Start the Linsanity

In tonight's 107-93 victory over the Washington Wizards, New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin became the first player since 2003 to have 20+ points and 8+ assists in each of his first two career starts.  With the Harvard-educated Lin leading the way the Knicks have won three straight (albeit against New Jersey, Utah and now Washington) and, despite not having Carmelo Anthony or Amar'e Stoudemire in the lineup, finally look like the team Mike D'Antoni intended.  While we now know what Lin means to the Knicks - with a true point guard, New York seems to have finally found some sort of functional offense - what does the Asian American rising star mean to the NBA as a whole?

First, I'll go on the record in stating that I don't think Lin is a real solution to the Knicks' problems.  While Lin is a solid player and may have been severely underestimated by his previous teams (the Warriors and the Rockets), in time I believe that teams will figure him out, he'll slow down and the Knicks will need to adjust; keep in mind that earlier this year Knicks fans wanted to name Iman Shumpert the savior of Knicks basketball, and last year Landry Fields was the king of New York.  If Lin can at least continue to be a productive player for the Knicks, though, he may have a profound impact on the league's ability to continue to connect with its increasingly large, highly-educated Asian American fan base.

The NBA is very focused on the globalization of basketball, and as a result has worked hard to market international players such as Germany's Dirk Nowitzki, Spain's Pau Gasol and even Israel's Omri Casspi.  What the league hasn't done as effectively, though, is promote American players who aren't of either African American or Caucasian heritage.  At the same time, Asian Americans across the country have become increasingly interested in the game of basketball and Lin may the league's ticket to resonating with this growing fan base.  Though growth in China post-Yao Ming has been a lot slower than NBA officials anticipated and hoped for, Lin's success as an NBA player may play a large role in the league's success with Asian fans from the United States.   

Will Jeremy Lin have more than fifteen minutes of fame?

No one knows how long Lin's run will last, but it's safe to say he won't be averaging 20+ points and 8+ assists per game for the rest of the season.  That being said, it won't take an All Star-caliber season to turn Lin into a hero for American-born Asian fans.  As long as Lin can carve out a regular role for the Knicks - and there's no reason that he can't - the latest most-popular Knick can be a huge marketing vehicle for the NBA's campaign to attract Asian American viewers.  Lin's atypical ethnic background and Ivy League education make him destined to be a New York fan favorite.  Let's start the Linsanity.