Last Updated on July 25, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

Defenses could never relax once Jeremy Lin turned the corner, because his burst into the paint forced help defenders to commit and opened passing lanes a split second later. His rise was fueled by fearless downhill attacks and unwavering confidence, but the film also shows a point guard who pushed tempo, kept teammates involved, and consistently looked to create quality shots before settling for his own.

Here’s a detailed profile of basketballer Jeremy Lin:

Player Profile

  • Full Name: Jeremy Shu-How Lin
  • Nationality: American (of Taiwanese descent)
  • Age: Born August 23, 1988
  • Hometown: Palo Alto, California
  • Height: 6’3″ (1.91 m)
  • Weight: 200 lbs (91 kg)
  • Wingspan: 6’5″ (1.96 m)
  • Shoe Size: 12 (US)
  • Number: Wore #7, #17, and others during his career
  • Position: Point Guard / Shooting Guard
  • High School: Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto, California
  • College: Harvard University (2006–2010)
  • NBA Draft: Undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft
  • Teams Played For:
  • Championship Rings: 1 (2019 NBA Championship with the Toronto Raptors)
  • Kids: No publicly known children (as of 2024)
  • Siblings:
    • Two brothers: Josh Lin and Joseph Lin (Joseph also played professional basketball internationally)

Player Archetype / Play Style

Jeremy Lin’s player archetype was that of a downhill pick-and-roll guard: a crafty lead ball-handler who blended pace, rim pressure, and playmaking with enough size and burst to create offense in space. At 6-foot-3 with a strong frame for a point guard, he filled a defensive role more through competitiveness, effort, and positional toughness than shutdown ability, while offensively he was most comfortable attacking out of high screens, collapsing defenses on drives, finishing through traffic, and setting up teammates when help rotated. His play style was built on aggression, tempo changes, and decisive north-south movement, which made him especially effective when he could get the ball early, turn the corner, and play with freedom in an attacking system. (The Guardian)

Scouting Report

Jeremy Lin was at his best when the game opened up just enough for him to attack downhill, because once he got a defender on his hip he became far more dangerous than his athletic profile was often given credit for. The first thing you notice is how aggressively he hunted the paint out of high pick-and-rolls. He wasn’t looking to dance with the ball; he wanted to turn the corner, force the big to commit and make the next read before the defence recovered. That created plenty of layups, but it also generated pocket passes, drop-offs and kick-outs because help defenders were constantly being pulled into uncomfortable decisions. What stands out is that he welcomed contact. Rather than avoiding bigger bodies, he used them to shield the ball and extend finishes, which made his straight-line drives surprisingly effective. The trade-off was that his pace occasionally worked against him. He could become overcommitted once he decided to attack, leading to turnovers when secondary defenders crowded the lane or when he tried to force passes through shrinking windows instead of resetting the offence. His perimeter shot was good enough to punish defenders who repeatedly ducked under screens, but his greatest value came when opponents feared the drive first. Defensively, he competed with real purpose at the point of attack, fought over ball screens and stayed engaged off the ball, although quicker guards capable of changing direction multiple times in the same possession could expose his lateral recovery, and bigger wings were able to shoot over him when switches became unavoidable. I’ve always thought he looked most comfortable on teams that wanted to play with tempo, spread the floor and let him attack early before the defence became fully organised. He didn’t need to dominate every possession, but he needed the freedom to put pressure on the rim and let the rest of the offence develop from there. Stylistically, his game shared plenty with Goran Dragić through the relentless downhill pressure and left-to-right pace changes, while there were flashes of George Hill in the way he balanced scoring and playmaking without needing every possession to revolve around him.

Sources:

NBA — Jeremy Lin Introduced
Bleacher Report — Los Angeles Lakers Offer Jeremy Lin the Ideal Stage to Redefine Career
The Guardian — James Harden and Jeremy Lin: Fear The Beard overtakes Linsanity