Jeremy Lin announced that he will be returning to the NBA after playing one season with the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association, reports CBS Sports.
Lin made the announcement on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform.
“This decision has really been the hardest in my life,” he said. “Every morning I would wake up at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., thinking, thinking, and thinking all the time.”
“In the end, although Shougang has treated me incredibly well. . . giving me everything I wanted, in the end, I feel that I still have NBA dreams. I still have time to play and I have to chase this.”
Lin previously played in the NBA for nearly a decade, where he first rose to fame while playing for the Knicks in 2012, according to New York Post.
He decided to sign a contract with the Beijing Ducks last season after being unable to sign with any NBA teams as a free agent, stating that he felt the NBA had “given up” on him.
During his season with the Ducks, Lin raised concerns about safety measures in the CBA after sustaining several injuries, reported AsAmNews.
Despite this conflict with the CBA, he stated that leaving China was a difficult decision for him.
“I know that many of my fans have stood by me no matter if I was injured,” Lin said. “Why was this decision so difficult? Yesterday, when I shared this with my family and friends, when I told them I would have to leave China, I cried.”
AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. We’re an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. Check out our new Instagram account. Go to our Twitter feed and Facebook page for more content. Please consider interning, joining our staff, or submitting a story.