A Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile.^[1]

Two winners are selected in each category, one by members of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and one by the public who cast their votes during Webby People’s Voice voting.^[1]

The award is one of the older and better-known internet-oriented awards and has come to be associated with the phrase "The Oscars of the Internet."^[2][3][4]

History[link]

2008 Webby Awards, Chocolate Rain.

The Webby Awards began in 1995, sponsored by the Acedmy of Web Design and Cool Site of the Day. That first year, they were called "Webbie" Awards.

Today's Webby's were founded by Tiffany Shlain when she was hired by the The Web Magazine (an IDG Publication) to establish the awards. The event was held in San Francisco from 1996 to 2004 and quickly became known for their "5 word Acceptance Speeches". After the first year the awards became more successful than the magazine and IDG closed the publication. Shlain continued to run The Webby Awards with the help of Maya Draisin until 2004. ^{[5] [6]}

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, which selects the winners of The Webby Awards, was established in 1998 by co-founders Tiffany Shlain, Spencer Ante and Maya Draisin. ^[7] Members of the Academy include David Bowie, Martha Stewart, Harvey Weinstein, Arianna Huffington, Matt Groening, Biz Stone, Internet inventor Vint Cerf, Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson, and R/GA Chairman and CEO Bob Greenberg.^[1]

Since 2005, The Webby Awards has been operated and owned by Recognition Media, which also operates the Telly Awards and other awards programs.^[8] In 2006, The Webby Awards launched new categories honoring interactive advertising and original film and video that premiered on the Internet.

In 2007, The Webby Awards launched new categories honoring mobile Websites.

In 2009, the thirteenth Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries.^[9] That same year, more than 500,000 votes were cast in The Webby People's Voice Awards.^[10]

In 2012, the sixteeth Annual Webby awards received 1.5 million votes from more than 200 countries for the People's Voice awards. ^[11]

Nominative Procession[link]

Thousands of entries are submitted during the Call for Entries procession, and each is first rated by Associate Members of the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences. Entries that receive the highest marks during this first round of voting are included on category-specific shortlists and further evaluated by Executive Members of the Academy.

Executive Academy Members with category-specific expertise evaluate the shortlisted entries based on the appropriate Website, Interactive Advertising & Media and Film & Video criteria, and cast ballots to determine Webby Honorees, Nominees and Webby Winners. Price Waterhouse Coopers audits the results.

In addition to the award given in each category by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, another winner is selected in each category as determined by the general public during People’s Voice voting. Winners of both the Academy-selected and People’s Voice-selected awards are invited to the Webbys.^[12]

Awards granted[link]

The Webby Awards are presented in over a hundred categories among all four types of entries. A website can be entered in multiple categories and receive multiple awards.

In each category, two awards are handed out: a Webby Award selected by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and a People's Voice Award selected by the general public.^[13]

Past winners include Amazon.com, eBay, SimplyHired.com, Kayak.com, Yahoo!, iTunes, Google, FedEx, BBC News, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, Annie Lennox, NPR, Salon Magazine, Facebook, Meetup, Wikipedia, Flickr, ESPN, Comedy Central, PBS, The Onion News Network, The Office Webisodes, and My Damn Channel.

Each year, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences also honors individuals with Webby Special Achievement Awards. Past Webby Special Achievement winners include Al Gore, Prince, David Bowie, Meg Whitman, Tim & Eric, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Lorne Michaels, Craig Newmark, Thomas Friedman, Stephen Colbert, Michel Gondry and the Beastie Boys.^[13]

Ceremony[link]

Since 2005, The Webby Awards has been presented in New York City.^[14] Comedian Rob Corddry hosted the ceremony from 2005 to 2007. Seth Meyers of Saturday Night Live hosted in 2008 and 2009, B.J. Novak of NBC's The Office in 2010, and Lisa Kudrow in 2011.^[15]

The Webbys are famous for limiting recipients to five-word speeches, which are often humorous, although some exceed the limit. In 2005 when accepting his Lifetime Achievement Award, former Vice President Al Gore's speech was "Please don't recount this vote." He was introduced by Vint Cerf who used the same format to state, "We all invented the Internet."^[16] In 2008, Stephen Colbert shouted “Me. Me. Me. Me. Me”^[17] when accepting his award for Webby Person of the Year. Accepting the award for Best Political Blog in 2008, Arianna Huffington’s speech was “President Obama ... Sounds good, right?"^[17]

Other popular speeches include "Can anyone fix my computer?"^[18] (the Beastie Boys); "Everything you think is true"^[19] (Prince); "Thank God Conan got promoted"^[20] (Jimmy Fallon), "Free, open... Keep one Web"^[20] (Sir Tim Berners Lee), “Holy - Fucking - Shit, Buzz Aldrin"^[21] (Jake Hurwitz), and "Holocaust. Did it happen? Yes." (Sarah Silverman).

Criticism[link]

The Webbies have been criticized for their pay-to-enter and pay-to-attend policy (winners and nominees also have to pay to attend the award ceremony), and thus for not taking most websites into consideration before distributing their awards.^[22][23][24] Gawker, its Valleywag column, and others, have called the awards a scam, with Valleywag saying, "...somewhere along the way, the organizers figured out that this goofy charade could be milked for profit."^[25]

In response, Webby Awards executive director David-Michel Davies told the Wall Street Journal that entry fees “provide the best and most sustainable model for ensuring that our judging process remains consistent and rigorous and is not dependent on things like sponsorships that can fluctuate from year to year.”^[24]

See also[link]

Internet portal

• International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences
• Streamy Awards
• WebAwards

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Joanna Glasner, "Usual Suspects Dominate Webbys" - Wired News, May 9, 2006
• Jack Shafer, "What? You've Not Been Honored by the Webbys?", Slate Magazine, April 9, 2008
• Leslie Walker, "Webby Awards Salute Online Originality", Washington Post, June 8, 2003

External links[link]

• Official website
• Webby Awards at YouTube
• 2007 Acceptance speeches
• Current winners

Benjamin Joseph Manaly "B. J." Novak (born July 31, 1979) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for being a writer and co-executive producer for and playing the role of Ryan Howard on The Office, as well as appearing in Inglourious Basterds.

Early life[link]

Novak was born and raised in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Linda (née Manaly) and William Novak,^[1][2][3] who has ghostwritten memoirs for Nancy Reagan, Lee Iacocca, and others. Novak's family is Jewish; his father co-edited The Big Book of Jewish Humor, and his parents also established a Jewish matchmaking service.^[4][5] Novak has two younger brothers, Jesse, a composer, and Lev, an undergraduate student at Tufts University. He attended Newton South High School with future Office costar John Krasinski,^[6] and they graduated in 1997.^[6] Novak attended Harvard University, where he worked for the Harvard Lampoon and majored in English and Spanish literature after writing a thesis on Hollywood responses to Shakespeare. In addition to the Lampoon, he occasionally staged and performed in a variety show called The B.J. Show with fellow Harvard student B. J. Averell.^[6] Novak wrote his honors thesis on the films of Shakespeare's Hamlet.^[7]

Career[link]

Novak in June 2007

Novak graduated from Harvard in 2001. Afterward he moved to Los Angeles and began working in clubs as a comedian. His first live stand-up performance took place on October 10, 2001 at the Hollywood Youth Hostel. He was named one of Variety's "Ten Comedians To Watch" in 2003.^[8]

Novak was a writer for the short-lived The WB sitcom Raising Dad.^[6] He has also performed on Comedy Central's Premium Blend and on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.^[8]

Novak's television acting career began on MTV's Punk'd. He was the lead accomplice to Ashton Kutcher on the show's second season in 2003, and has played pranks on Hilary Duff, Usher, and Mýa.

After hearing Novak's opening joke at a comedy club, executive producer Greg Daniels immediately decided to include Novak in his upcoming project: a U.S. version of the hit British series The Office. Novak was cast as Ryan Howard, becoming the first cast member.^[6] He is also a writer and co-executive producer for the series. On July 21, 2010, news reports indicated Novak had signed a contract to remain with the show for its 7th and 8th seasons; under the new terms, he would be made a full executive producer midway through Season 7 and also direct two episodes of the show, as well as becoming the latest cast member to also have a deal with NBC to develop other shows. In a June 2009 interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Novak spoke about sharing the success of The Office with his Newton South High School classmate John Krasinski:^[9]

In addition to his television credits, Novak has appeared in the films Unaccompanied Minors, Reign Over Me, Knocked Up and Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.^[10]

Filmography[link]

As actor[link]

As writer[link]

As director[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: B. J. Novak

External videos
	Joey Fatone interviews Novak at the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2008)

• B. J. Novak at the Internet Movie Database
• B. J. Novak biography at the official NBC website
• "The Office's BJ Novak: Uncut", an NPR interview from May 2008

Alan Cumming
Cumming during the 2011 Fashion Week
Born	(1965-01-27) 27 January 1965 (age 47) Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland
Nationality	British
Occupation	Actor, director, producer, writer
Years active	1980–present
Spouse	Hilary Lyon (1985–1993) Grant Shaffer (2007–present)
Website
http://www.alancumming.com

Alan Cumming, OBE (born 27 January 1965), is a British stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids films. He has also appeared in independent films like The Anniversary Party, which he co-wrote, co-directed and co-starred in; and Ali Selim's Sweet Land, for which he won an Independent Spirit award as producer.

His London stage appearances include Hamlet, the Maniac in Dario Fo's Accidental Death of an Anarchist, for which he received an Olivier Award, the lead in Martin Sherman's Bent, and as Dionysus in The National Theatre of Scotland's The Bacchae. On Broadway he has appeared as Mac the Knife in The Threepenny Opera, the Emcee in Cabaret, for which he won the Tony in 1998, and Design for Living. Cumming also introduces Masterpiece Mystery! for PBS. He currently appears as Eli Gold on The Good Wife, for which he has been nominated for two Emmys, two SAGs^{[disambiguation needed ]}, a Satellite Award and Critics' Circle Award.

He has also written a novel, Tommy's Tale, had a cable talk show (Eavesdropping with Alan Cumming) and produced a line of perfumed products labelled "Cumming". He has contributed opinion pieces to many publications and performed a cabaret show I Bought A Blue Car Today. Retaining his British citizenship, Cumming became a naturalized U.S. citizen on November 7, 2008.

As of the 25th of May 2012, he will be returning to live in Scotland so as to be eligible to vote in the Scottish referendum on independence, scheduled for 2014.

Early life[link]

Cumming was born in Aberfeldy, in Perthshire, Scotland, the son of Mary (née Darling), an insurance company secretary, and Alex Cumming, a forester. He has stated that his father was physically and emotionally abusive towards him.^[1][2] He has one older brother, Tom, and a niece and two nephews. Brought up in Angus, Cumming attended Monikie Primary School and Carnoustie High School. Following graduation, he spent a year and a half employed as an editor and columnist for the pop and TV magazine TOPS before entering the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. On graduation from Drama school he married fellow student, Hilary Lyon; they divorced eight years later and had no children.

Film[link]

Cumming made his film debut in Gillies MacKinnon's Passing Glory in 1986. His feature film debut came in 1992 when he starred alongside Sandrine Bonnaire and Bruno Ganz in Ian Sellar's Prague, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and earned him the BestActor award at the Atlantic Film Festival and a Scottish BAFTA Best Actor nomination. American audiences first saw him playing the oleaginous Sean Walsh, an unwanted suitor of Minnie Driver's character, in Circle of Friends, an Irish film released in 1995. Also in 1995 he played Boris Ivanovich Grishenko in the James Bond film GoldenEye.

In the US[link]

His first movie in The United States was Romy and Michele's High School Reunion playing Sandy Frink opposite Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino. Cumming co-wrote, co-directed, co-produced, and co-starred in the ensemble film The Anniversary Party with friend and former Cabaret co-star Jennifer Jason Leigh, in 2001.^[3] The two starred in the movie as a Hollywood couple. The film premiered at Cannes and garnered two Independent Spirit nominations and a National Board of Review award. He went on to star in and direct Suffering Man's Charity, later released as Ghost Writer.

He had prominent roles in the Spy Kids trilogy, X-Men 2 (as Nightcrawler), Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut and played Saturninus in the 1999 Julie Taymor film production of Titus. His many other films include Investigating Sex, Josie and the Pussycats, Emma, Get Carter, Plunkett and Macleane, Son of the Mask, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, Full Grown Men, Spice World, Burlesque, The Tempest, Boogie Woogie and the animated films Garfield, Jackboots on Whitehall and The Smurfs.

Earlier in his career, Cumming also directed two short films, Butter and Burn Your Phone. The latter began its life as a one-off drama on BBC Radio 4. He continues to direct short films and video pieces.

Television[link]

United Kingdom[link]

In the mid-1980s Cumming made his TV debut in the Scottish Television seriesTaggart. He went onto star in STV's Shadow of the Stone and as Jim Hunter, an evil woodcutter, in the Scottish soap operaTake The High Road. He also appeared as the Angel in the lyrical Channel 4 series Heavenly.

His breakthrough role was as Bernard Bottle in the Christmas 1991 BBC comedy Bernard and the Genie, a Richard Curtis-scripted film in which he starred alongside Lenny Henry and Rowan Atkinson. Cumming went on to star as flight attendant Sebastian Flight in the BBC2 cult airline sitcom The High Life in 1995. The series was written by Cumming and co-star Forbes Masson, continuing an acting-writing partnership the two had developed since their drama school days. Masson and Cumming had previously formed a cult Kelvinside musical double act "Victor and Barry", who later made many shows and appearances for STV. They performed regularly at the Edinburgh Festival and appeared in the Perrier Pick of the Fringe season at the Donmar Warehouse in 1988, toured Australia in 1989 playing the Sydney Opera House, released a record ("Hear Victor and Barry and Faint") but were killed off onstage at the London Palladium in the early 1990s.

Cumming returned to British TV screens in 2011 to star as Desrae, a transvestite, on the Sky series The Runaway.

He has also made several documentaries: My Brilliant Britain, about Scottish humour, The Real Cabaret in which he investigated the Weimar cabaret artistes and the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are in which he discovered his maternal grandfather was a war hero who had died playing Russian roulette.

United States[link]

Alan Cumming performing at the benefit concert for the Ali Forney Center (2010).

Cumming has guested on several US TV shows: In 2001, he appeared in the HBO comedy Sex and the City as O the designer in the episode, 'The Real Me'. 2003 saw him playing a cameo role in the sitcom Frasier, playing Niles' yoga instructor. He also guest starred on 3rd Rock from the Sun.

In 2004, he shot Showtime's Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical in which he played the role of The Lecturer – a versatile character who narrates the story and transforms himself into several other minor characters. He also appeared in the TV films Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl, the Disney remake of Annie. Cumming played the role of Bill Blaikie, a gay drag queen party promoter hired by Kit Porter to manage her café cum nightclub, in season 3 of The L Word. His character had an affair with Max, a transgender male character in the show. He appeared in episodes 2 to 7, which originally aired on Showtime in 2006.

In 2007, Cumming played Glitch/Ambrose, an inventor whose brain had been partially removed, in the TV miniseries, Tin Man. He also provided the voice of Chuck Masters, a 50 year-old, paralyzed, HIV-positive gay man in Logo's Rick and Steve, a stop animation sitcom created by Q. Allan Brocka. Cumming also hosted the Oxygen cable television show, "Eavesdropping with Alan Cumming," in which he interviewed female co-stars of his movie roles, and "Midnight Snack," where he and his dogs introduced cult movies. Cumming hosted Saturday night Live in 2000, with musical guest Jennifer Lopez.

He is also the host of the 2008–2012 seasons of the PBS Masterpiece Mystery! series.

He currently plays Eli Gold on the CBS television show The Good Wife. He appeared as a guest star in the latter third of the first season, becoming a series regular in the show's 2010–2011 season,.^[4] He has been nominated for two Emmys, two SAG awards, a Satellite and Critics' Circle award for his performance.

Theatre[link]

Cumming began his theatre career in his native Scotland, performing in seasons with the Royal Lyceum Edinburgh, Dundee Rep, The Tron Glasgow and tours with Borderline, Theatre Workshop and Glasgow Citizens' TAG. He played Slupianek in the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh's 1988 production of Conquest of the South Pole, which later transferred to the Royal Court in London and earned him an Olivier Award nomination as Most Promising Newcomer. He went on to perform plays with the Bristol Old Vic and the Royal Shakespeare Company and played Valere in La Bete at the Lyric, Hammersmith, London. In 1991 he played The Madman in the 1990 Royal National Theatre production of Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo, for which he won an Olivier Award.^[5] He also adapted the play with director Tim Supple. In 1993 he received great critical acclaim and the TMA Best Actor award for playing title role in the 1993 English Touring Theatre's Hamlet (playing opposite his then-wife, Hilary Lyon, in the role of Ophelia), He played the role of Emcee in Sam Mendes's 1993 revival of the musical Cabaret in London's West End opposite Jane Horrocks as Sally Bowles. He received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. He reprised the role in 1998 for the Mendes-Rob Marshall Broadway revival, this time opposite Natasha Richardson as Sally Bowles. He won a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance.^[6]

Other US stage roles include Otto in the 2001 Broadway production of Design for Living by Noël Coward, Mac the Knife in Bertolt Brecht-Kurt Weill musical The Threepenny Opera opposite Cyndi Lauper. Cumming performed alongside Dianne Wiest in Classic Stage Company's production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, directed by Viacheslav Dolgachev. In 2002, Cumming and then-boyfriend British director Nick Philippou formed the production company The Art Party. The company's first and only play was the first English production of Jean Genet's play Elle, which Cumming had adapted from a literal translation by Terri Gordon. The company folded in 2003.

In 2006 he returned to the West End playing the lead role in Bent, a play about homosexuals in Germany under the Nazis. In 2007 he took the lead role in the National Theatre of Scotland's production of The Bacchae, which premiéred at the Edinburgh Festival in August, transferring to the Lyric Theatre in London and then to Lincoln Center, New York, winning him Herald ArcAngel award.

He collaborated again with John Tiffany and the National Theatre of Scotland in 2012, playing all the roles in Macbeth

Other work[link]

Cumming in the gallery art work "Sliphost"

Cumming wrote a novel, Tommy's Tale, published in 2002.^[7] He has also written articles for magazines, notably as a contributing editor for Marie Claire magazine, writing on the haute couture shows in Paris, as well as what it was like for him dressing as a woman for a day. He also contributed articles to Newsweek, Modern Painters, Out, Black Book and The Wall Street Journal . He has also written introductions and prefaces to may books, including the works of Nancy Mitford, Andy Warhol and Christopher Isherwood and wrote a chapter of If You Had Five Minutes with the President, a collection of 55+ essays by members or supporters of The Creative Coalition.^[8] Cumming recorded a duet of "Baby, It’s Cold Outside" with Liza Minnelli to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the September 11 Fund.

In 2005 he released a fragrance called "Cumming," and a related line of scented bath lotion and body wash. A second fragrance arrived in 2011, naturally names Second Cumming, with all proceeds going to charity.

On 1 September 2009, Cumming released his first solo album based around his one man show, I Bought a Blue Car Today.^[9]

In 2012 he launched his photography career with his first exhibition Alan Cumming Snaps ^[10]

Personal life[link]

Cumming lives in New York City with his husband, graphic artist Grant Shaffer, and their dogs, Honey and Leon.^[11] The couple dated for two years before entering into a civil partnership at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London, on January 7, 2007.^[12] Cumming and Shaffer remarried in New York on January 7, 2012, the fifth anniversary of their London wedding.^[13]

Once described as "a frolicky pansexual sex symbol for the new millennium", Cumming has stated that he considers himself bisexual, "although the pendulum has obviously swung".^[14] Previous relationships include an eight-year marriage to actress Hilary Lyon, a two-year relationship with actress Saffron Burrows, and a six-year relationship with theater director Nick Philippou.^[15] After his civil partnership with Shaffer, when asked if he was monogamous, he stated "I don't believe that monogamy is feasible".^[16] In 2006, Cumming stated that he "would dearly like to adopt a child", but that his life was "too hectic" for children.^[17]

Cumming used to be a member of the Church of Scotland until his mother received a letter from them saying they had "read something about me being an atheist and would I like to leave". He said he had attended out of tradition, but realized being a part of it was "only condoning and validating lots of things I disapprove of: oppression, guilt, shame, etc".^[18]

Since coming out as bisexual in 1998, Cumming has promoted LGBT rights, emceeing and attending fundraisers for organizations such as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), as well as several AIDS charities, including the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR) and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Cumming is also a patron of NORM-UK, an English-registered charity concerned with foreskin health and matters related to circumcision; he has condemned the practice of non-religious routine infant circumcision, particularly in the United States.^[19][20]

In March 2005 Cumming received the Vito Russo Award at the 16th Annual GLAAD Media Awards for outstanding contributions toward eliminating homophobia.^[21] In July of the same year he was also presented with the HRC's Humanitarian Award in San Francisco, also for his LGBT public stance. In November 2006 Cumming received a Doctor of Arts honorary degree from the University of Abertay Dundee. He also is a patron of the Scottish Youth Theatre, Scotland's National Theatre 'for and by' young people. Cumming was appointed an OBE in the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to film, theatre and the arts and activism for LGBT rights.^[22][23][24]

On November 7, 2008, Cumming became a dual-national and was sworn in as a citizen of the United States of America at a ceremony in New York City.^[25][26]

Filmography[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Cumming, Alan (2002). Tommy's Tale. London: Michael Joseph. ISBN 0-7181-4489-9. 

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alan Cumming

• Alan Cumming - Cumming, personal website
• Alan Cumming at the Internet Broadway Database
• Alan Cumming at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Alan Cumming at the Internet Movie Database

Jeremy Lin

Lin in his first game for the Knicks, following a game against his former team the Golden State Warriors on December 28, 2011
No. 17 – New York Knicks
Point guard
Personal information
Born	(1988-08-23) August 23, 1988 (age 23) Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
High school	Palo Alto HS (Palo Alto, California)
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
College	Harvard (2006–2010)
NBA Draft	2010 / Undrafted
Pro career	2010–present
Career history
2010–2011	Golden State Warriors
2010–2011	→Reno Bighorns (D-League)
2011	Dongguan Leopards (China)
2011–present	New York Knicks
2012	→Erie BayHawks (D-League)
Career highlights and awards
NBA BBVA Rising Star (2012) ABA Club Championship MVP (2011) 2× All-Ivy League First Team (2009, 2010) All-Ivy League Second Team (2008) CIF Division II champion (2006) 2× SCVAL MVP (2005, 2006)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Jeremy Shu-How Lin^[1] (born August 23, 1988) is an American professional basketball player with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After receiving no athletic scholarship offers out of high school and being undrafted out of college, the 2010 Harvard University graduate reached a partially guaranteed contract deal later that year with his hometown Golden State Warriors.

Lin seldom played in his rookie season and was assigned to the NBA Development League (D-League) three times. He was waived by the Warriors and the Houston Rockets the following preseason before joining the Knicks early in the 2011–12 season. He was again assigned to the D-League and continued to play sparingly. In February 2012, he unexpectedly led a winning streak by New York while being promoted to the starting lineup, which generated a global following known as Linsanity. Lin is one of the few Asian Americans in NBA history, and the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the league.^[2] He is known for his public expression of the Christian faith.^[3]

Early life[link]

Lin was born in Los Angeles, and raised in a Christian family in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Palo Alto.^{[4][5][note 1]} His parents, Lin Gie-Ming and Shirley Lin, emigrated from Taiwan to the United States in the mid-1970s, first settling in Virginia, and later residing in Indiana, where they both attended universities.^[8][9][10] They are dual nationals of both Taiwan and the U.S.^[11] Lin's paternal family comes from Beidou, Changhua, in Taiwan (his father's distant ancestors immigrated to Taiwan from Zhangpu County, Fujian, in mainland China, in 1707),^[11][12][13] while his maternal grandmother immigrated to Southern Taiwan in the late 1940s from Pinghu, Zhejiang in mainland China.^[11][14][15]

Lin's parents are both 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) tall.^[16] His maternal grandmother's family was tall, and her father was over 6 feet (1.8 m).^[15] Lin has an older brother, Josh, and a younger brother, Joseph.^[10] Gie-Ming taught his sons to play basketball at the local YMCA.^[17] Shirley helped form a National Junior Basketball program in Palo Alto where Lin played. She worked with coaches to ensure his playing did not affect academics. She was criticized by her friends for letting Lin play so much basketball, but she allowed him to play the game he enjoyed.^[18]

High school career[link]

In his senior year in 2005–2006, Lin captained Palo Alto High School to a 32–1 record and upset nationally ranked Mater Dei, 51–47, for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division II state title.^[19][20] He was named first-team All-State and Northern California Division II Player of the Year, ending his senior year averaging 15.1 points, 7.1 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 5.0 steals.^[19]

College career[link]

Recruiting process[link]

Lin sent his résumé and a DVD of highlights of his high school basketball career to all the Ivy League schools, University of California, Berkeley, and his dream schools Stanford and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).^[21][22][9] The Pac-10 schools wanted him to walk-on, rather than be actively recruited or offered a sports scholarship. Harvard and Brown were the only teams that guaranteed him a spot on their basketball teams, but Ivy League schools do not offer athletic scholarships.^[23] Rex Walters, University of San Francisco men's basketball coach and a retired NBA player, said NCAA limits on coaches' recruiting visits had an impact on Lin's chances. "Most colleges start recruiting a guy in the first five minutes they see him because he runs really fast, jumps really high, does the quick, easy thing to evaluate," Walters said. Lin added, "I just think in order for someone to understand my game, they have to watch me more than once, because I’m not going to do anything that’s extra flashy or freakishly athletic."^[24]

In July 2005, then-Harvard assistant coach Bill Holden saw that Lin was 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), which fit the physical attributes he was seeking, and he had a 4.2 grade point average in high school, which fit Harvard's academic standards. However, Holden was not initially impressed with Lin's on-court abilities, and told Lin's high school basketball coach, Peter Diepenbrock, that Lin was a "Division III player". Later that week, Holden saw Lin playing in a much more competitive game, driving to the basket at every opportunity with the "instincts of a killer". Lin became a top-priority for Holden.^[25] Harvard coaches feared that Stanford, close to Lin's home,^{[note 2]} would offer Lin a scholarship, but it did not, and Lin chose to attend Harvard.^[26] "I wasn't sitting there saying all these Division I coaches were knuckleheads," Diepenbrock said. "There were legitimate questions about Jeremy."^[27] Joe Lacob, incoming Warriors' owner and Stanford booster, said Stanford's failure to recruit Lin "was really stupid. The kid was right across the street. [If] you can't recognize that, you've got a problem."^[28] Kerry Keating, the UCLA assistant who offered Lin the opportunity to walk-on, said in hindsight that Lin would probably have ended up starting at point guard for UCLA.^[29]

Harvard[link]

After failing to receive any athletic scholarship offers, Lin attended Harvard.

A Harvard coach remembered Lin in his freshman season as "the [physically] weakest guy on the team",^[30] but in his sophomore season (2007–08), Lin averaged 12.6 points and was named All-Ivy League Second Team.^[19] By his junior year during the 2008–09 season, he was the only NCAA Division I men's basketball player who ranked in the top ten in his conference for scoring (17.8), rebounding (5.5), assists (4.3), steals (2.4), blocked shots (0.6), field goal percentage (0.502), free throw percentage (0.744), and three-point shot percentage (0.400),^[17] and was a consensus selection for All-Ivy League First Team. He had 27 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds in an 82–70 win over 17th-ranked Boston College, three days after the Eagles defeated No. 1 North Carolina.^[19][31]

In his senior year (2009–10), Lin averaged 16.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.1 blocks, and was again a unanimous selection for All-Ivy League First Team. He was one of 30 midseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award^[32] and one of 11 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award.^[33] He was also invited to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.^[34] Fran Fraschilla of ESPN picked Lin among the 12 most versatile players in college basketball.^[31] He gained national attention for his performance against the 12th ranked Connecticut Huskies, against whom he scored a career-high tying 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds on the road.^[35] After the game, Hall of Fame Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said of Lin: "I've seen a lot of teams come through here, and he could play for any of them. He's got great, great composure on the court. He knows how to play."^[17]

For the season, Harvard set numerous program records including wins (21), non-conference wins (11), home wins (11) and road/neutral wins (10).^[36] Lin finished his career as the first player in the history of the Ivy League to record at least 1,450 points (1,483), 450 rebounds (487), 400 assists (406) and 200 steals (225).^[19] He graduated from Harvard in 2010 with a degree in economics and a 3.1 grade-point average.^[37]

Professional career[link]

Undrafted[link]

At the Portsmouth Invitational, Lin first met the sports agent Roger Montgomery and later gave Montgomery a commitment. To Montgomery's disappointment, Lin went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft.^[38] The NBA had not drafted an Ivy League player since Jerome Allen of Penn in the second round in 1995. The last Ivy League player to play in the NBA was Yale's Chris Dudley in 2003, while the last Harvard player was Ed Smith in 1954.^[39][9] Eight teams had invited Lin to predraft workouts. Diepenbrock said that NBA tryouts do not play five on five. Lin acknowledged that the workouts were "one on one or two on two or three on three, and that’s not where I excel. I've never played basketball like that."^[24] Scouts saw what The New York Times later described as "a smart passer with a flawed jump shot and a thin frame, who might not have the strength and athleticism to defend, create his own shot or finish at the rim in the N.B.A."^[30] Lin joined the Dallas Mavericks for mini-camp as well as their NBA Summer League team in Las Vegas.^[40] Donnie Nelson of the Mavericks was the only General Manager that offered him an invitation to play in the Summer League. "Donnie took care of me," said Lin. "He has a different type of vision than most people do."^[23]

In five Summer League games, while playing both guard positions, Lin averaged 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals in 18.6 minutes per game and shot a team leading 54.5% from the floor.^[41][42] He outplayed first overall pick John Wall;^[30] Lin scored 13 points to Wall's 21, but did so on 6-for-12 shooting in 28 minutes. Wall was 4-for-19 in 33 minutes.^[43] While Wall received the biggest cheer for any player during introductions, the crowd turned on Wall and was cheering for Lin by the end of the game.^[44] Lin received offers to sign from the Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, and an unnamed Eastern Conference team. In addition to the original three teams, the Golden State Warriors also offered Lin a contract.^[45]

Golden State Warriors (2010–2011)[link]

Lin at Warriors practice in 2010

On July 21, 2010, Lin signed a two-year deal with his hometown Warriors, his favorite team growing up. Lin's deal was partially guaranteed for 2010–11, and the Warriors held a team option for the second season.^[46] The deal included a first-year salary of close to $500,000 with more than half of it guaranteed.^[47] Lin said the counteroffers from the three other teams were higher, but he wanted to play for the Warriors.^[48] Lin's agent Roger Montgomery negotiated the deal with the Warriors.^[38] Lin also signed a three-year guaranteed contract with Nike.^[49] His jersey was already on sale before his first NBA game.^[50]

The Warriors held a press conference for Lin after his signing, with national media in attendance. "It was surprising to see that ... for an undrafted rookie," said then-Warriors coach Keith Smart.^[51] "The San Jose Mercury News wrote that Lin "had something of a cult following" after his signing.^[52] The San Francisco Bay Area, with its large Asian-American population, celebrated his arrival.^[2] He became the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA.^[2][53][54] Lin received the loudest ovation of the night in the Warriors' home exhibition opener at Oracle Arena when he entered the game in the fourth quarter.^[55] The crowd had started chanting for him in the third quarter and cheered whenever he touched the ball. "That really touched me. It's something I'll remember forever," Lin said.^[56] During the first month of the season, Oracle Arena fans continued to root for Lin to play in the end of games and cheered every time he touched the ball.^[57] He drew the crowd's attention on the road as well. Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com attributed the attention Lin received out of town to the unique angle of "an Asian-American rising to rare basketball prominence".^[5] ESPN.com NBA editor Matt Wong wrote after a game in New York, "Lin checked into the game to loud applause, presumably from the many Asian-Americans in attendance."^[58] Still, Lin played more relaxed at home. "There's a lot of pressure on him at home, with all of the applause for just checking into the game, so I'm sure that cranks his nerves up a little bit," said teammate Stephen Curry. "You can tell on the road he plays a lot better, because he can just go out there, play and have fun."^[57]

Lin noticed the expectations that followed him and warned, "I won't be an All-Star this year."^[59] He was appreciative of the support, especially from the Asian-American community, but he also preferred concentrating on his play without all the attention when he had not "proven anything to anybody."^[5] Smart saw that Lin was skilled at getting to the paint, but needed to learn to pass because, he said, Lin "couldn't shoot the ball at all". The coach also noticed that the player always arrived early for practice and left late. Lin studied and rehearsed Steve Nash and other top point guards' pick-and-roll plays.^[30] Frank Hughes of Sports Illustrated wrote that he talked with the occasional "seeds of self-doubt", which he said was not common to hear in the NBA. Hughes also found it rare when Lin compared himself to the Phoenix Suns' backup point guard Goran Dragić.^[60] "Neither of us is a freak athlete, but we're both effective and know how to play the game," Lin said.^[61] Lin and Curry, the 2009–10 runner-up Rookie of the Year, received more interview requests than any other Warrior. Team officials regularly denied requests for Lin to help him keep his focus. He was approached to be the subject of documentaries.^[5] Smart planned to take pressure off Lin since Lin had a tendency to be hard on himself and get frustrated,^[59] but the coach admitted that he once succumbed to the home crowd's wishes and put Lin into a game in the wrong situation.^[5]

Lin received little playing time during the season with two dominant ball-handling guards, Curry and Monta Ellis, starring for the Warriors.^[62] He initially competed with Charlie Bell and Reggie Williams, and later Acie Law, for playing time at backup point guard.^[63][64] Lin started the regular season on the Warriors' inactive list,^[65] but made his NBA debut the next game during the Warriors' Asian Heritage Night. He received a standing ovation when he entered the game in the final minutes.^[66][67] In the next game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Lin scored his first NBA basket, had three assists, and recorded four steals. He played 11 of his 16 minutes in the third quarter and committed five fouls but played a role in a 12–1 run by the Warriors in a 107–83 loss to the defending NBA champions.^[68][69] Lakers' guard Derek Fisher praised Lin for his energy and aggressiveness.^[70] At Toronto on November 8, the Raptors held Asian Heritage Night to coincide with Lin's visit with the Warriors. Over 20 members of Toronto's Chinese media covered the game.^[71][72] In a 89–117 road loss to the Lakers, Lin scored a (then) career-high 13 points in 18 minutes after scoring only seven total points in his first six games.^[73][74]

Three times during the season, Lin was assigned to the Warriors' D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns.^[75][76][77] Each time, he was later recalled by the Warriors.^[78][79][80] He competed in the NBA D-League Showcase and was named to the All-NBA D-League Showcase First Team on January 14, 2011. Lin helped lead the Bighorns to a 2–0 record at the Showcase with averages of 21.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.5 steals.^[81] Lin posted a season-high 27 points with the Bighorns on March 18.^[82] In 20 games he averaged 18 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists with Reno.^[30] Lin initially felt he was not good enough to play in the NBA, but he later realized he was learning and getting playing time in the D-League that he would not have received with the Warriors.^[83][84] Lin credited Bighorns coach Eric Musselman with "helping him regain [his] swagger."^[85] Musselman recalled that Lin was a good scorer for himself but was not yet skilled at "using the whole floor". He scored many offensive fouls, but Musselman believed Lin was as good as Gilbert Arenas in the dribble drive, an ability "you can't teach". The player continued to improve his pick-and-roll, how to handle double teams and traps, and improved his jump shot and, especially, his three pointer. Musselman also noticed that Lin, who as an NBA player received first-class airplane tickets, gave them to his teammates.^[30]

The Warriors saw Lin as a potential backup for Curry.^[30] Lacob said the team received more than one trade offer for Lin while he was in the D-League, but he was happy with Lin's progress as an undrafted free agent. "He's a minimum, inexpensive asset. You need to look at him as a developing asset. Is he going to be a superstar? No."^[86] He finished his rookie NBA season averaging 2.6 points on 38.9 percent shooting in 29 games.^[87]

2011 offseason[link]

Lin recovered from a patellar ligament injury to his knee during the 2011 NBA lockout.^[88] In September 2011, Lin played a few games for the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) club Dongguan Leopards at the ABA Club Championship in Guangzhou, China, where he was named the MVP of the tournament.^[89] Shanghai Sharks president and former NBA star Yao Ming also tried, unsuccessfully, to sign Lin for the upcoming CBA season;^[90] Lin explained^[91] that as someone still under contract with the Golden State Warriors, he could not play in the CBA as the league would only admit NBA free agents.^[92] A few days before the lockout was lifted on November 26, Lin had been close to signing with an undisclosed club in Italy.^[93]

Lin worked to improve his jump shot during the offseason by abandoning the shooting form he had used since the eighth grade. He also increased his strength, doubling the weight he could squat (from 110 pounds (50 kg) to 231 (105)) and almost tripling the number of pull-ups that he could do (from 12 to 30).^[88] He increased his body weight from 200 pounds (91 kg) to 212 (96)—including 15 pounds (6.8 kg) of muscle—added 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) to his standing vertical jump and 6 inches (15 cm) to his running vertical jump, and improved his lateral quickness by 32 percent.^[30][94] Due to the lockout, he never got a chance to workout for new Warriors coach Mark Jackson.^[95] On the first day of training camp on December 9, 2011, the Warriors waived Lin. He was a favorite of Lacob,^[96][97] but the Warriors were freeing up salary cap space to make an offer to restricted free agent center DeAndre Jordan;^[98][99] Lin was due to make nearly $800,000 that would have become fully guaranteed on February 10, 2012.^[2][100] The San Francisco Chronicle said Lin would have had trouble beating out rookie guard Charles Jenkins.^[101]

On December 12, 2011, Lin was claimed off waivers by the Houston Rockets.^[102] He played seven minutes in two preseason games with the Rockets, who already had Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragić and Jonny Flynn as point guards with guaranteed contracts.^[103][104] On December 24, before the start of the season, the Rockets waived Lin to clear payroll to sign center Samuel Dalembert.^[62][105]

New York Knicks (2011–present)[link]

Lin shoots over former Warriors teammate David Lee.

The New York Knicks claimed Lin off waivers on December 27 to be a backup behind Toney Douglas and Mike Bibby after an injury to guard Iman Shumpert; recently-signed guard Baron Davis was also injured and weeks away from playing.^{[62][99][106]} He becomes a restricted free agent at the end of the season.^[107] Because of the lockout coaches had little opportunity to see Lin's play, and placed him fourth on the point guard depth chart.^[30] Lin said he was "competing for a backup spot, and people see me as the 12th to 15th guy on the roster. It's a numbers game",^[52] and continued to arrive first at practice, leave last, intensely study game film, and work with coaches to improve his footwork and judgement.^[30] He made his season debut on the road against the Warriors, where he was warmly cheered in his return to Oracle Arena.^[108] On January 17, 2012, Lin was assigned to the Erie BayHawks of the D-League.^[109] On January 20, he had a triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists in the BayHawks' 122–113 victory over the Maine Red Claws.^[110] Lin was recalled by the Knicks three days later,^[111] but so feared being cut again that he asked a chaplain at a pregame prayer service to pray for him.^[112] If released again, Lin considered playing in Europe, returning to the D-league, or taking a break with a non-basketball job.^[113]

On January 28, Davis suffered a setback that postponed his Knicks debut.^[107][114] Then New York considered releasing Lin before his contract became guaranteed on February 10 so they could sign a new player. However, after the Knicks squandered a fourth quarter lead in a February 3 loss to the Boston Celtics, coach Mike D'Antoni decided to give Lin a chance to play due to "desperation", according to experts. "He got lucky because we were playing so bad," said D'Antoni.^[114][115] Lin had played only 55 minutes through the Knicks' first 23 games, but he would unexpectedly lead a turnaround of an 8–15 team that had lost 11 of its last 13 games.^{[116][117][118]}

On February 4, against the New Jersey Nets and All-Star guard Deron Williams, Lin had 25 points, five rebounds, and seven assists—all career-highs—in a 99–92 Knicks victory. Teammate Carmelo Anthony suggested to coach Mike D'Antoni at halftime that Lin should play more in the second half. After the game, D'Antoni said Lin has a point-guard mentality and "a rhyme and a reason for what he is doing out there."^{[119][120][121]} In the subsequent game against the Utah Jazz, Lin made his first career start playing without stars Anthony, who left the game due to injury, and Amar'e Stoudemire, whose older brother had died. Lin had 28 points and eight assists in the Knicks' 99–88 win.^[122][123] Stoudemire and Anthony missed the next three and seven games, respectively.^[121][123] D'Antoni stated after the Jazz game that he intended to "rid[e Lin] like freakin' Secretariat."^[124] Basketball trainer David Thorpe said in hindsight that such a statement of confidence so soon by a coach was "incredibly rare", and likely gave Lin the confidence to continue to play aggressively despite making mistakes.^[115]

In a 107–93 win over the Washington Wizards, Lin played against John Wall and had 23 points and 10 assists, his first double-double.^[126] On February 10, Lin scored a new career-high 38 points and had seven assists, leading the Knicks in their 92–85 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. He outscored the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, who had 34 points.^{[127][128][129]} On February 11, Lin scored 20 points and had 8 assists in a narrow 100–98 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.^[130] Lin was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals in those four starts with the Knicks going undefeated.^[131]

On February 14, with less than a second remaining, Lin scored a game-winning three-pointer against the Toronto Raptors.^[123] The basket so amazed the Lakers, watching on TV, that veteran player Metta World Peace ran by reporters shouting "Linsanity! Linsanity!" and waving his hands above his head.^[132][133] Lin became the first NBA player to score at least 20 points and have seven assists in each of his first five starts.^[134] Lin scored 89, 109, and 136 points in his first three, four, and five career starts, respectively, all three of which are the most by any player since the merger between the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the NBA in 1976–77.^{[130][135][136]}

In the following game against the Sacramento Kings, Lin recorded 13 assists and led the Knicks back to .500.^[137] New York had a 7–0 record after Lin started receiving major playing time, 6–0 with him starting.^[138] The winning streak ended in an 89–85 loss to the New Orleans Hornets; Lin scored 26 points but had nine turnovers. His 45 turnovers in his first seven career starts were the most since individual turnovers began being tracked in 1977–78.^[139] On February 19 in a 104–97 win against the Mavericks, Lin scored 28 points and tallied career highs with 14 assists and five steals. USA Today wrote, "No matter what Dallas threw at Lin – double-teams, traps, blitzes, tall defenders ... smaller defenders ... stocky, thin – Lin found a way ... to a victory against the defending NBA champions."^[140]

In his 12 starts before the All-Star break, Lin averaged 22.5 points and 8.7 assists, and New York had a 9–3 record.^[141] He played in the Rising Stars Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend.^[142] He was omitted from the original Rising Stars roster, but was added after his sudden rise to stardom.^[143] Some media outlets—including USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and CBSSports.com—stated that he deserved to play in the All-Star Game.^{[144][145][146]}

After the March 24 game against the Detroit Pistons, Lin complained about a sore knee, and an MRI later revealed a small meniscus tear in the left knee. The Knicks announced on March 31 that Lin opted to have knee surgery and would miss the rest of the regular season.^[147][148]

Career statistics[link]

College[link]