Jeremy Lin, ‘Reppin’ Asians With Everything I Have,’ Is Bigger Than an N.B.A. Title

Every championship team has reserve players who are part of the group but don’t make an impact on the court. But not every reserve player carries with him the responsibility and burden of being the most prominent Asian-American basketball player in the world. If Lin’s story were only about basketball, it would have been over long ago.

“I used to run from it, because that’s all anybody ever wanted to label me,” Lin, who is of Taiwanese descent, told reporters after his Raptors debut in February. “It was like, ‘Oh, he’s Asian, he’s Asian, he’s Asian.’”

Even though Lin is one of the best basketball players in the world, he has not been shielded from the stereotypes that other Asian-Americans face in everyday life, like dealing with racial slurs and being forced to prove that they belong. Lin has said he often is not recognized by security guards at N.B.A. arenas.

To be proud of who you are. That feeling doesn’t always come easily when you’re part of a minority group. You often have a sense that glass ceilings exist, whether those created by others or the ones we set for ourselves because of our experiences of being treated differently from others.

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