Jeremy Lin is officially an NBA champion, regardless of whether he played an important role in the Toronto Raptors run against the Golden State Warriors. The American-Asian is a late pickup by the Raptors together with other names like Marc Gasol, something that eventually became a free ride earning him bragging rights to become the first Asian-American to win an NBA title.
As one would expect, social media simply exploded on the breakthrough of first-time NBA champions – particularly Lin. Some made fun while others were left awed, knowing that winning an NBA ring is one of the coveted things any NBA star would want in their resume. Lin only saw 51 seconds in game three but all that hardly mattered. From there some basketball fans went as far as to take a jab at Carmelo Anthony, a former teammate of Linsanity when both were with the New York Knicks.
For those who have followed the careers of Anthony and Lin, both did not exactly have a good playing relationship. There was that article back in 2012 by ESPN the Magazine which detailed how Anthony was the key factor in the departure of Lin and then-head coach Mike D’Antoni, the Bleacher Report said. Then the franchise player the Knicks thought they wanted, Melo wanted the offense to run through him on the wing. In short, Anthony was just unhappy with the offense and thus changes were made.
Probably aware of that story, there were some who took the opportunity to hit back at Anthony. Apparently, Lin saw it and called for fans to stop mocking the 35-year-old player, the South China Morning Post reported.
“Been seeing a lot of shade being thrown towards Melo,” said Lin on his Instagram account. “Just wanna ask everyone to stop.”
“Whatever happened, happened, but that’s irrelevant now. We can celebrate one without cutting down another,” he added.
The request of Lin hardly comes as a surprise knowing how open-minded Lin has been despite being ridiculed by some fans at times. Being a Christian, Lin deserves a big pat on the back for coming out in defense of Anthony who is headed to another NBA season with plenty of uncertainty.
Like Anthony, there is no telling what lies ahead for Lin. Regardless, there is no denying that he has something other NBA stars would covet – an NBA ring. There are teams likely to pick him up as a backup as ballclubs try to prepare for the 2019-20 NBA season. The same could hold true for Anthony although he may have to lower his expectation and come off the bench.
