Recently, Jeremy Lin was on the show Complex Chinese GOAT Talk and talked about his many "bests", showing the forces supporting him, as well as his outlook on life, values, and worldview.
GOAT stands for Greatest of All Time.
Lin said his GOAT NBA experience was winning the championship. As a Taiwanese-American professional basketball player, He felt proud to represent Asian people to be the winner.
Lin shared that many people doubted him, and he was affected and also doubted himself. At that time, he was not given the opportunity to play or to gain fame. "If it weren't for my family and my manager, I might have given up a long time ago. They didn’t allow me to give up, but gave me the confidence to keep going."
He gave the GOAT Linsanity moment to the buzzer beater in Toronto, but his favorite game was the one played against the Lakers as he scored 38 points in that game.
Many people asked him what he was thinking during the game. "Athletes usually don't think too much during their best performance. If they think too much, they will be more stressed and nervous. Therefore some of their thoughts couldn't be shown. I just think that this person in the front can’t guard me, so I’ll get past him."
He believes that for professional players, self-confidence is more important than skill. "Even if they didn't make the first five baskets, they would still believe they’d make the sixth one. So confidence is key."
Talked about the GOAT Harvard University Course, Lin thought of Sociology. Though his major was Economics, he was most interested in sociology and had a sincere concern for charity. One course that impressed him a lot was about why some cities were less developed and how people could change the economics of their district or city. He hoped to provide people with more opportunities to live better lives.
His GOAT motto was "Do your best, Trust God with the rest", which his parents had taught him since childhood. "You put 100% effort into something and leave the rest to God," Lin explained. "I would get very nervous for both exams and games, and they would keep reminding me of this saying."
He showed the gesture he regarded as the GOAT Bucket Celebration: thumbs and index fingers in the shape of a heart, and the other three fingers raised. Every time he scored a three-pointer, he would make this gesture and make a donation. "No matter how successful you are, if you are only living for yourself, then it's kind of a miserable life. We have to always look outside of ourselves to figure out how to love and help others."
- Translated by Abigail Wu
