"I’m rooting for so many more Asians to come in"
Jeremy Lin has shared his experience of being the only Asian American in the NBA.
As reported by Bleacher Report, Jeremy Lin has discussed being the only Asian American in the NBA.
Talking to Cary Chow of The Undefeated, Lin said he would like to see more Asian American players in the league.
“At times it kind of sucks,” Lin said. “At other times it’s amazing. Amazing because you get to challenge everyone’s viewpoints and perspectives. I’m rooting for so many more Asians to come in. Last year, when I was with Brooklyn and we had Ding [Yanyuhang] on the summer league team, I was like, ‘Dude, please make the team. We’d have so much fun together during the season.'”
Lin, who recently signed with the Toronto Raptors, is Taiwanese American and grew up in San Francisco.
Reflecting on entering the NBA, Lin recalled that the league was unfamiliar with Asian Americans.
“When I was growing up playing basketball, I didn’t see much color,” he said. “I didn’t really think it made a difference. After I went through Linsanity, I learned the world wasn’t quite ready or didn’t know how to handle Asian-Americans, Asian-Americans in sports, Asian-American masculinity and a lot of different Asian-American issues.”