Lin inks pact to play in China with Beijing Ducks
Veteran guard Jeremy Lin has signed with the Beijing Shougang Ducks to play in the Chinese Basketball Association next season, the team announced Tuesday.
In a statement, the Ducks said the team is now in the process of working with the league to get his registration paperwork approved, a procedural move.
Lin, who turned 31 last week, won his first title with the Toronto Raptorslast year. During his nine-year NBA career, he is most remembered for delivering a series of high-scoring performances in early 2012 as a member of the New York Knicks, generating a wave of global sensation known as "Linsanity."
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It had been speculated that Lin, who enjoys a large fan base in Asia, would sign with a CBA team after failing to land an NBA deal as a free agent this summer. During a TV appearance in Taiwan in July, an emotional Lin described a sense of hopelessness.
"In English there's a saying, and it says once you hit rock bottom, the only way is up," Lin said to an audience on Christian television station GOOD TV. "But rock bottom just seems to keep getting more and more rock bottom for me. So, free agency has been tough. Because I feel like in some ways the NBA's kind of given up on me."
The Ducks have been a CBA powerhouse in recent years, winning three league titles while led by former NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury. Marbury is now the head coach for the Ducks' rival team in Beijing.
The announcement Tuesday ended months of rumors, and excited many Chinese basketball fans. After the team's announcement, Lin posted pictures of him with Beijing teammates on social media. "Beijing, here I come," Lin wrote.
Veteran guard Jeremy Lin has signed with the Beijing Shougang Ducks to play in the Chinese Basketball Association next season, the team announced Tuesday.
In a statement, the Ducks said the team is now in the process of working with the league to get his registration paperwork approved, a procedural move.
Lin, who turned 31 last week, won his first title with the Toronto Raptorslast year. During his nine-year NBA career, he is most remembered for delivering a series of high-scoring performances in early 2012 as a member of the New York Knicks, generating a wave of global sensation known as "Linsanity."
<inline style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></inline>
It had been speculated that Lin, who enjoys a large fan base in Asia, would sign with a CBA team after failing to land an NBA deal as a free agent this summer. During a TV appearance in Taiwan in July, an emotional Lin described a sense of hopelessness.
"In English there's a saying, and it says once you hit rock bottom, the only way is up," Lin said to an audience on Christian television station GOOD TV. "But rock bottom just seems to keep getting more and more rock bottom for me. So, free agency has been tough. Because I feel like in some ways the NBA's kind of given up on me."
The Ducks have been a CBA powerhouse in recent years, winning three league titles while led by former NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury. Marbury is now the head coach for the Ducks' rival team in Beijing.
The announcement Tuesday ended months of rumors, and excited many Chinese basketball fans. After the team's announcement, Lin posted pictures of him with Beijing teammates on social media. "Beijing, here I come," Lin wrote.
