'Linsanity' finally comes to an end with veteran guard's retirement

Lin announced the end of his basketball career via an Instagram post. He called retirement "the hardest decision I've ever made" and "the honor of a lifetime to compete against the fiercest competitors under the brightest lights and to challenge what the world thought was possible for someone who looks like me."

It was a highly improbable rise to stardom for Lin, who didn't get a single college scholarship offer, despite going to high school across the street from Stanford University. Instead, Lin starred at Harvard, returned to the San Francisco area to play for the Golden State Warriors and made his way to the Knicks after the 2011 NBA lockout.

Then, magic happened. With Baron Davis injured and the Knicks mired in a 2-11 slump, Lin got an opportunity against the New Jersey Nets. He responded with 25 points and seven assists. Lin was in the starting lineup for the next game, when he scored 28 points and delivered eight assists. The Knicks would go on a seven-game winning streak with Lin as their starting point guard, including a game-winning shot against the Toronto Raptors.

Lin also outscored Kobe Bryant in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers, putting up 38 points to the Mamba's 34.

The phenomenon, dubbed "Linsanity," led to Lin appearing on the cover of Time, GQ and back-to-back issues of Sports Illustrated. It only slowed due to Lin's meniscus tear and the resulting surgery at the end of the season. That summer, Lin signed with the Houston Rockets as a free agent, but lost his spot as the primary ball-handler after the Rockets' surprising trade for James Harden.

Lin went on to play nine NBA seasons, with stops with the Lakers, Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks and Raptors, with whom Lin won a ring in 2019. He was the first Taiwanese-American to play in the NBA and the first Asian-American to win a title. Over the course of his career, Lin defied stereotypes, proving his worth as an NBA player and defying assumptions about his athleticism — the Rockets measured Lin as having the quickest first step in the league.

At the end of his career, Lin played in the G League, the Chinese Basketball Association and the Taiwanese League, where he won MVP and Finals MVP last season while winning a title with the New Taipei Kings.

He'll always be remembered for his red-hot month in 2012, but Lin carved out a long pro career from a very inauspicious start. Lin inspired a generation of young players, and his impact went far beyond his statistics. 

You could call it "Lindescribable."