Jeremy Lin (林書豪), the first Taiwanese-American player to join the ranks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), is scheduled to arrive today and play in a charity game tonight at the Taipei Arena with star players from the NBA and Taiwan’s Super Basketball League (SBL).
It will be Lin’s first game in public since he signed a two-year deal with the Oakland, California-based Golden State Warriors on Wednesday last week. The news was confirmed by Chinese basketball player Yao Ming (姚明), who arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a charity tour organized by his own foundation. The 2.29m-tall Houston Rockets center has met with children living in areas heavily damaged by typhoon Morakot last year.
In a press conference yesterday, Yao said Lin agreed to come after he called Lin personally and invited him to come and play in the charity basketball game.
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FONG, TAIPEI TIMES
“I heard about him a year ago, and he played really well at Harvard,” Yao said. “I also heard that he might join the NBA, so I paid special attention to him.”
“I invited him to come and join us in Taipei,” Yao added. “He is from here and people like him the most, just like I am definitely more popular in Shanghai than I am in Xinjiang.”
In addition to playing the charity game tonight, Lin is also scheduled to coach basketball players at the Nanshan High School in Taipei County tomorrow.
The 21-year-old, whose parents emigrated from Taiwan to the US in 1971, talked about his trip to Taipei while attending a summer basketball camp in the Oakland area on Monday.
“I was surprised and excited to receive the invitation,” said the point guard who will become the first Harvard graduate to play in the NBA in 57 years if he makes the Warriors final roster, which is considered highly likely.
Yao will not be able to play at the charity game this evening since he is recovering from a foot injury, but he said he will be ready for the upcoming basketball season.
“I feel much better and I will return to Houston for more aggressive training,” Yao said. “But now I am on the road and I cannot do anything without the supervision of doctors and trainers.”
Basketball fans can watch the charity game at 7pm on Azio TV, as well as on Chunghwa Telecom’s multimedia-on-demand system, HiChannel and Emome.
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