Jeremy Lin Admits The Injuries Took A Bigger Toll Than He Realized

· Yahoo Sports

Jeremy Lin has had years to look back on the NBA career that ended with a championship and a series of painful setbacks. Now retired, the former New York Knicks guard says the injuries that interrupted his prime affected him in ways he did not fully understand at the time.

Lin made the admission during a recent interview while reflecting on the final NBA season of his career. He said he believed he was prepared for that moment, only to realize later that the physical damage had changed his mental state as well.

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Jeremy Lin Realized His Body Had Changed More Than He Knew

Lin did not know his 2018-19 season would be his final one in the NBA. He began that season with Atlanta before joining the Toronto Raptors and winning his first championship, but he said injuries had already changed how prepared he felt for that stage.

Feb 11, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin (17) smiles against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center. The Knicks defeated the Timberwolves 100-98. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

“To me, for sure, I didn’t know it would be my last NBA season. For me, I thought I was built for that moment, but I realized that I wasn’t because of my injuries,” Lin said. “But the thing that I had to come to reality with is that missing two years in my prime to injury really affected me mentally more than I realized.”

The admission gives a different view of what happened during the final part of Lin’s NBA career. From the outside, he was still playing for an NBA team and eventually became a champion, but his own experience was shaped by years spent trying to regain the player he had been before his injuries.

A ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee ended Lin’s 2017-18 season after one game with the Brooklyn Nets. He returned the following season and appeared in 74 regular-season games between Atlanta and Toronto, but he played only a limited role during the Raptors’ championship run.

Jeremy Lin’s Championship Came After A Difficult Prime

Lin’s career had already taken a dramatic turn years earlier. His 2012 breakout with the Knicks made him a global basketball star, but injuries later changed the course of his career and made it harder to regain the same role.

Feb 11, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin (17) during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center. The Knicks defeated the Timberwolves 100-98. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

His final NBA season still ended with a championship ring. Lin became the first Asian American player to win an NBA title when Toronto defeated Golden State in the 2019 Finals, even though he barely played during the postseason.

That makes his latest reflection more complicated than a simple story about an athlete losing his job. Lin reached the finish line, but he now says the injuries had taken a deeper mental toll than he recognized while he was still trying to stay in the league.

Lin eventually continued his career overseas before announcing his retirement from professional basketball in August 2025. He finished his NBA career with averages of 11.6 points and 4.3 assists across nine seasons. 

The physical injuries were visible when they happened. The mental cost took much longer for Lin to understand.

That may be the clearest part of his latest reflection. His NBA career did not simply end because his body failed him. The years he lost changed how he experienced the final stretch of it.

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