Jeremy Lin Dreams of Asian Invasion in the NBA with Yi Jianlian & Jordan Clarkson: Oriental Players' Career Statistics & 2016-17 Season Predictions
After a stellar performance at the Rio 2016 Olympics, Chinese basketball superstar Yi Jianlian landed a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2016-17 NBA season. Fellow Asian Jeremy Lin is among the NBA stars thrilled to have Jianlian return to the league.
Asian Invasion
Following the announcement that Jianlian officially inked a one-year deal with the Lakers, Lin took to Twitter to congratulate his NBA colleague. The Brooklet Nets point guard used the hashtag "#asianinvasion" on his short message. He expressed that the new NBA contract is much deserved by the Chinese Olympian.
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Per Lakers Nation, Lin is among the few Asian players in the NBA history who successfully made a name amid the test of time. The Harvard graduate struggled to make it in the league and remained an underdog until he was able to prove himself with the New York Knicks in the 2011-12 NBA season.
Interestingly, Jianlian will play alongside with Jordan Clarkson, the Lakers point guard who is of Filipino descent. It can also be recalled that Lin was also a part of the Lakers in the 2014-15 NBA season.
According to Sportsrageous, Lin once shared his dream of playing in an NBA team that is dominated by Asian players. That dream would have been realized if he stayed with the Lakers for more seasons.
Career Statistics & Predictions
The Asian invasion in the NBA is far from becoming a reality unless Lin, Jianlian and Clarkson will all excel in the 2016-17 NBA season. Both Lin and Clarkson have big roles to take in the upcoming season. On the other hand, Jianlian needs to prove that he deserves his second shot in the league.
CBS Sports staff projected that Lin will be very productive with his perfect new role as the starting point guard of the Nets. They estimated that the NBA star will average around 15 points and seven assists next season. Lin already averaged 11.7 points and 3 assists in his six seasons in the league.
Moreover, Hannah Kulik of Lakers Nation predicted that Clarkson will more likely become the breakout star in the upcoming season. She said that there are signs that the point guard is getting better with his outside shooting and he might just lead the Lakers in scoring. Clarkson averaged 15.5 points and 2.4 assists in his two-year NBA career.
On the other hand, Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak told NBA.com that they are excited for Jianlian to make an impact in the team as a player with worldwide accomplishments. The Olympian averaged 20.4 points and 6.6 rebounds in the recently concluded Rio Games.
