NBA

Linsanity led former Knicks phenom to ‘emptiness, confusion and misery’

Lin at the height of Linsanity in New York.

Lin at the height of Linsanity in New York. (AP)

So, that first year in Houston didn’t go exactly as Jeremy Lin hoped.

The former Knicks guard spoke of the disappointment that came from going to the Rockets’ savior to the coaches “losing faith in” him during a youth conference in Taiwan, according to The Gospel Herald.

“I became so obsessed with becoming a great basketball player … trying to be Linsanity, being this phenomenon that took the NBA by storm,” Lin said during the motivational speech. “The coaches were losing faith in me, basketball fans were making fun of me.”

Lin took New York and the basketball world by storm in February 2012 when he went from the third-string point guard to the star of a struggling Knicks team. With Carmelo Anthony injured and Amar’e Stoudemire mourning the death of his brother, Lin led the team to a 10-3 record.

“The one thing I learned was how empty fame and worldly success really are … the desire for success never stopped,” Lin said.

“If the voice that you listen to the most isn’t God’s voice, then eventually you will experience that emptiness, confusion, and misery that I felt when I listened to the voice of ‘Linsanity.”

When Anthony returned, Lin’s role lessened, but he remained incredibly popular among Knicks fans. But when he signed a three-year backloaded offer sheet with the Rockets in the offseason the Knicks opted not to match it and brought back Raymond Felton to start at point guard. Lin was billed as the face and future of the Rockets until they acquired James Harden days before the season.

“I was ready to invigorate the entire city of Houston … I was supposed to save Houston basketball,” said Lin, who was mentioned often in trade rumors before and after the Rockets signed Dwight Howard in free agency.

“I was supposed to be joyful and free, but what I experienced was the opposite – I had no joy, and I felt no freedom.”