Former NBA guard Jeremy Lin announced his retirement from professional basketball on Saturday, ending a 15-year career that spanned the NBA, China, and Taiwan and included a championship with the Toronto Raptors.
From Jeremy Lin’s Instagram page @jlin7
Lin, 37, made the announcement on Instagram, calling it “the hardest decision I’ve ever made.”
“It’s been the honor of a lifetime to compete against the fiercest competitors under the brightest lights,” Lin wrote. ”I’ve lived out my wildest childhood dreams to play in front of fans all around the world. I will forever be the kid who felt fully alive everytime I touched a basketball.”
Lin rose to global fame in 2012 during a remarkable stretch with the New York Knicks dubbed “Linsanity,” when he became an international sensation seemingly overnight. After going undrafted in 2010 out of Harvard, Lin signed with the Golden State Warriors but made his breakthrough with the Knicks, where he averaged 14.6 points and 6.2 assists during the 2011–12 season.
Over nine seasons in the NBA, Lin played for eight teams, including the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors. He became the first Asian American to win an NBA title when the Raptors captured the championship in 2019.
Following his NBA stint, Lin continued his career in Asia, playing in China’s CBA and later for the New Taipei Kings in Taiwan’s T1 League. He led the Kings to a championship in the 2024–25 season and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player and Finals MVP.
Lin, the first American-born NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent, became a trailblazer and a cultural icon throughout his career, inspiring fans across the globe with his story of perseverance.