Jeremy Lin’s meteoric rise into world superstardom, buoyed by his resuscitation of the New York Knicks in a way nobody has since the 90s, earned the point guard a spot on Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World list.
Not too shabby for a guy who played 35 games for the Knicks before suffering a knee injury that required surgery.
Toward the tail end of the month of January and into early February, the Knicks point guard awoke a dormant franchise; earned a legion of fans all across the globe, inspired Linsanity, became a media darling, and signed an endorsement deal with car manufacturer, Volvo.
Again, not too bad—especially for a guy out of Harvard who averaged 2.9 points in 29 games for the Golden State Warriors last year.
Lin turned his career around with the Knicks, averaging nearly 15 points and more than 6 assists per game. In New York they love him, in Toronto they love him (Evidence: crowd in Toronto went nuts after he drained a game-winning three) and in Asia—well, they adore him.
Here’s a piece of the blurb written by Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education in Time:
“It’s great to see good values rewarded in professional sports because that’s not always the case. Often it’s the bling, the glam, the individual that gets celebrated — not the team and working together to advance a goal bigger than oneself. Jeremy cares only about one thing — winning.”
The point guard is not the only New York athlete to make it on Time’s annual list.
Jets “backup” quarterback, Tim Tebow, also found his way on the list after he turned around the Denver Broncos season with several remarkable comebacks throughout the year.
Lin, who referenced Tebow several times during the season, wrote this in the Time article about the tough-running (and throwing) quarterback:
“It is the qualities that Tim, 24, embodies in his life off the field that truly set him apart. He is unashamed of his convictions and faith, and he lives a life that consistently reflects his values, day in and day out.”