Credit: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Jeremy Lin praises former New York Knicks player who really helped him during ‘Linsanity’ run, ‘he did it to perfection’

Originally posted on NBA Analysis Network
By Aikansh Chaudhary | Last updated Jun 17, 2025 7:54 PM ET

During the 2011-12 NBA season, the New York Knicks fanbase saw one of the best individual runs by a player.

Yes, it was none other than Jeremy Lin during his ‘Linsanity Run’ in February 2012 for the New York Knicks.

More than a decade later, Lin’s 13-game stretch for the Knicks is still viewed fondly by NBA fans around the globe. After all, during the Linsanity Run, Lin carried the Knicks to 10 wins.

In those 13 games, Lin averaged 22.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game for the franchise. However, Lin did have the help of one of his Knicks teammates throughout his legendary run.

Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Jeremy Lin says ‘ultimate teammate’ Tyson Chandler helped his Linsanity Run

During the phenomenal run, Lin went from being a bench player to a starter for the team. While Lin has been praised for his run a plethora of times, the former NBA star recently appreciated his ex-teammate, Tyson Chandler.

In an interview with ESPN’s Omar Raja, Lin discussed the importance of his chemistry with Chandler during the Linsanity run.

“Well, Tyson is like the ultimate teammate. Everything that doesn’t always show up… sometimes it shows up on the stat sheet because he scored, but he scored because he set great screens and rolled hard every time.

“But against really good defensive teams, the people who set screens and roll really hard are not going to get much,” Lin said of Chandler.

He added: “Good defensive teams have the low man there and the weak side help coming in. It’s a very selfless job, but he did it to perfection and never complained.”

Tyson Chandler never complained about his role, says Jeremy Lin

Being an unselfish player is an extremely underrated quality in an NBA role player. Lin was dropping insane numbers including a 38-point performance against LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

Chandler could have been jealous of his Knicks teammate, but Lin reveals the former NBA star always fulfilled his role.

“If he got one shot or 10 shots or 20 shots, he was still going to do his role no matter what. To me, it just made it simple. I knew what he was going to do every single time.

“He’s the ultimate teammate and ultimate leader, and that’s why I liked playing with him. He was going to set a good screen, he was going to get me open, and he was going downhill fast,” Lin continued.

“As long as I could engage the big for a little bit, I could throw it anywhere, and he’d go and get it,” he concluded.

This is certainly a fresh take on the Linsanity Run as it helps in showing how other Knicks players were also as invested in it as Lin was during the 13-game stretch.

Lin ultimately did cool off and finished the 2011-12 season with 14.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game for the Knicks.

This article first appeared on NBA Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission.

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