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Jeremy Lin will play in the Rising Stars Challenge after all.
From ESPN..
The New York Knicks point guard was added Thursday to the roster of players for the Feb. 24 game at All-Star Weekend in Orlando, just before Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley began drafting for their teams.
New York's current sensation has also been invited to play a role in the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest.
Sources with knowledge of the league's plans told ESPN.com that Knicks rookie Iman Shumpert -- one of four dunk-contest entrants alongside Houston Rockets forward Chase Budinger, Indiana Pacers swingman Paul George and Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Derrick Williams -- will be enlisting Lin to "assist" him in a manner similar to the help 2011 champion Blake Griffin got from then-Los Angeles Clippers teammate Baron Davis.
FROM THE ESPN ARCHIVES
Gie-Ming Lin came to America for his Ph.D. and "to watch the NBA." More than 30 years later, his son Jeremy is overcoming stereotypes to become one of college basketball's best all-around players, wrote Dana O'Neil in December 2009. Lin's backstory
Lin was not selected in the 2010 NBA draft, but he made such a good impression at the Las Vegas Summer League that the Warriors offered him a two-year contract. Kevin Arnovitz interviewed Lin for TrueHoop in July 2010. Jeremy Lin makes good
Lin struggled in his transition to the NBA. At Golden State he couldn't crack the lineup and was sent to sharpen his game with the D-League's Reno Bighorns, wrote Anna Katherine Clemmons in March 2011. Lin's rookie season
O'Neal took Lin with his third pick after starting with the Clippers' Blake Griffin. Barkley took Cleveland's Kyrie Irving at No. 2.
Miami's Norris Cole also was added to make 20 eligible players.
Barkley praised Lin's addition, saying it was "really stupid the NBA denied him in the beginning."
Lin, a second-year point guard, has started six games and led the Knicks to seven straight wins. His strong performance the past two weeks has drawn international attention, including that of President Barack Obama, and led to debate about whether he would be invited to participate in All-Star Weekend, which begins Feb. 23 and culminates with the All-Star Game on Feb. 26.
A league source Thursday confirmed a New York Daily News report that the NBA will make Lin part of the field for the Haier Shooting Stars competition during All-Star Saturday night.
NBA commissioner David Stern told USA Today earlier this week that Lin would not be a special late addition to the BBVA Rising Stars game that features rookies and second-year players, but the NBA was pressured to add him after he scored 136 points in his first five starts, most by an NBA player since the merger with the ABA in 1976-77.
The sports world has been captivated by the Lin phenomenon. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks -- who visited the Knicks on Sunday -- said the story is good for the league because it comes in the nation's biggest media market.
"If it was happening in Charlotte, no one would know," Cuban said, exaggerating for effect.
"New York is still kind of the mecca of the media for basketball," Cuban added. "It's great for the league, so you've got to love it. And Jeremy Lin is a great kid, so I'm happy for him."
The fact that Lin is the first Asian-American starter in NBA history adds intrigue to his fascinating underdog tale, Cuban said.
"Oh, absolutely," Cuban said. "I don't know about cultural impact. It's just because it's a question of the odds. Just statistically speaking, not culturally speaking, it's an aberration for the same reason that Yao (Ming) and Yi (Jianlian) and some of the other Asian players were.
Jeremy Lin: 2/16
Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin talks about his journey and shares his feelings on all the Lin-sanity.
More Podcasts
From ESPN..
The New York Knicks point guard was added Thursday to the roster of players for the Feb. 24 game at All-Star Weekend in Orlando, just before Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley began drafting for their teams.
New York's current sensation has also been invited to play a role in the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest.
Sources with knowledge of the league's plans told ESPN.com that Knicks rookie Iman Shumpert -- one of four dunk-contest entrants alongside Houston Rockets forward Chase Budinger, Indiana Pacers swingman Paul George and Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Derrick Williams -- will be enlisting Lin to "assist" him in a manner similar to the help 2011 champion Blake Griffin got from then-Los Angeles Clippers teammate Baron Davis.
FROM THE ESPN ARCHIVES
Gie-Ming Lin came to America for his Ph.D. and "to watch the NBA." More than 30 years later, his son Jeremy is overcoming stereotypes to become one of college basketball's best all-around players, wrote Dana O'Neil in December 2009. Lin's backstory
Lin was not selected in the 2010 NBA draft, but he made such a good impression at the Las Vegas Summer League that the Warriors offered him a two-year contract. Kevin Arnovitz interviewed Lin for TrueHoop in July 2010. Jeremy Lin makes good
Lin struggled in his transition to the NBA. At Golden State he couldn't crack the lineup and was sent to sharpen his game with the D-League's Reno Bighorns, wrote Anna Katherine Clemmons in March 2011. Lin's rookie season
O'Neal took Lin with his third pick after starting with the Clippers' Blake Griffin. Barkley took Cleveland's Kyrie Irving at No. 2.
Miami's Norris Cole also was added to make 20 eligible players.
Barkley praised Lin's addition, saying it was "really stupid the NBA denied him in the beginning."
Lin, a second-year point guard, has started six games and led the Knicks to seven straight wins. His strong performance the past two weeks has drawn international attention, including that of President Barack Obama, and led to debate about whether he would be invited to participate in All-Star Weekend, which begins Feb. 23 and culminates with the All-Star Game on Feb. 26.
A league source Thursday confirmed a New York Daily News report that the NBA will make Lin part of the field for the Haier Shooting Stars competition during All-Star Saturday night.
NBA commissioner David Stern told USA Today earlier this week that Lin would not be a special late addition to the BBVA Rising Stars game that features rookies and second-year players, but the NBA was pressured to add him after he scored 136 points in his first five starts, most by an NBA player since the merger with the ABA in 1976-77.
The sports world has been captivated by the Lin phenomenon. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks -- who visited the Knicks on Sunday -- said the story is good for the league because it comes in the nation's biggest media market.
"If it was happening in Charlotte, no one would know," Cuban said, exaggerating for effect.
"New York is still kind of the mecca of the media for basketball," Cuban added. "It's great for the league, so you've got to love it. And Jeremy Lin is a great kid, so I'm happy for him."
The fact that Lin is the first Asian-American starter in NBA history adds intrigue to his fascinating underdog tale, Cuban said.
"Oh, absolutely," Cuban said. "I don't know about cultural impact. It's just because it's a question of the odds. Just statistically speaking, not culturally speaking, it's an aberration for the same reason that Yao (Ming) and Yi (Jianlian) and some of the other Asian players were.
Jeremy Lin: 2/16
Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin talks about his journey and shares his feelings on all the Lin-sanity.
More Podcasts
