Jeremy Lin Officially Announces His Deal With the Beijing Ducks
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After years of bouncing between NBA teams, basketball star Jeremy Lin made a momentous announcement to China's basketball fans via Douyin yesterday – he’s officially signed with the Beijing Ducks.
"Beijing, wo lai le," Lin says to the camera as he magically transforms from wearing traditional Chinese garb into his number 7 Ducks jersey, ball at his hip.
Lin made the announcement via Douyin on Tuesday in suitably flashy style
Earlier this month, Lin said in an interview with RADII that he feels most at home in China, expressing that no matter how well he played, he never felt accepted as a true American basketball player. Raised in the United States by parents from Taiwan, he now wants to return to China, not only for his own stardom but to share his knowledge of the game with Chinese children. "I’ve always known that my journey in some ways would end in China, that I would come back here and take the experiences that I had growing up in America," he said in the interview.
Jeremy Lin helped take the championship for the Raptors in his final NBA season
Lin won’t be the only foreign player on the Duck’s roster, but he will certainly be the biggest name. The team formerly had a prosperous run with point guard Stephon Marbury from 2011 to 2015. With Lin now playing the same position, fans are no doubt looking forward to a revival of those glory days after the ducks slumped into fifth place at the end of last season.
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Beijing won’t be paying Lin the USD 20 million (RMB 143 million) he was once offered by the Houston, but he certainly won’t go hungry with the reported contract of USD 3 million a year (RMB 22 million). That’s a healthy one million more than Marbury was earning.
Joseph and Jeremy Lin sport their respective team jerseys
Lin’s career with the NBA started with a highly publicized placement with the New York Knicks and wrapped up with Toronto Raptors as they took the championship, but his minor role in that victory wasn’t enough to attract other North American teams. Lin has been gracious on social media about his transition to Asia, joining his brother Joseph Lin, who re-signed with the Fubon Braves of Taiwan on the same day.
Images: SCMP, NBC, Instagram
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