Inspired by Porsche colours: basketball star Jeremy Lin
Basketball player Jeremy Lin on his pursuit of dreams
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From college basketball to the professional game, challenging stereotypes have been part of Jeremy’s sporting life. We found out why Riviera Blue is his favourite Porsche colour and how it’s been a metaphor for his dreams
Leaning against a Porsche 718 Boxster GTS painted in vibrant Riviera Blue, Jeremy Lin is musing on a professional sports career that has seen him win despite the odds stacked against him. There are very few Asian-Americans who have had the chance to play in the NBA – even fewer who have an NBA championship ring to their name. “Being an inspiration for other people?”, he says. “There’s a lot of responsibility that comes with it.”How Jeremy Lin dreamed bigA couple of hours earlier, Jeremy was out doing what he felt he was always born to do. What he’s always done – shooting hoops. On an outside basketball court that boasts the Taipei City skyline as a stunning backdrop, each jump shot Jeremy puts up is met by a satisfying ‘swoosh!’ as the ball passes through the net. The same sound that so intoxicated him as a kid when playing with his dad in the Bay Area of California, where he was brought up. Back then, Jeremy was already dreaming of playing basketball for a living.Basketball star Jeremy Lin’s recipe for success? Talent. Inspiration. Hard work. And dreaming big
When, in 1948, Ferdinand Porsche founded Porsche as a carmaker, dreams were front and central for him too. Sharing the same attitude towards dreams, Jeremy describes how he sees his future as a voyage through the vast ocean. His favourite colour, naturally, is blue because it symbolises the “…vastness and limitless possibilities, much like the sea”. After a stellar high school career, at college Jeremy broke Ivy League records while playing as a point guard for Harvard. Even after graduating with a degree in economics, he stuck to his passion and declared for the 2010 NBA Draft. Unfortunately, he went undrafted.
The waves are going to keep coming. Things are going to keep happening. But I’ve got to keep moving forward
It was Jeremy’s philosophical approach that kept him going. He had an unquenchable determination to play in basketball’s pre-eminent league, even when many, neglecting his on-court intelligence and passing skills, assumed that he lacked the physical traits to compete. His solution was to embark on a consistent training programme and to wholly dedicate himself to improving his skills. Jeremy Lin: “I believe that everyone has the power to leave an impact on the world”Jeremy Lin: making the step up to the NBAJeremy’s dream eventually came true in July 2010, when he signed a contract with his hometown Golden State Warriors. But it would be the following season, after joining the New York Knicks, when his name would go down in the folklore of the game. With the Knicks on the verge of elimination from the battle to reach the playoffs, he was given an opportunity by the team’s head coach. It was a chance that he did not turn down, with a string of pivotal performances helping to propel his team to the post-season courtesy of a seven-game winning streak. For a period in early 2012, Jeremy Lin was one of the most talked about personalities in all of the United States, spawning a cultural phenomenon the media dubbed ‘Linsanity’. “I believe that everyone has the power to leave an impact on the world,” says Jeremy today. And he’s certainly done that. In Jeremy’s own words, life is full of ups and downs, just like those waves in the ocean. In a nine-year NBA career in which Jeremy played over 500 games, there were many such crests and valleys. They included major setbacks, like a ruptured ligament injury, and the highest of highs – in 2019, Jeremy was a member of the Toronto Raptors team who lifted the NBA championship.Dreams rarely come easy – they have to be worked atHow Jeremy Lin is encouraging others to pursue their dreamsToday, Jeremy Lin plays pro basketball in Taiwan, the country of his parents’ birth. Away from the basketball court, Jeremy uses his status and hard-fought influence to encourage others to follow their passions and commit themselves to achieving their dreams. He’s an active participant in charitable events, supporting others in their courageous pursuit of these dreams, like his ‘Three-Point Heart’ initiative, in which every three-pointer he makes is converted into a donation.Hoop dreams: Jeremy’s determination to succeed eventually gave birth to a basketball phenomenon known as ‘Linsanity’Jeremy Lin stands as a role model for dreamers everywhere. Basketball, he says, has the power “to help change the world”. He has a passion for it that’s as vast as the ocean, helping guide Jeremy through all the challenges he has faced – and will ever face. As Ferdinand Porsche no doubt would agree, the world always needs dreamers.
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