Consider also that roughly 14 percent of the Asian Population in the United States resides in the New York metropolitan area and the state of New York is home to the second largest community of Asian Americans behind only California. But they have Lin, the point guard that two other teams gave up on in December and didn't get his chance in New York until three other players couldn't do the job. Thirty-five days ago Lin jokingly tweeted "Every time I try to get into Madison Square Garden, the security guards ask me if I'm a trainer." If Lin's play continues, let's just say fans could be looking forward to some well thought out "Asian-American" nights at The World's Most Famous Arena for years to come. Lin followed his 28-point, eight-assist outing Monday in his first career start by scoring 23 points and handing out 10 assists Wednesday against Washington, becoming the first player since LeBron James in 2003 and just the sixth since 1970 to have at least 20 points and eight assists in his first two starts, according to research from the Elias Sports Bureau provided by the Knicks. Ratings on MSG network are up since Lin joined the lineup, and the NBA said some of its Asian TV partners have added Knicks games to their broadcast schedules so fans can see the league's first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent. Seventy-seven percent of Asian American's speak a language other than English in the home, compared to 22 percent of the rest of the United States' population. According to SeatGeek.com Director of Communications, Will Flaherty, transaction volume on the secondary market for Friday's Knicks-Lakers game shot up to four times higher than the average volume over the previous three days immediately following Lin's big game this past Monday night.
– If the NBA didn't have a certified sensation on its hands before last night, it does now. Harvard wunderkind Jeremy Lin scored 38 points to lead the New York Knicks past Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers, reports AP. Unfamiliar with Lin? He is only the fourth Asian-American to play in the NBA and the first US-born player of Taiwanese or Chinese descent to do so, notes ABC News in a profile. And up until last week, he'd been a bench-warmer who got overlooked in the draft. Then came a monster week for the point guard, who seems to have single-handedly revived the Knicks' fortunes en route to become the city's new sports darling. (Chants of "MVP" were going up last night.) His marketing potential is off the charts, notes ABC. Even Bryant is impressed: "I think it's a great story. I think it's a testament to perseverance and hard work. Good example for kids everywhere."