Knicks star shares how Jeremy Lin's rise influenced team fandom: 'Second to none'

Jeremy Lin owned a fewer months of the NBA play successful 2012 and gave New York Knicks fans a feeling they hadn’t experienced successful rather a portion – hope.

Even though Lin, Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire ne'er produced a title oregon NBA Finals appearance, it was inactive a pivotal infinitesimal for the squad to get backmost to relevance aft being retired of the spotlight since 1999. This year’s iteration of the Knicks is doing the same.

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New York Knicks halfway Karl-Anthony Towns shoots against Cleveland Cavaliers halfway Jarrett Allen during the 2nd fractional of Game 4 successful the Eastern Conference finals successful Cleveland connected May 25, 2026. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)

Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and others person led New York backmost to its archetypal NBA Finals quality since the 1998-99 play with hopes of winning their archetypal rubric since 1973.

Towns, who grew up successful New Jersey, said Friday that Lin was the 1 who made him a Knicks fan. He was successful precocious schoolhouse arsenic "Linsanity" took implicit basketball.

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New York Knicks defender Jeremy Lin plays against the Minnesota Timberwolves astatine the Target Center successful Minneapolis connected Feb. 11, 2012. The Knicks defeated the Timberwolves 100-98. (Brace Hemmelgarn/USA TODAY Sports)

"I genuinely privation to springiness a shoutout to Jeremy Lin due to the fact that helium truly made maine a Knicks instrumentality and had maine astatine Modell’s," Towns said, via the New York Post. "It was brainsick trying to find his jersey. I person truthful overmuch emotion for Jeremy Lin, he’s 1 of my favourite Knicks of each time, 1 of my favourite players of each time.

"He made maine truthful passionate astir the Knicks. It’s brainsick present that I’m successful this position, successful this chair, talking to you guys arsenic a Knicks player. (They) showed maine the different time Jeremy Lin connected societal [media], for him to adjacent notation maine was benignant of brainsick due to the fact that the emotion I person for him and what he’s done for maine and my Knicks fandom is 2nd to none."

Towns added that his parents helped him gravitate toward Knicks fandom implicit the Brooklyn Nets.

New York Knicks halfway Karl-Anthony Towns and teammates observe aft winning Game 4 successful the Eastern Conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers successful Cleveland connected May 25, 2026. (Tim Phillis/AP)

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Now, Towns volition beryllium 4 wins distant from New York infamy.