A former Houston Rockets star, many years removed from his days at the Toyota Center, is hanging up his sneakers for good.
Houston has emerged as a serious title threat after revamping its roster over the summer.
The Rockets pulled off a blockbuster seven-team trade for 15-time All-Star forward Kevin Durant, and also signed free agents Dorian Finney-Smith, Clint Capela and Josh Okogie. Houston also brought back its own free agents in point guard Fred VanVleet, center Steven Adams, wing Jae’Sean Tate, guard Aaron Holiday, and forward Jeff Green.
A standout from Houston’s past is calling it a career
Former Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin, 37, has revealed on his personal Instagram account that he is stepping away from the game of basketball and embracing retirement.
“As athletes, we are always aware that the possibility of retirement is never far away,” Lin wrote. “I’ve spent my 15-year career knowing that one day I would have to walk away, and yet actually saying goodbye to basketball today has been the hardest decision I’ve ever made.”
The 6-foot-3 Harvard product went undrafted in 2010, but the Palo Alto native eventually agreed to a two-year contract with the Golden State Warriors. Lin played sparingly for Golden State in 2010-11, and was ultimately cut at the start of training camp the next year. Houston picked him up off waivers and he saw action in a pair of preseason bouts, but was waived pretty quickly.
And that’s when his “Linsanity” era kicked off with the New York Knicks, who pressed him into service after the players ahead of him suffered a litany of injuries.
During his first four games as a starter in February, Lin was honored as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 dimes and 2.0 swipes a night.
After a breakout run with the Knicks to close out the 2011-12 season, Lin inked a three-year, $25.1 million contract offer from Houston as a restricted free agent. New York shockingly cheaped out and did not much.
In 153 games for Houston from 2012-14, Lin averaged 13.0 points on .443/.348/.804 shooting splits, 5.2 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals a night.
The Rockets eventually traded Lin to the Los Angeles Lakers two years into the deal.
He later suited up for the Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors — winning a title as a deep-bench contributor with the latter in 2019.
“It’s been the honor of a lifetime to compete against the fiercest competitors under the brightest lights and to challenge what the world thought was possible for someone who looks like me,” Lin noted. “I’ve lived out my wildest childhood dreams to play in front of fans all around the world. I will forever be the kid who felt fully alive every time I touched a basketball.”
MORE NEWS: NBA writer calls Rockets’ Kevin Durant trade one of offseason’s ‘boldest’ moves
Lin later went on to play for the CBA’s Beijing Ducks, the Warriors’ NBAGL affiliate the Santa Cruz Warriors, CBA club the Guangzhou Loong Lions, Taiwanese team the Kaohsiung 17LIVE Steelers, and most recently Taiwan’s New Taipei Kings from 2023-25.
“So many people have sacrificed and poured into my journey, more than I could ever repay,” Lin noted. “Thank you all for believing in me, for walking with me, for celebrating my highs and picking me up in my lows. This is a ride I never wanted to end but I know it’s time. I will forever miss playing basketball in front of you all but our time will go beyond just playing. Here’s to what’s ahead.”
“Love you all ❤️,” Lin wrote.
MORE NEWS: Alperen Sengun dominates EuroBasket in blow out win over Portugal
