Jeremy Lin humbled, humorous during All-Star weekend

Guard Jeremy Lin brilliant good buddy, Chicago Knicks backcourt teammate Landry Fields, walked straight into the packed interview room.

Lin took his spot within the table about the dais. Fields grabbed the microphone restricted to news reporters asking questions.

Landry Fields, from Post, Fields said. Apparently the San diego Pro-Am has league every summer with regards to college players. We would like discover: Who was simply the MVP? I'm confident the dates are 2009 and 2010. At any time you could just explain that.

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Lin, who spent on the Bay Area and played at Harvard, smiled. The sudden NBA and cultural sensation had a fix for Fields, who played at Stanford.

Yeah, Lin said. Landry Fields was the MVP of an Frisco Pro-Am 2009, 2010. He played in your Oakland Believers and he does not have any countless friends.

Yukkin' up All-Star Weekend.

It's a testament to Lin's level head facing a life-changing 3 weeks and unprecedented coverage considering the NBA's first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent injected the league using the insanely popular and positive story about someone on the brink of be released from his third team and considering coming back for your D-League, playing in Europe maybe temporary break from basketball.

Instead, Lin's often remarkable and unexpected play has resuscitated the Knicks and captured the imagination even of recent York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

If he's still looking for a method to crash, he can crash at my apartment. Imagine the tabloids then, Rodriguez said at spring training Saturday.

Lin has some place now. Nevertheless the story still veers off into a variety of compelling tangents, from his influence in Asia on the role his race played in teams overlooking him to reality that other lesser-known players only require the chance to Lin's newfound marketing opportunities and bright future.

Charming and self-effacing. Taking blame as the Knicks lose. Crediting his teammates as soon as Knicks win. Humorous if required. Serious when necessary.

During increasing Stars Challenge on Friday at NBA All-Star Game festivities here, the place that the 23-year-old Lin had two points, the giant scoreboard screen showed his parents around the Kiss Cam. They barely searched using their mobile phones and failed to kiss as you move the crowd encouraged them.

The camera zoomed in on Lin, who laughed and shook his head.

So far, as soon as game-winning shots or turnover-rife performances has not been too big or overwhelming for Lin.

His faith has played a big role within that.

When the Knicks acted Miami Heat on Jan. 27, Lin joined pregame chapel with Fields, teammate Jerome Jordan and also heat forward Udonis Haslem.

Haslem told news reporters that Lin asked his fellow worshippers to wish that the particular Knicks wouldn't cut him around the Feb. 10 deadline to liberate players or guarantee his league-minimum salary ($762,195) for the remainder of the time of year.

The chaplain asked us to say a prayer request, and i knew February 10th was closer than you think, in order for was ideas on my own heart, this I will have enough knowledge to remain to continue to the roster and grow when using the team the year, Lin said within the packed news conference for under him Friday night. So that's sort of things i distributed to the sounding guys.

He explained his Knicks uniform number: 17. He likes No. 7, but that's Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony's number.

Seven was my number just last year, truly considered one of God's numbers that he or she uses over the Bible, Lin said. And chose 17 given that '1' were represent me together with the '7' would have been to represent God. Incase I walked along to the D-League, Thought about 17, thus everywhere The year progresses, He'd be immediately virtually me. Given this narrow models look great I saddled with 17.

So that is not an homage by Lin, who messed around with the Golden State Warriors last season, to former Warriors great Chris Mullin, who wore No. 17?

Oh, no, generally not very. I didn't even think of your, Lin said. But he's an effective player. Trust me, I am a huge fan of his.

As recently as nine days ago, Lin wasn't even officially scheduled to participate in All-Star Weekend. His rise came too late for the league's assistant coaches offer him thinking towards Rising Stars Challenge, and NBA Commissioner David Stern told USA TODAY he previously not go with a a commissioner's exemption and add Lin in to the game.

However, Shaquille O'Neal, the reccommended manager of Team Shaq at the Rising Stars game, drafted Lin and Stern didn't do what's necessary with this complete. How could he?

As of Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Lin hadn't met his general manager. Shaq missed practice today. It looks we should always fine him as well, Lin said.

Lin allowed that his inclusion in All-Star weekend has been surreal.

Oh absolutely, he explained. Just any press conference of my own engagement ring as a general rule, don't worry All?-Star weekend. Just to be around along with investigate company all that you have members of the squad which may be totally free just it's been unbelievable, and I'm just looking experience it all and embrace it and enjoy it all the way.

Even before O'Neal added Lin at the Rising Stars Challenge, Lin secretly was planning an All-Star weekend appearance, assisting Knicks teammate Iman Shumpert inside dunk contest.

Props played a key role in Blake Griffin's winning dunk contest last season. Griffin leapt on top of the hood from the Kia as then-teammate Baron Davis popped away from sunroof and threw him an alley-oop.

Fields, Shumpert and Lin had ideas, too. They planned to roll a couch on the court Lin is famous for buying his brother's couch while in the conception of his rapid rise with Lin in the covers. Lin would throw an alley-oop pass to Shumpert, then Fields would give Shumpert a Sprite, the sponsor of Saturday's dunk contest.

Those crazy Harvard, Stanford and Georgia Tech kids.

Lin said she's not given gone on any spending splurges. No. I'm still at least (salary) guy. That hasn't changed, he explained.

He has, however, moved off his brother's couch and into a swanky high-rise apartment in lower Manhattan outside of the World Trade Center site. He will be due for a significant raise once the season, when ben has likely dont restricted free agent.

Lin had fun in an of his longest news conferences. But he also addressed serious topics, similar to the role race played in his story.

Obviously, as soon as you seriously look into me, I will be required to prove myself more so time and again and again, as well as people might accept is as true, he was quoted saying. I recognize the majority of people say I'm deceptively athletic and deceptively quick, that i'm not sure what's deceptive. Nevertheless it may be the fact I'm Asian-American.

But You will find that's fine. It's something i embrace, did not take long provides me with a chip on my own shoulder. But Derek Jeter Jersey New York Yankees Jerseys I'm very proud being Asian-American, and i fantastic.

He is undaunted by means of the bright lights within big city.

In comparison to its platform and media, I which is best position becoming, San francisco, simply because they need every thing, Lin said. The one thing Seriously do can do is embrace that platform as well as be qualified to utilize correctly, and employ it positively make certain that my message and in what ways that live inside an easy method appropriate in a role model. So I'm thankful for the.

Lin is simply not occupied with the daily criticism of his game too many turnovers, inconsistent jump shot, can't go left.

The distinction between me just last year as well as year would be that approximately I cared what everybody said, and also year I will not really care what anybody says, excluding my teammates and my coaches, he explained.

The Warriors and Houston Rockets didn't have room for him this holiday season simply because had enough guards, playing time was minimal tough but are teams didn't play a method that suited Lin.

He acknowledged he found a good system Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni's creative pick-and-roll offense at the very best time.

Pick-and-roll wise looking back there are university, we ran tons of pick-and-rolls, plus college we ran a great deal of pick-and-rolls, so that's just something that's particular developed into the future, just being familiar with pick-and-rolls, Lin said.

I know there's the theory it's far basically a perfect system in my closet, and so i agree it is actually a perfect system personally, that i'm thankful that we play for Coach D'Antoni because he is an offensive genius, the simplest way he designed his system.

So life-style aimed at me, i guess somewhere down the road simply play in another system, we'll discover ways to answer better that question of can one play in another system, Lin said. But at once I'm just geared towards where I'm at therefore how I will help.

For the entire CC Sabathia Jersey consternation surrounding how Anthony would remain in Lin after Anthony missed nearly eight games which has a strained right groin, Lin was built with a supporter.

He's definitely taken me under his wing, and when he foretells me almost every single timeout and offers me a massive amount of advice, Lin said of Anthony.