta Los Angeles Toronto and even his hometown Golden State Warriors But it was with the New York Knicks where Lin became a global star Over a two-week stretch during the - season Lin went from nearly out of the league to becoming the Knicks star point guard He landed on the cover of Time Magazine and on Sports Illustrated in back-to-back weeks after averaging points assists while leading the Knicks to an - record in that period Palo Alto High graduate and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo point guard Annika Shah still remembers staying up late to watch all of Lin s legendary run I don t think I ll ever forget Linsanity and the run that he had Shah mentioned Every single moment to that part of his story was just remarkable and it inspired a lot of Asian athletes It gave us hope that maybe if we can work hard enough we will be able to put another Asian athlete on a platform that he has Lin s impact for Asian American basketball players has been felt as the years go by During the - season Lin was the only Asian American sportsman in the league In Jordan Clarkson Jalen Green Kyle Anderson Jaylin Williams and Johnny Juzang were all players of Asian American descent to suit up in an NBA battle On the women s side Valkyries guard Kaitlyn Chen became the first Taiwanese American member to be drafted to a WNBA club We re definitely seeing more representation Lin mentioned I have a small role in just impacting who I can and sharing knowledge with who I can One of the things that I ve seen that s disappointing to me is that we ve seen specific players from the older generations rag on the new players from the younger generation I think we should have a lot of mutual respect and appreciation for each other So any way I can help players big or small or a lot or a little I feel like that s my duty To give back to the tournament Saturday s camp gave the college players a look into how Lin prepared in his offseason UC Irvine s Myles Che left pays attention as former NBA star Jeremy Lin teaches basketball skills to players during his NextGen college basketball camp at the Pinewood Events Center in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Aug Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Former NBA star Jeremy Lin middle teaches basketball skills to players during his NextGen college basketball camp at the Pinewood Initiatives Center in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Aug Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Participant players pay attention to former NBA star Jeremy Lin teaching basketball skills during his NextGen college basketball camp at the Pinewood Programs Center in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Aug Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Harvard Crimson s Thomas Batties II left holds the ball as former NBA star Jeremy Lin teaches defensive basketball skills during his NextGen college basketball camp at the Pinewood Initiatives Center in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Aug Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Former NBA star Jeremy Lin teaches basketball skills to players during his NextGen college basketball camp at the Pinewood Programs Center in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Aug Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Show Caption of UC Irvine s Myles Che left pays attention as former NBA star Jeremy Lin teaches basketball skills to players during his NextGen college basketball camp at the Pinewood Pursuits Center in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Aug Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Expand Lin rotated through intense shooting and ball handling drills and even took the players through a strenuous lifting session before they touched a basketball But even as a coach Lin didn t lower his intensity as each participant attempted to get through the grueling workouts Just like he was drenched in sweat after his contest winner against the Toronto Raptors in Lin was soaked again this time as he gave out instructions and demonstrated drill after drill He expected the players to follow suit practicing with the same sense of urgency he did when he was still trying to earn an NBA contract This opened up my eyes to see the world from a pro s perspective Agarwal revealed It was cool to just understand that I can learn from anyone He even reported he could learn from us And so I think him saying he could learn from kids at his own camp I think that humbles us to be willing to learn from anyone that we re around Lin hasn t played in an NBA event since the year he won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors group that defeated the Warriors in their last challenge at Oracle Arena Now in his mid- s Lin noted he wants to retire on his own accord whether that s overseas or in the NBA I want to be able to go out not because I can t play or can t physically play I want to be able to go out the way I want to go out Lin mentioned The championship has given a lot to me but finding that nice middle ground of Hey maybe I could play a little bit more but I don t need to I ve done a lot in my playing career so I m still trying to figure out that balance Former NBA star Jeremy Lin teaches basketball skills during his NextGen college basketball camp at the Pinewood Pursuits Center in Palo Alto Calif on Saturday Aug Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group