It felt inevitable, and Jeremy Lin has officially signed to play in China for the Beijing Ducks.
Look out, China, “Linsanity” is coming. According to Sportando, Jeremy Lin has signed a one-year deal with the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association.
Lin split last season in the NBA between the Atlanta Hawks and the Toronto Raptors, averaging 9.6 points and 3.1 assists per game over 74 total regular season games. He only played in eight playoff games for the Raptors, and averaged 3..4 minutes per game, but he got himself a ring.
In nine NBA seasons (480 games), Lin has averaged 11.6 points, 4.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game.
Lin became a phenomenon with the New York Knicks during the 2011-12 season, as he averaged 18.5 points and 7.7 assists per game over a 26 game stretch in February and March. Since then he has become a journeyman, spending time with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets and the Brooklyn Nets before last season.
Lin found no interest on the free agent market this offseason. During a television appearance in Taiwan in July, he emotionally described his lack of NBA prospects.
In English there’s a saying, and it says once you hit rock bottom, the only way is up,” Lin said to an audience on Christian television station GOOD TV. “But 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.
Lin took to social media to confirm his signing with the Ducks.
The Beijing Ducks have been a CBA powerhouse recently, winning three league titles notably led by former NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury. Marbury is now the head coach of the Ducks’ cross-town rival.
Lin has a big fan base in Asia, so rumors he would sign in the CBA came easily once he had no other interest to consider. An eventual return to the NBA shouldn’t be ruled out, but stateside basketball fans will always remember Lin’s brief star run with the Knicks.