It’s official — Jeremy Lin has signed with the Santa Cruz Warriors. It’s something of a homecoming for Lin, a Palo Alto native who started his NBA career with Golden State.
Rumors have been swirling for months over whether Lin would be making his return to Golden State, with reports of talks emerging in October. A near-deal fell through in December, but on Saturday Lin formally signed with the Golden State G League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
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The G League will be playing in Orlando, in a bubble-style tournament similar to the NBA’s approach last season.
The veteran player has had a long and varied NBA career, having spent his nine seasons with eight different teams. He played in the Chinese Basketball Association with the Beijing Ducks for the 2019-20 season, averaging 22.3 points per game.
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The “Linsanity” star made it clear that he does not plan to stay in the G League. In a Q&A with his Chinese fans on Douyin (China’s TikTok), he said, “My dream is not to stay in the G League. If I play well, NBA teams will want to sign me and I can join whichever NBA team who wants me, although I am playing in the Warriors’ G League team.”
He also assured Chinese fans that he “always want[s] to go back to the CBA someday, that’s for sure.”
This weekend also saw another notable basketball return, as the game between Houston Rockets and LA Lakers was livestreamed on Tencent in China. The broadcast marked the first time a Rockets match-up had been carried live in the country in 15 months, with the team largely ostracized following Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of Hong Kong protestors.
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It nonetheless looks like it’ll be a long road back to acceptance for the Rockets, once one of the most popular NBA franchises in China.
