Linsanity is coming to the NBA Finals.
Jeremy Lin is joining ESPN’s coverage of the Knicks-Spurs series, per USA Today, appearing on NBA Today, SportsCenter, Hoops Streams, and potentially other network programming through the duration of the series. He makes his Finals debut on Wednesday on SportsCenter, live from Washington, D.C., alongside Scott Van Pelt.
The Knicks haven’t been to the Finals since 1999, and Jeremy Lin hasn’t forgotten what New York meant to him either. His 2012 Linsanity run — an undrafted Harvard grad who had been cut twice, suddenly becoming the hottest player in the league for a month — remains one of the great feel-good stories in recent NBA history. He won a ring with the Toronto Raptors in 2019 and bounced around the league before eventually retiring, but his place in Knicks lore was never in doubt.
This isn’t his first time on ESPN’s set either. Lin made a surprise appearance on NBA Today back in March and delivered one of the more celebrated breakdown segments the show had produced in years, walking Malika Andrews and Tim MacMahon through what makes Luka Dončić so difficult to stop. He used the display monitor to trace Dončić’s footwork reads, explained how defenders get manipulated before the ball even leaves his hands, and ended by demonstrating that the only real answer is to yell for help.
It left both him and the Worlwide Leader wanting more.
Lin told USA Today he texted former teammates-turned-analysts Danny Green, Iman Shumpert, and Steve Novak for advice before his ESPN appearances, and has leaned on Andrews and ESPN vice president of production Hilary Guy for coaching throughout.
“I’m less of the super hot take, loud persona,” Lin said. “I try to be somewhat even-keeled, I try to be educated, and then I try to be uplifting, even if I have to criticize.”
He also made clear he’d like this to extend beyond the Finals.
“I definitely have serious interest in trying to do this more and to do this long-term,” Lin said. “Honestly, I’m just really grateful to ESPN for these opportunities, and I know that it’s truly special that they were willing to carve the space for me in the Finals. I know that doesn’t grow on trees and is something extremely special, so I’m just very grateful.”
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.