Former NBA star Jeremy Lin has joined younger brother Joseph at New Taipei Kings ahead of the club’s domestic season and debut in the East Asia Super League.
It will be the first time the brothers have played together professionally, and Jeremy Lin said after months of weighing up his future it was a dream come true.
The older Lin spent last season with the King’s P League+ rivals Kaohsiung 17LIVE Steelers, who he thanked for their “short, but amazing” time together.
“I hope that through last season, I’ve impacted you all as you have impacted me,” Jeremy Lin wrote in a social media post announcing the news. “There will forever be love for the Steelers in my heart.”
“To be able to share the court together as teammates. Thank you to the Kings organization for this opportunity and for believing in me.”
The 35-year-old Lin rose to stardom, generating a global cultural phenomenon known as “Linsanity” while playing for the New York Knicks, during the 2011–12 NBA season.
The former NBA champion, who won his title with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, remained a free agent after leaving the Steelers during the offseason.
“I had always admired Lin, watching him exerting such an unimaginable influence over the past years,” James Mao, general manager of the Kings, said.
“His joining is not only the best gift to Kings fans but also a way to continue exerting his influence in the Asian basketball world and inspire the younger generation to bravely pursue their dreams.”
Lin, who spent almost three seasons in the Chinese Basketball Association with the Beijing Ducks and Guangzhou Loong Lions after leaving the Raptors, joined the Steelers in January.
The Harvard graduate, who averaged 26.32 points, 8.47 rebounds and 8.89 assists, also earned the player-of-the-month award for three straight months from March, as well as taking the weekly award nine times – both league records.
Since his arrival, Lin helped transform a side languishing at the bottom of the league with only two wins in 19 regular games, to one with 17 wins in 40 games and a shot at the play-offs.
Phil Chen, the Kings CEO, said he was unsure a “world-class player” like Lin would consider joining his organisation, but the two sides had reacquainted themselves during the off-season and his club had “passed this extremely careful test”.
The Kings, who finished top in the regular P League+ season, lost 4-2 to two-time defending champions and eventual winners Taipei Fubon Braves in the play-off finals.
Joseph Lin, 31, joined the Kings at the start of last season. The starting point guard averaged 11.94 points, 3.58 rebounds and 5.14 assists in 36 games.
The Lin brothers could play their first game together as early as October 8, when the Kings face the Formosa Dreamers in a preseason friendly at the Keelung Gymnasium. Jeremy Lin will also face his former team Steelers a day later.
The new P. League+ season begins on November 4, but the Kings will be playing in the East Asia Super League before that, with the regional tournament scheduled to run from October 11 to March 10, 2024.