He was plucked out of oblivion and thrust into stardom, almost single-handedly salvaging the New York Knicks 2012 NBA season. Now it seems as though the fabled dream season of Linsanity is over.
Knicks Point Guard Jeremy Lin suffered a knee injury last week during a contentious game against the Detroit Pistons, limping off the court and sitting out the remainder of the game due to a huge Knicks lead. The original prognosis was that Lin had merely suffered a sore knee, which he would rest for a game or 2 before returning to full action. But when 2 missed games turned into 4, Knicks fans openly questioned Lin’s prolonged absence — and the outcome was not good.
On Saturday, the Knicks organization announced that Lin had undergone a secret MRI in New York City, revealing he is suffering from a torn meniscus in the left knee, which will require surgery. Normal recovery time for such surgery is 6-8 weeks, which means Lin will miss the remainder of the Knicks regular season. Should the Knicks make the playoffs Lin could return then, although that appears unlikely as well.
I personally had the torn meniscus surgery on the exact same knee as Lin will have. I can personally attest that 6-8 weeks for an athlete is an optimistic assumption. Crutches for a few days then a noticeable limp thereafter is almost certain, with intensive therapy helping to regain a comfortable walk within a few weeks. But to run, cut, jump, etc., which are all things Lin would have to perform for 30 minutes or more on a basketball court, are all very unlikely for the young hoops star.
Since his breakout performance in February, Lin had begun to receive millions of dollars in endorsement deal offers, most of which he turned down. Lin and his agent decided to go slow and only select deals that were complimentary to Lin’s squeaky clean image. Now, Lin could lose multiple millions in lost income from this career set-back, which is important since he is on a minimum contract and currently making just under $900,000. So for now, Linsanity is over. Get well soon, Jeremy!
I do hope that he's able to make full recovery and in a timely fashion. I'll gladly admit, I like the guy. His unexpected rise to a level of prominence in the NBA has been, IMO, a great story. If only he can keep it going(?)And on a related note, I'd like to ask…is it me? or are NBA players becoming more physically fragile?I notice how often "Superstars" like D. Rose, Bynum and Stoudemire are hurt and unable to play.