New York Knicks: Amar’e Stoudemire reminisces on ‘Linsanity’
Former New York Knicks star, Amar’e Stoudemire, looked back on the Linsanity era of 2012 when Jeremy Lin became an overnight star at Madison Square Garden.
The second half of the 2011-12 season was a historic but unusual run for the New York Knicks. They made the postseason for the second consecutive year, just not with Carmelo Anthony at the forefront.
Jeremy Lin, an undrafted guard from Harvard, became an overnight sensation for the Knicks. After just 29 games with the Golden State Warriors and time in the G League, he burst onto the scene in February 2012 with an 18-game run of 20.4 points, 8.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 steals.
The excited around “Linsanity” overtook New York basketball, even with Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire around. It only lasted for one month, but remains one of the most captivating eras in recent Knicks history.
On a recent edition of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Stoudemire reminisced on this period, and compared it to the arrival of a legendary band.
“It was crazy, man. It was unbelievable,” said Stoudemire. “I mean, it was like The Beatles were in town, man, every single night for a good 14 games.”
Unfortunately for the Knicks, Linsanity did not last forever, and its end became apparent as the season winded down.
“Once a team gets a scouting report and starts realizing what a player can do, that’s when your teammates get better,” Stoudemire added. “When attention goes to one player, a smart player would then deviate from himself to get his teammates involved.”
Stoudemire also said it’s how a team becomes better, when the star player takes “heat” from the opposing team and finds a way to involve everyone in the offense.
“Linsanity” tumbled in the game Le Batard mentioned, when the Miami Heat swarmed Lin and caused him to shoot just 1-for-11 from the field for eight points and eight turnovers. It was never quite the same afterward, as the now-member of the Atlanta Hawks shot just 41.4 percent and 30.6 percent from long distance to close the season.
After that season, the Houston Rockets signed Lin as a restricted free agent, and the Knicks never matched the offer. He spent two seasons there, went to the Los Angeles Lakers via salary-dump trade, played for the Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets, and joined Atlanta in another offseason deal in July.
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Already over six years passed, “Linsanity” remains a recurring conversation with the Knicks. It lasted in the blink of an eye, as a movement that overtook the NBA for not even half a season, but the impact holds strong in September 2018.