Jeremy Lin will continue his basketball career with the Beijing Ducks

To the delight of his legions of fans in China, Jeremy Lin is back. The Chinese American free agent has signed on with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association.

“Beijing Shougang, I’m back!” the highly popular 32-year old told fans in Chinese on his social media account. Shougang are the owners of the CBA's Ducks.

“No regrets about the past, excited for the future. Still got a lot of basketball left in me and we’ll see where this road goes. Beijing Ducks, excited to be back this upcoming season! Thank you all for going on this journey with me,” he posted on Instagram.

After playing for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the NBA's G-League hoping to impress an NBA team. However, after the G-League season was over, no team offered him a contract even though his stats were better than some of the minor league players were picked up by an NBA team.

Last month, just before the NBA playoffs began, the veteran player realized that no team was going to give him a chance to return to the NBA. He wrote a long social media post that sounded like he was retiring with no regrets. In a subsequent post, he clarified that he was not retiring from professional basketball, leaving the door open for a return to the CBA where he led the Ducks to the semi-finals last season.

At one point during his 11-year career, Lin was the only Asian American basketball player in the National Basketball League. He signed with the Golden State Warriors in his first year, then bounced around the league with seven other teams. 

The high point of his NBA playing time was for several weeks  during the 2011-2012 season he became a media focus for his spectacular play with the New York Knicks giving rise to "Linsanity." Injuries prevented him from playing with the Knicks during the playoffs and followed him for the rest of his career.

While waiting for an NBA offer, Lin revealed that he was called a racial slur during a G-League game but he never revealed the player's name. Consequently, the California resident became a prominent spokesperson against the anti-Asian racism currently surging throughout the U.S.

Jeremy Lin to play basketball for a Chinese pro-team

Jeremy Lin didn't quit the NBA, the NBA quit him. He signed with the Beijing Ducks yesterday.

ASAM NEWS

It’s official. Jeremy Lin has signed to play basketball overseas with the Beijing Ducks, reports ESPN.

The deal ends for now, his nine year career in the NBA.

The Ducks made the announcement today (Aug. 27), saying it was in the process of finalizing all the paperwork. No word yet on how much Lin will make although earlier rumors had him agreeing to a $3-million contract.

Last season he played for three different teams and earned $13.8 million, according to Spotrac. That’s just slightly less than the $14.9 million contract he signed with the Lakers in 2014-2015-his best year salary wise.

Back in July, the Harvard grad hinted that he would be leaving the NBA when he declared “the NBA has kind of given up on me.”

Lin has a supersized following on social media and is considered a rock star in China. “Beijing, I’m coming,” he declared on the Chinese social media app Douyin.

Today, he posted a picture of himself in wearing his new jersey alongside his brother, who signed with the Fubon Braves, who play in the same league. Jeremy Lin, although born and raised in California, speaks fluent Mandarin.

Lin last season became the first Asian American player to win an NBA Championship with the Toronto Raptors. Although he got little playing time in the playoffs, he averaged 7 points per game during the regular season for the Raptors. Over his nine seasons, he averaged 11.6 points per game and 4.3 assists.

In late July, during a @&A with fans in Taiwan, he became emotional while discussing his then-ongoing free agency: “I feel in some ways like the NBA has given up on me.”

He’s joining a team that has won three league titles in the Chinese Basketball Association and is considered a powerhouse. Former NBA star Stephon Marbury led the team to league championships in 2012, 2014 and 2015. Marbury, who retired at the end of the 2017-18 season, is now the head coach of the Ducks' rival team -- the Beijing Royal Fighters.

"I always knew my path would go through the CBA, solely because I knew how much of an honor it would be to hoop in front of all my Chinese fans," Lin said in his Instagram post. "I'm here now and there is more history to be made!.'

With Lin's departure from the NBA, Filipino American Jordan Clarkson of the Cleveland Cavaliers becomes the only Asian American player in the pros. At one time when both Lin and Clarkson played for the Los Angeles Lakers, the tandem formed the first all-Asian American starting backcourt.

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