誰忽視了林書豪?

愛因斯坦曾說過：“打破人們的偏見比崩解一個原子還要難。”由此可見人們的思維定勢如何難以突破。不過，一個名不見經傳的亞裔小子，一個被稱為“林來瘋”的哈佛畢業生，僅用了兩周的時間，就在NBA打破了“籃聯是非裔美國人的天下”這一偏見。他為我們展現的不僅是精湛的球技、困境中的堅持和絕處逢生的傳奇經歷，更重要的是他打破了NBA多年以來對亞裔的成見，為更多默默無聞的亞裔球員開啟了一扇通往NBA的大門，讓更多的“林書豪”走出被忽視的角落，展現真正的自我。

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An undrafted1) Asian American from Harvard excelling for the storied2) New York Knicks in the NBA3)’s most famous arena is unlikely enough. Marry that with a timely confluence of unpredictable events and unique circumstances， and Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin’s unprecedented rise from bench warmer4) to global basketball star in 14 days begs the perplexing question5):

How did Lin go so unnoticed for so long?

Lin’s unforeseen performance has captivated sports fans throughout the world， including Asia， where Lin has roots. He is the NBA’s first American-born player of Taiwanese descent.

“Lin is changing perceptions of Asian Americans， in ways that both reinforce and deeply challenge existing stereotypes，” said Thad Williamson， a University of Richmond professor of leadership studies. “On the one hand， he is the prototypical6) high-academic-achieving Asian American. But on the other hand he is a baller who has shown he can not only compete but excel against the world’s best players.”

Said Knicks legend and TV analyst Walt Frazier， “This league is dominated by African Americans. What are the odds of an Asian guy coming on and having this impact? It’s amazing. It’s inexplicable.”

It began with a desperate attempt by coach Mike D’Antoni to jump-start7) the then-struggling Knicks. The answer turned out to be Lin， a 6’3， 200-pound guard8) with an economics degree and faith in God who just happened to be a perfect fit for D’Antoni’s offensive system.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan， who played basketball at Harvard， has developed a relationship with Lin and worked out with him on the court. “Everyone who thinks this an overnight success fundamentally gets this wrong，” Duncan said in an interview with USA TODAY. “Jeremy has been very good for a long time and just never quite had the opportunity.”

In his last seven games， Lin has averaged 24.4 points， 9.1 assists and 4.0 rebounds9)， filling Knicks fans with joy and hope and replacing frustration that existed for the last decade.

Since D’Antoni gave Lin his chance， the Knicks are 7-0， including 6-0 with Lin as a starter. New York (15-15) has moved from 10th to eighth in the Eastern Conference standings， revitalizing its season and re-energizing a Madison Square Garden crowd that has not enjoyed an NBA title since 1973.

“You can feel an energy here that has been missing for a long time，” Frazier said.

Race played a factor early in Lin’s career， Duncan said.

“This is classic low expectations and， frankly， stereotyping10)，” Duncan said. “He was underappreciated and under-recognized. The fact that he’s Asian American， those two things are absolutely linked.”

Lin is aware of the stereotypes and says he perhaps can open doors to basketball previously unknown to Asian Americans， similar to how Tiger Woods11) introduced golf to more people. “The more we can do to break those down every day， the better we’ll become，” said Lin， who plans to conduct a basketball camp in Taiwan after the season. “Hopefully， in the near future， we’ll see a lot more Asians and Asian Americans playing basketball in the NBA.”

But Duncan also pinpoints12) an important factor in Lin’s ascent: getting an opportunity in the right place at the right time. It’s much easier for an unheralded13) player to emerge in football， baseball and hockey， where roster sizes are larger and players develop at different rates.

In basketball， many of the top players are identified in their pre-teen and early teens and， as Commissioner14) David Stern said， “The conventional wisdom is that you know everyone who’s going to be coming into your league by the time of the McDonald’s High School All-American Game15).”

As a Palo Alto (Calif.) High senior， Lin wasn’t on national recruiting analysts’ or college coaches’ radars. He wasn’t ranked nationally by position or in California. Rivals.com16) has a five-star rating system for recruits17). Next to Lin’s name: zero stars.

Rivals.com recruiting expert Jerry Meyer said he wasn’t aware of Lin when Lin played at Palo Alto. “I couldn’t even tell you what AAU18) team he played for，” Meyer said.

In his own backyard， Stanford didn’t offer him a scholarship.

“Jeremy Lin was a good basketball player then，” said then-Stanford coach Trent Johnson， who is now at LSU19). “We talked about the possibility of having him walk on20). He didn’t want to walk on.

“It’s a good story. It’s a great story. But right now， everybody seems to think he was playing as well then as he is now. It’s comical. Well， who drafted Jeremy Lin? No NBA team.”

At Harvard， Lin had supporters and believers， especially then-Crimson assistant coach Kenny Blakeney. Blakeney said he had told Lin that he could be an NBA player， and he was “more athletic than what people give you credit for … and physically tougher than a lot of people will give you credit for.”

So what took so long for the NBA to discover Lin? The Golden State Warriors21) cut him. They were deep at the guard position and couldn’t give him playing time. The Houston Rockets22) picked him up， but Lin ran into the same closed door: too many guards， no minutes and an offense that didn’t suit his style. They cut him， too.

But the Knicks needed a point guard23) who could direct D’Antoni’s offense， a style suited to Lin’s abilities.

If the Warriors hadn’t cut him， if the Rockets hadn’t cut him， if Knicks guard Baron Davis hadn’t been out with an injury， if Lin hadn’t been equipped to run this offense， if D’Antoni hadn’t taken a chance … Lin’s story might have never played out.

“I feel like a lot of teams have that ‘Jeremy Lin，’” Kings24) guard Isaiah Thomas said. “For whatever reason， it’s not the right situation. This league is all about opportunity and what you do with it. It’s all about being put in the right situation to succeed. That’s life in general.”

He Is the First of His Kind 亞裔第一人

In two weeks， Lin not only became a trending topic on social media (from virtually no Twitter followers to more than 380，000) and a star for the NBA and the Knicks， he also became an overnight role model for Asians throughout the world.

“This seems like an important development in the way Asian Americans are likely to be perceived and portrayed，” Williamson said.

Lin’s story is especially appealing to Asian basketball players， who say his success is an inspiration.

“He speaks like us. He’s heard all of the same stereotypes we’ve heard，” said Asian Canadian Darren Liu， 25， a former high school basketball player. “To see a guy go through all those things， to get cut by teams， it’s something we can look up to and be proud of.”

Lin’s story is one NBA executives have enjoyed immensely， in part because it has helped eliminate residual25) bitterness over the league’s 149-day lockout and in part because of the league’s commitment to marketing itself in China. The NBA is paying close attention to the impact there as the league tries to increase its popularity after Ming’s retirement last summer.

According to the NBA:

· From Feb. 4 to Feb. 12， Lin had the top-selling jersey at NBAstore.com， which has shipped Lin merchandise to 22 countries.

· On Sina Weibo， Lin went from 190，000 followers on Feb. 2 to 916，747 on Feb. 14. Lin is the No. 1-searched term on Baidu.

In two decades of reporting on U.S. and Chinese basketball， Su Qun26) has never seen anything like Lin. “There is no precedent for this，” says Su， 43， editor-in-chief of Basketball Pioneers， a twice-weekly Chinese-language newspaper.

For each of the last four editions， Lin has been the cover star.

“That never happened before， with Yao Ming， Kobe Bryant or LeBron James. The first two editions， I chose him as I wanted to commemorate his feats and make him better known to Chinese fans，” Su says. “Then he exceeded expectations， and we had no choice but to use him.”

On Rivals.com’s list of the top 150 high school seniors， not one is primarily of Asian descent， Meyer said. “You just don’t see that many good Asian-American players，” he said. “That doesn’t mean they’re not out there. That had a lot to do with Jeremy being such a sleeper. People don’t expect Asian Americans to be that good at basketball. We just have to be honest about that.… That’s crass27)， and that’s stereotypical. Obviously， he’s breaking that. He might open the door for more Asian-American players.”

Despite the recognition and all of the hype28)， Lin has remained humble. “I want to be the same person before and after，” Lin said. “That’s where I want to be. I don’t want to let anything affect me or our team.”

Lin’s agent， Roger Montgomery， is impressed with the way Lin has handled the pressure of playing for the Knicks and his demeanor off the court in the face of growing multimedia requests. “He’s holding up pretty good，” Montgomery said. “I’m proud of how well he is doing.… The most important endorsement we have right now is that he is the starting point guard for the New York Knicks.”

一個哈佛畢業、選秀失利的亞裔美國人，卻在NBA最負盛名的競技場上脫穎而出，為曾經戰功赫赫的紐約尼克斯隊連創佳績，這已經夠不可思議的了，再結合一連串意外事件和特殊情況的及時配合，尼克斯隊的轟動人物林書豪在14天之內就前所未有地從一名替補球員一躍成為世界籃球巨星——這向世人提出了一個令人困惑的問題：

這么長時間以來怎么就沒人發現林書豪？

林書豪出人意料的輝煌戰績征服了全世界的球迷，當然也包括亞洲，那里是他的故土。他是NBA第一位在美國出生的中國臺灣裔球員。

“林書豪改變了人們對亞裔美國人的看法，既強化了人們現有的成見，也深刻地挑戰著這些成見，”里士滿大學研究領導學的教授薩德·威廉姆森評論道，“一方面，他和典型的亞裔美國人一樣，學習成績優秀。但另一方面，作為一個球員，他向世人表明，他不僅能和世界最優秀的球員同場競技，而且能夠擊敗對手脫穎而出。”

尼克斯的傳奇人物、電視評論員沃爾特·弗雷澤評論說：“籃聯是非裔美國人的天下。一個亞裔小子嶄露頭角、脫穎而出的機會能有多大呢？這太令人吃驚了，簡直不可思議。”

這一切都始于尼克斯教練邁克·德安東尼為了拯救苦苦掙扎的尼克斯隊而采取的一次孤注一擲的嘗試。他嘗試的人選就是林書豪。這個身高6.25英尺(約1.91米)、體重200磅(約91公斤)、擁有經濟學學位、信仰上帝的后衛正是德安東尼進攻體系的最佳人選。

曾在哈佛打過籃球的美國教育部長阿恩·鄧肯和林書豪是舊識，也曾在球場上一起打球。“如果有誰認為林書豪是一夜成功，那就大錯特錯了，”鄧肯在接受《今日美國》采訪時說，“書豪一直都很優秀，只是從來沒有過機會而已。”

在他之前參加的七場比賽中(編注：指截至2月15日本文刊發時)，林書豪平均得分24.4分，9.1次助攻，四個籃板，為尼克斯隊球迷帶來了欣喜和希望，將持續了十年之久的頹廢感一掃而光。

自從德安東尼給了林書豪施展身手的機會后，尼克斯隊打出了一波7勝0負的戰績，其中林書豪作為首發球員的六場比賽全部獲勝。紐約尼克斯隊以15勝15負的戰績在東部聯盟賽區的排名從第十上升到第八位，不但提振了整個賽季，也使麥迪遜廣場花園(編注：尼克斯隊的主場)的球迷們興奮不已，他們自1973年以來就沒有在主場領略過NBA冠軍的風采了(編注：尼克斯隊最后一次奪得NBA總決賽冠軍是在1973年)。

正如弗雷澤所說，“在這里，你能夠感受到一種久違的能量。”

鄧肯說，在林書豪早期的籃球生涯中，種族問題對他的影響較大。

“這種低期望值是根深蒂固的，坦率地說，已成為一種成見，”鄧肯說，“他沒有得到應得的賞識，沒有得到應得的承認，這與他亞裔美國人的身份絕對有關。”

林書豪也意識到這種成見的存在，他說自己也許可以打開亞裔美國人以前從未打開過的通往籃球世界的大門，就像泰格·伍茲讓更多的人了解到高爾夫球一樣。“我們每天為打破成見所做的工作越多，就會變得越強大。”林書豪說。他計劃賽季過后在臺灣舉辦一個籃球訓練營。“希望在不遠的將來，我們能看到更多的亞洲人和亞裔美國人進入NBA打球。”

但鄧肯也準確地指出了林書豪脫穎而出的一個重要因素：在合適的地點、合適的時間得到了關鍵的機會。相比籃球，在橄欖球、棒球和曲棍球這樣的運動中，由于球員眾多且成長速度不同，籍籍無名的球員更容易出人頭地。

在籃球運動中，許多頂尖球員在少年時代或青少年初期就被發現，正如NBA總裁大衛·斯特恩所說的那樣，“傳統的觀念是，在麥當勞全美中學聯賽舉行之時，你就知道都有哪些人會進入聯賽了。”

作為帕羅奧圖(加州)中學的高年級學生，林書豪根本不在全國球員招募分析師或者大學教練的搜索視野內。他在全國或者加利福尼亞都排不上名次。Rivals.com網站有一個五星級的新秀評級系統，在林書豪的名字旁一顆星都沒有。

Rivals.com的選秀專家杰里·邁耶表示，林書豪在帕羅奧圖中學打球時，他對林根本就沒有印象。“我甚至不知道他在哪個業余體育聯合會的球隊打球。”邁耶說。

他自己家門口的斯坦福大學沒有給他提供獎學金。

“林書豪那時就是一個優秀的籃球運動員了，”時任斯坦福大學教練、現在路易斯安那州立大學任職的特倫特·約翰遜說，“我們商量過是否可以讓他隨隊做臨時隊員，但他拒絕了。

“這是一個動人的故事，一個了不起的故事。但現在，似乎人人都承認他當時打球和現在一樣棒。這真是好笑。可是，誰又接納了他呢？之前沒有一個NBA球隊要他。”

在哈佛，林書豪有自己的支持者和球迷，特別是當時的克里姆森助理教練肯尼·布萊克尼。布萊克尼說自己曾告訴林書豪，說他可以成為NBA球員，還說他“要比人們所認可的更有運動才華……在體質上要比許多人所認可的更強壯。”

那到底是什么原因使NBA花了那么長時間才發現林書豪呢？金州勇士隊裁了他。他們后衛太多，無法給他上場的機會。后來休斯敦火箭隊接納了他，但他又遇到同樣的壁壘：太多的后衛，沒有上場機會，沒有適合他那種打法的進攻體系。于是他們也裁了他。

但尼克斯隊卻需要一個控球后衛來引領德安東尼的進攻體系，這種形式正好契合林書豪的能力。

如果勇士隊沒有裁掉他，如果火箭隊沒有裁掉他，如果尼克斯的后衛拜倫·戴維斯不是因為受傷不能參加比賽，如果林書豪沒有能力來實施這種進攻體系，如果德安東尼不愿意冒險……林書豪的故事恐怕就要改寫了。

“我覺得許多球隊都有‘林書豪’這樣的人物，”國王隊的后衛以賽亞·托馬斯說，“不管什么原因，這不是什么好現象。在聯賽中，一切都在于機遇，在于你如何把握機遇。要被安置在適當的位置才能成功。生活就是如此。”

短短兩周內，林書豪不僅成了社交媒體的熱門話題(其推特粉絲從幾乎為零上升至三十八萬多人)，成了NBA和尼克斯的明星，也在一夜之間成了全世界亞洲人的楷模。

威廉姆森說：“在人們對亞裔美國人的認識和描述中，這也許是一個重要的演變。”

林書豪的經歷對亞裔籃球隊員來說尤其有吸引力，他們說林書豪的成功對他們是種激勵。

“他和我們有共同語言。我們所聽到的那些偏見，他也都聽到過。”25歲的亞裔加拿大人劉達倫說道。劉達倫以前在中學里也是籃球隊員。“看著一個人歷經坎坷，被一個個球隊裁掉，最后終于走了過來，這令我們欽佩，也讓我們引以為豪。”

很多NBA高管對林書豪的故事都喜聞樂道，一方面是因為他的故事消除了聯盟因149天的停賽而產生的消極情緒后遺癥，另一方面是因為聯盟正在積極開拓中國市場。NBA正密切關注著這件事對中國的影響，因為在姚明去年夏天退役之后，聯盟就一直在努力擴大其在中國的受歡迎程度。

根據NBA的資料：

· 從2月4日到2月12日，在NBA網上商店，林書豪的球衣是最為暢銷的球衣，該網店已將與林書豪有關的商品發往22個國家。

· 在新浪微博上，林書豪的粉絲人數已從2月2日的190，000上升到2月14日的916，747。在百度網站上，林書豪是排名第一的搜索關鍵詞。

蘇群報道美國和中國的籃球賽事已達20年，但他從未見過像林書豪這樣的人物。43歲的蘇群是每周兩期的中文報紙《籃球先鋒報》的主編，他說：“這種情況從未有過先例。”

一連四期，林書豪都是《籃球先鋒報》的封面明星。

“這是前所未有的事情，無論是姚明、科比·布萊恩特還是勒布朗·詹姆斯都沒出現過這樣的情況。前兩期我選他是因為我想稱贊他的技術，讓中國球迷加深對他的了解，”蘇群說，“后來他的成績超出了人們的預期，我們沒得選擇，只能用他做封面。”

邁耶說，在Rivals.com網站上列出的150名最優秀的中學生球員中，沒有一個是亞裔后代。“你只是沒見過那么多優秀的亞裔美籍球員，”他說，“但這并不意味著他們不存在。書豪的默默無聞與此不無關系。人們從不期望亞裔美國人在籃球方面表現多么優秀。這一點我們無須諱言……這是愚鈍，也是偏見。顯然，他打破了這一切。也許他會為更多的亞裔美國球員打開大門。”

盡管得到了人們的承認，受到了火爆的宣傳，林書豪還是那么謙遜。“無論出名與否，我只想做我自己，”林書豪說，“這就是我的立場。我不想讓任何事來影響我或者我的球隊。”

林書豪在為尼克斯隊打球時處理壓力的方式，以及他在球場下面對越來越多的媒體采訪請求時表現出的風度，給他的經紀人羅杰·蒙哥馬利留下了深刻印象。“他表現非常不錯，”蒙哥馬利說，“我為他的優秀表現感到自豪……他現在是紐約尼克斯隊的首發控球后衛，這是我們此刻所擁有的最重要的支持。”

Right Place， Right Time 天時與地利

An undrafted1) Asian American from Harvard excelling for the storied2) New York Knicks in the NBA3)’s most famous arena is unlikely enough. Marry that with a timely confluence of unpredictable events and unique circumstances， and Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin’s unprecedented rise from bench warmer4) to global basketball star in 14 days begs the perplexing question5):

How did Lin go so unnoticed for so long?

Lin’s unforeseen performance has captivated sports fans throughout the world， including Asia， where Lin has roots. He is the NBA’s first American-born player of Taiwanese descent.

“Lin is changing perceptions of Asian Americans， in ways that both reinforce and deeply challenge existing stereotypes，” said Thad Williamson， a University of Richmond professor of leadership studies. “On the one hand， he is the prototypical6) high-academic-achieving Asian American. But on the other hand he is a baller who has shown he can not only compete but excel against the world’s best players.”

Said Knicks legend and TV analyst Walt Frazier， “This league is dominated by African Americans. What are the odds of an Asian guy coming on and having this impact? It’s amazing. It’s inexplicable.”

It began with a desperate attempt by coach Mike D’Antoni to jump-start7) the then-struggling Knicks. The answer turned out to be Lin， a 6’3， 200-pound guard8) with an economics degree and faith in God who just happened to be a perfect fit for D’Antoni’s offensive system.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan， who played basketball at Harvard， has developed a relationship with Lin and worked out with him on the court. “Everyone who thinks this an overnight success fundamentally gets this wrong，” Duncan said in an interview with USA TODAY. “Jeremy has been very good for a long time and just never quite had the opportunity.”

In his last seven games， Lin has averaged 24.4 points， 9.1 assists and 4.0 rebounds9)， filling Knicks fans with joy and hope and replacing frustration that existed for the last decade.

Since D’Antoni gave Lin his chance， the Knicks are 7-0， including 6-0 with Lin as a starter. New York (15-15) has moved from 10th to eighth in the Eastern Conference standings， revitalizing its season and re-energizing a Madison Square Garden crowd that has not enjoyed an NBA title since 1973.

“You can feel an energy here that has been missing for a long time，” Frazier said.

Race played a factor early in Lin’s career， Duncan said.

“This is classic low expectations and， frankly， stereotyping10)，” Duncan said. “He was underappreciated and under-recognized. The fact that he’s Asian American， those two things are absolutely linked.”

Lin is aware of the stereotypes and says he perhaps can open doors to basketball previously unknown to Asian Americans， similar to how Tiger Woods11) introduced golf to more people. “The more we can do to break those down every day， the better we’ll become，” said Lin， who plans to conduct a basketball camp in Taiwan after the season. “Hopefully， in the near future， we’ll see a lot more Asians and Asian Americans playing basketball in the NBA.”

But Duncan also pinpoints12) an important factor in Lin’s ascent: getting an opportunity in the right place at the right time. It’s much easier for an unheralded13) player to emerge in football， baseball and hockey， where roster sizes are larger and players develop at different rates.

In basketball， many of the top players are identified in their pre-teen and early teens and， as Commissioner14) David Stern said， “The conventional wisdom is that you know everyone who’s going to be coming into your league by the time of the McDonald’s High School All-American Game15).”

As a Palo Alto (Calif.) High senior， Lin wasn’t on national recruiting analysts’ or college coaches’ radars. He wasn’t ranked nationally by position or in California. Rivals.com16) has a five-star rating system for recruits17). Next to Lin’s name: zero stars.

Rivals.com recruiting expert Jerry Meyer said he wasn’t aware of Lin when Lin played at Palo Alto. “I couldn’t even tell you what AAU18) team he played for，” Meyer said.

In his own backyard， Stanford didn’t offer him a scholarship.

“Jeremy Lin was a good basketball player then，” said then-Stanford coach Trent Johnson， who is now at LSU19). “We talked about the possibility of having him walk on20). He didn’t want to walk on.

“It’s a good story. It’s a great story. But right now， everybody seems to think he was playing as well then as he is now. It’s comical. Well， who drafted Jeremy Lin? No NBA team.”

At Harvard， Lin had supporters and believers， especially then-Crimson assistant coach Kenny Blakeney. Blakeney said he had told Lin that he could be an NBA player， and he was “more athletic than what people give you credit for … and physically tougher than a lot of people will give you credit for.”

So what took so long for the NBA to discover Lin? The Golden State Warriors21) cut him. They were deep at the guard position and couldn’t give him playing time. The Houston Rockets22) picked him up， but Lin ran into the same closed door: too many guards， no minutes and an offense that didn’t suit his style. They cut him， too.

But the Knicks needed a point guard23) who could direct D’Antoni’s offense， a style suited to Lin’s abilities.

If the Warriors hadn’t cut him， if the Rockets hadn’t cut him， if Knicks guard Baron Davis hadn’t been out with an injury， if Lin hadn’t been equipped to run this offense， if D’Antoni hadn’t taken a chance … Lin’s story might have never played out.

“I feel like a lot of teams have that ‘Jeremy Lin，’” Kings24) guard Isaiah Thomas said. “For whatever reason， it’s not the right situation. This league is all about opportunity and what you do with it. It’s all about being put in the right situation to succeed. That’s life in general.”

In two weeks， Lin not only became a trending topic on social media (from virtually no Twitter followers to more than 380，000) and a star for the NBA and the Knicks， he also became an overnight role model for Asians throughout the world.

“This seems like an important development in the way Asian Americans are likely to be perceived and portrayed，” Williamson said.

Lin’s story is especially appealing to Asian basketball players， who say his success is an inspiration.

“He speaks like us. He’s heard all of the same stereotypes we’ve heard，” said Asian Canadian Darren Liu， 25， a former high school basketball player. “To see a guy go through all those things， to get cut by teams， it’s something we can look up to and be proud of.”

Lin’s story is one NBA executives have enjoyed immensely， in part because it has helped eliminate residual25) bitterness over the league’s 149-day lockout and in part because of the league’s commitment to marketing itself in China. The NBA is paying close attention to the impact there as the league tries to increase its popularity after Ming’s retirement last summer.

According to the NBA:

· From Feb. 4 to Feb. 12， Lin had the top-selling jersey at NBAstore.com， which has shipped Lin merchandise to 22 countries.

· On Sina Weibo， Lin went from 190，000 followers on Feb. 2 to 916，747 on Feb. 14. Lin is the No. 1-searched term on Baidu.

In two decades of reporting on U.S. and Chinese basketball， Su Qun26) has never seen anything like Lin. “There is no precedent for this，” says Su， 43， editor-in-chief of Basketball Pioneers， a twice-weekly Chinese-language newspaper.

For each of the last four editions， Lin has been the cover star.

“That never happened before， with Yao Ming， Kobe Bryant or LeBron James. The first two editions， I chose him as I wanted to commemorate his feats and make him better known to Chinese fans，” Su says. “Then he exceeded expectations， and we had no choice but to use him.”

On Rivals.com’s list of the top 150 high school seniors， not one is primarily of Asian descent， Meyer said. “You just don’t see that many good Asian-American players，” he said. “That doesn’t mean they’re not out there. That had a lot to do with Jeremy being such a sleeper. People don’t expect Asian Americans to be that good at basketball. We just have to be honest about that.… That’s crass27)， and that’s stereotypical. Obviously， he’s breaking that. He might open the door for more Asian-American players.”

Despite the recognition and all of the hype28)， Lin has remained humble. “I want to be the same person before and after，” Lin said. “That’s where I want to be. I don’t want to let anything affect me or our team.”

Lin’s agent， Roger Montgomery， is impressed with the way Lin has handled the pressure of playing for the Knicks and his demeanor off the court in the face of growing multimedia requests. “He’s holding up pretty good，” Montgomery said. “I’m proud of how well he is doing.… The most important endorsement we have right now is that he is the starting point guard for the New York Knicks.”

一個哈佛畢業、選秀失利的亞裔美國人，卻在NBA最負盛名的競技場上脫穎而出，為曾經戰功赫赫的紐約尼克斯隊連創佳績，這已經夠不可思議的了，再結合一連串意外事件和特殊情況的及時配合，尼克斯隊的轟動人物林書豪在14天之內就前所未有地從一名替補球員一躍成為世界籃球巨星——這向世人提出了一個令人困惑的問題：

這么長時間以來怎么就沒人發現林書豪？

林書豪出人意料的輝煌戰績征服了全世界的球迷，當然也包括亞洲，那里是他的故土。他是NBA第一位在美國出生的中國臺灣裔球員。

“林書豪改變了人們對亞裔美國人的看法，既強化了人們現有的成見，也深刻地挑戰著這些成見，”里士滿大學研究領導學的教授薩德·威廉姆森評論道，“一方面，他和典型的亞裔美國人一樣，學習成績優秀。但另一方面，作為一個球員，他向世人表明，他不僅能和世界最優秀的球員同場競技，而且能夠擊敗對手脫穎而出。”

尼克斯的傳奇人物、電視評論員沃爾特·弗雷澤評論說：“籃聯是非裔美國人的天下。一個亞裔小子嶄露頭角、脫穎而出的機會能有多大呢？這太令人吃驚了，簡直不可思議。”

這一切都始于尼克斯教練邁克·德安東尼為了拯救苦苦掙扎的尼克斯隊而采取的一次孤注一擲的嘗試。他嘗試的人選就是林書豪。這個身高6.25英尺(約1.91米)、體重200磅(約91公斤)、擁有經濟學學位、信仰上帝的后衛正是德安東尼進攻體系的最佳人選。

曾在哈佛打過籃球的美國教育部長阿恩·鄧肯和林書豪是舊識，也曾在球場上一起打球。“如果有誰認為林書豪是一夜成功，那就大錯特錯了，”鄧肯在接受《今日美國》采訪時說，“書豪一直都很優秀，只是從來沒有過機會而已。”

在他之前參加的七場比賽中(編注：指截至2月15日本文刊發時)，林書豪平均得分24.4分，9.1次助攻，四個籃板，為尼克斯隊球迷帶來了欣喜和希望，將持續了十年之久的頹廢感一掃而光。

自從德安東尼給了林書豪施展身手的機會后，尼克斯隊打出了一波7勝0負的戰績，其中林書豪作為首發球員的六場比賽全部獲勝。紐約尼克斯隊以15勝15負的戰績在東部聯盟賽區的排名從第十上升到第八位，不但提振了整個賽季，也使麥迪遜廣場花園(編注：尼克斯隊的主場)的球迷們興奮不已，他們自1973年以來就沒有在主場領略過NBA冠軍的風采了(編注：尼克斯隊最后一次奪得NBA總決賽冠軍是在1973年)。

正如弗雷澤所說，“在這里，你能夠感受到一種久違的能量。”

鄧肯說，在林書豪早期的籃球生涯中，種族問題對他的影響較大。

“這種低期望值是根深蒂固的，坦率地說，已成為一種成見，”鄧肯說，“他沒有得到應得的賞識，沒有得到應得的承認，這與他亞裔美國人的身份絕對有關。”

林書豪也意識到這種成見的存在，他說自己也許可以打開亞裔美國人以前從未打開過的通往籃球世界的大門，就像泰格·伍茲讓更多的人了解到高爾夫球一樣。“我們每天為打破成見所做的工作越多，就會變得越強大。”林書豪說。他計劃賽季過后在臺灣舉辦一個籃球訓練營。“希望在不遠的將來，我們能看到更多的亞洲人和亞裔美國人進入NBA打球。”

但鄧肯也準確地指出了林書豪脫穎而出的一個重要因素：在合適的地點、合適的時間得到了關鍵的機會。相比籃球，在橄欖球、棒球和曲棍球這樣的運動中，由于球員眾多且成長速度不同，籍籍無名的球員更容易出人頭地。

在籃球運動中，許多頂尖球員在少年時代或青少年初期就被發現，正如NBA總裁大衛·斯特恩所說的那樣，“傳統的觀念是，在麥當勞全美中學聯賽舉行之時，你就知道都有哪些人會進入聯賽了。”

作為帕羅奧圖(加州)中學的高年級學生，林書豪根本不在全國球員招募分析師或者大學教練的搜索視野內。他在全國或者加利福尼亞都排不上名次。Rivals.com網站有一個五星級的新秀評級系統，在林書豪的名字旁一顆星都沒有。

Rivals.com的選秀專家杰里·邁耶表示，林書豪在帕羅奧圖中學打球時，他對林根本就沒有印象。“我甚至不知道他在哪個業余體育聯合會的球隊打球。”邁耶說。

他自己家門口的斯坦福大學沒有給他提供獎學金。

“林書豪那時就是一個優秀的籃球運動員了，”時任斯坦福大學教練、現在路易斯安那州立大學任職的特倫特·約翰遜說，“我們商量過是否可以讓他隨隊做臨時隊員，但他拒絕了。

“這是一個動人的故事，一個了不起的故事。但現在，似乎人人都承認他當時打球和現在一樣棒。這真是好笑。可是，誰又接納了他呢？之前沒有一個NBA球隊要他。”

在哈佛，林書豪有自己的支持者和球迷，特別是當時的克里姆森助理教練肯尼·布萊克尼。布萊克尼說自己曾告訴林書豪，說他可以成為NBA球員，還說他“要比人們所認可的更有運動才華……在體質上要比許多人所認可的更強壯。”

那到底是什么原因使NBA花了那么長時間才發現林書豪呢？金州勇士隊裁了他。他們后衛太多，無法給他上場的機會。后來休斯敦火箭隊接納了他，但他又遇到同樣的壁壘：太多的后衛，沒有上場機會，沒有適合他那種打法的進攻體系。于是他們也裁了他。

但尼克斯隊卻需要一個控球后衛來引領德安東尼的進攻體系，這種形式正好契合林書豪的能力。

如果勇士隊沒有裁掉他，如果火箭隊沒有裁掉他，如果尼克斯的后衛拜倫·戴維斯不是因為受傷不能參加比賽，如果林書豪沒有能力來實施這種進攻體系，如果德安東尼不愿意冒險……林書豪的故事恐怕就要改寫了。

“我覺得許多球隊都有‘林書豪’這樣的人物，”國王隊的后衛以賽亞·托馬斯說，“不管什么原因，這不是什么好現象。在聯賽中，一切都在于機遇，在于你如何把握機遇。要被安置在適當的位置才能成功。生活就是如此。”

短短兩周內，林書豪不僅成了社交媒體的熱門話題(其推特粉絲從幾乎為零上升至三十八萬多人)，成了NBA和尼克斯的明星，也在一夜之間成了全世界亞洲人的楷模。

威廉姆森說：“在人們對亞裔美國人的認識和描述中，這也許是一個重要的演變。”

林書豪的經歷對亞裔籃球隊員來說尤其有吸引力，他們說林書豪的成功對他們是種激勵。

“他和我們有共同語言。我們所聽到的那些偏見，他也都聽到過。”25歲的亞裔加拿大人劉達倫說道。劉達倫以前在中學里也是籃球隊員。“看著一個人歷經坎坷，被一個個球隊裁掉，最后終于走了過來，這令我們欽佩，也讓我們引以為豪。”

很多NBA高管對林書豪的故事都喜聞樂道，一方面是因為他的故事消除了聯盟因149天的停賽而產生的消極情緒后遺癥，另一方面是因為聯盟正在積極開拓中國市場。NBA正密切關注著這件事對中國的影響，因為在姚明去年夏天退役之后，聯盟就一直在努力擴大其在中國的受歡迎程度。

根據NBA的資料：

· 從2月4日到2月12日，在NBA網上商店，林書豪的球衣是最為暢銷的球衣，該網店已將與林書豪有關的商品發往22個國家。

· 在新浪微博上，林書豪的粉絲人數已從2月2日的190，000上升到2月14日的916，747。在百度網站上，林書豪是排名第一的搜索關鍵詞。

蘇群報道美國和中國的籃球賽事已達20年，但他從未見過像林書豪這樣的人物。43歲的蘇群是每周兩期的中文報紙《籃球先鋒報》的主編，他說：“這種情況從未有過先例。”

一連四期，林書豪都是《籃球先鋒報》的封面明星。

“這是前所未有的事情，無論是姚明、科比·布萊恩特還是勒布朗·詹姆斯都沒出現過這樣的情況。前兩期我選他是因為我想稱贊他的技術，讓中國球迷加深對他的了解，”蘇群說，“后來他的成績超出了人們的預期，我們沒得選擇，只能用他做封面。”

邁耶說，在Rivals.com網站上列出的150名最優秀的中學生球員中，沒有一個是亞裔后代。“你只是沒見過那么多優秀的亞裔美籍球員，”他說，“但這并不意味著他們不存在。書豪的默默無聞與此不無關系。人們從不期望亞裔美國人在籃球方面表現多么優秀。這一點我們無須諱言……這是愚鈍，也是偏見。顯然，他打破了這一切。也許他會為更多的亞裔美國球員打開大門。”

盡管得到了人們的承認，受到了火爆的宣傳，林書豪還是那么謙遜。“無論出名與否，我只想做我自己，”林書豪說，“這就是我的立場。我不想讓任何事來影響我或者我的球隊。”

林書豪在為尼克斯隊打球時處理壓力的方式，以及他在球場下面對越來越多的媒體采訪請求時表現出的風度，給他的經紀人羅杰·蒙哥馬利留下了深刻印象。“他表現非常不錯，”蒙哥馬利說，“我為他的優秀表現感到自豪……他現在是紐約尼克斯隊的首發控球后衛，這是我們此刻所擁有的最重要的支持。”

1.undrafted：drafted的反義詞。draft [drɑ#720;ft] n. [體]選拔新隊員權制度(在職業性球隊之間分配新運動員專有權的一種制度)

2.storied [#712;st#596;#720;rid] adj. 歷史上有名的

3.NBA：美國籃球協會(National Basketball Association)。該協會一共擁有30支球隊，分屬兩個聯盟：東部聯盟和西部聯盟。每個聯盟各由三個賽區組成，每個賽區有五支球隊。30支球隊中有29支位于美國本土，另外一支來自加拿大的多倫多。

4.bench warmer：替補球員

5.beg the question：想知道某一特別問題的答案

6.prototypical [#716;pr#601;#650;t#601;#712;t#618;p#618;k(#601;)l] adj. 極為典型的

7.jump-start：推動

8.guard [ɡɑ#720;(r)d] n. 后衛

9.rebound [r#618;#712;ba#650;nd] n. 籃板球

25.residual [r#618;#712;z#618;dju#601;l] adj. 殘留的，剩余的

26.Su Qun：蘇群(1968～)，中國《籃球先鋒報》主編，采訪過多屆NBA總決賽、全明星賽以及奧運會等大型比賽，著名籃球評論員。

27.crass [kraelig;s] adj. 愚鈍的

28.hype [ha#618;p] n.〈美俚〉大肆宣傳

10. stereotyping ['steri#601;taipi#331;] n. 刻板印象，成見

11. Tiger Woods：泰格·伍茲(1975～)，美國高爾夫球手，史上公認的最成功的高爾夫球手之一，常被人稱作“老虎”。

12. pinpoint [#712;p#618;n#716;p#596;#618;nt] vt. 準確描述

13. unheralded [#652;n#712;her#601;ld#618;d] adj. 不曾引人注目的，意料之外的

14. commissioner [k#601;#712;m#618;#643;(#601;)n#601;] n. [體]職業運動組織的行政管理員(由體育協會或聯盟選擇的官員，實行管理或統治權)

15. McDonald’s High School All-American Game：麥當勞全美中學聯賽，也稱麥當勞全明星賽，是美國最著名的中學畢業生籃球賽事。該賽事由快餐品牌麥當勞贊助，正式舉辦于1978年。該賽事的歷屆參賽球員幾乎都被名牌大學挖走，被認為是美國中學籃球天才加盟名校和NBA的捷徑。

16. Rivals.com：美國一家提供高校體育及招聘信息的在線供應商，主要致力于提供有關橄欖球與籃球方面的信息。

17. recruit [r#618;#712;kru#720;t] n. 新成員(某個組織或團體的新成員)

18. AAU：(美國)業余體育聯合會(Amateur Athletic Union [of the United States])，成立于1888年，是美國業余體育項目的管理機構，總部現位于印第安納州的印第安納波利斯市。

19. LSU：路易斯安那州立大學(Louisiana State University)

20. walk on：〈美〉[體]作為臨時隊員

21. Golden State Warriors：金州勇士隊。該隊最初位于美國費城，1962年搬到金州。由于近年戰績不佳，該隊幾乎已經被人遺忘，但他們卻是最早加盟NBA的11支球隊之一，曾三次奪得NBA總冠軍。

22. Houston Rockets：休斯敦火箭隊，1967年加入NBA，當時落戶于圣迭戈，后于1971年搬到休斯敦。這也是姚明退役前所在的球隊。

23. point guard：控球后衛

24. Kings：薩克拉門托國王隊(Sacramento Kings)，1948年加盟NBA，并在1950～1951賽季以羅切斯特皇家隊的身份獲得NBA總冠軍。

1.undrafted：drafted的反義詞。draft [drɑ#720;ft] n. [體]選拔新隊員權制度(在職業性球隊之間分配新運動員專有權的一種制度)

2.storied [#712;st#596;#720;rid] adj. 歷史上有名的

3.NBA：美國籃球協會(National Basketball Association)。該協會一共擁有30支球隊，分屬兩個聯盟：東部聯盟和西部聯盟。每個聯盟各由三個賽區組成，每個賽區有五支球隊。30支球隊中有29支位于美國本土，另外一支來自加拿大的多倫多。

4.bench warmer：替補球員

5.beg the question：想知道某一特別問題的答案

6.prototypical [#716;pr#601;#650;t#601;#712;t#618;p#618;k(#601;)l] adj. 極為典型的

7.jump-start：推動

8.guard [ɡɑ#720;(r)d] n. 后衛

9.rebound [r#618;#712;ba#650;nd] n. 籃板球

25.residual [r#618;#712;z#618;dju#601;l] adj. 殘留的，剩余的

26.Su Qun：蘇群(1968～)，中國《籃球先鋒報》主編，采訪過多屆NBA總決賽、全明星賽以及奧運會等大型比賽，著名籃球評論員。

27.crass [kraelig;s] adj. 愚鈍的

28.hype [ha#618;p] n.〈美俚〉大肆宣傳