SN 140 Moments: No. 128 - Unknown Knicks guard Jeremy Lin creates 'Linsantiy' phenomenon

Before February 2012, nobody had ever heard of Jeremy Lin. By the end of the month, he was a global sensation. 

Lin went on one of the most improbable runs in basketball history, going from the verge of getting cut to the star of the Knicks in just a few short weeks. The point guard out of Harvard didn’t even have his own apartment, sleeping on the couch of teammate Landry Fields while he tried to prove he was worthy of the last spot on the roster. 

With the Knicks’ season going sideways, coach Mike D’Antoni decided to give Lin a chance. In his first meaningful minutes of the year, Lin rewarded that decision, scoring 25 points and getting the team a win. 

Those wins and big scoring performances stacked up quickly. Midway through Lin’s hot streak, Kobe Bryant told reporters that he didn’t know who the point guard was. Lin scored 38 points and had seven assists to beat Bryant’s Lakers. Two games later, Lin hit a game-winning 3 against the Raptors with 0.5 seconds left, getting him to 27 points on the night. 

Lin helped lead the Knicks to seven straight wins before the run eventually came to an end. Fatigue caught up to him, and a torn meniscus towards the end of the year ended the wild phenomenon. 

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