Jeremy Lin grabbed the world's attention while representing the New York Knicks during the 2011-12 regular NBA season. He was then even compared with some of the greats of the game.
Such was his performances that he earned nicknames like Linsanity (most popular), Super Lintendo, All Lin, Yellow Mamba, among a host of others.
Just a few seasons down the line and Lin is nowhere in the zone, where he had earned an instant fame with his skills on the court. It just seems to be a thing of the past or a flash in the pan for Lin, as he has been struggling for the Los Angeles Lakers, where he averages just 10.4 points per game.
Compare this stat to the 2011-12 seasons, where he averaged 14.6 points per game, when he was just in his second year in the NBA.
One would have expected the player to bloom with experience, but his form has taken a major dip and 'Linsanity' could soon be a free agent.
He was such a hit during the Knicks' days that magazines wanted to use his photo for their cover. He appeared in Sports Illustrated front cover twice as well.
When Lakers played the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, where he was a showstopper three years ago, Lin looked a shadow of himself scoring a mere 4 points along with 7 assists in 23 minutes.
He also had four turnovers against his name. No wonder, he is used as a backup point guard for the Lakers.
The Lakers lost the game 92-80 during the weekend.
Though, it would not be fair for Lin to come up with the magic that he possessed during his Knicks' days, but such form is not what any team would want from their player, who had taken the NBA by storm once.
While Lin could certainly improve, there is also a case to be made in the player's case that Byron Scott has just not given him a fair shake, while the Lakers coach's comments after the Knicks game raised a few eyebrows.
"It wasn't good," Scott said of Lin's game against his former team. "I thought he could have played a lot better."
But, Lin is also aware of the need for improvement. "Got to keep plugging away," said the player of Taiwanese descent.
"It's not always going to be rosy and perfect and I'm in a very different situation right now than then and in a different system and different team. You have to keep working."
