Photo courtesy of DvYang on Flickr

The New York Knicks’ Jeremy Lin is rapidly becoming a household name. He is a hot topic in the media, especially because of his untraditional route to the top of the NBA. Many people focus on his Harvard background, his race, his unassuming personality, and the New York spotlight. It’s the backdrop for a good story, but this is not about a good story.  Leave that for FOX and ESPN Classic. This is about good basketball.  So far, his numbers speak volumes.

Lin broke the record for most points in a player’s first five career starts with 136 points, surpassing Dan Issel, Shaq, Freeman Williams, Jerry Stackhouse, and Dominique Wilkins. Already in the Hall of Fame range, Lin also scored 38 points in only his third start. It took Magic Johnson 106 starts to accomplish that feat. More importantly, the Knicks won all of Lin’s first six starts, pushing them into seventh place in the Eastern Conference.  They knocked the Celtics to the bottom of the playoff bracket. After missing seven games because of a groin injury, Carmelo Anthony was asked how he would play with Jeremy Lin.  Anthony, a known isolated ball hog, responded, “It’s easy.  Give him the ball and space out.”

Lin has gained worldwide recognition, as well as respect from within his team. From the cover of Time Magazine to Carmelo Anthony’s praise, Lin has emerged as a rising star. However, it has not all been highlights and high-fives. Lin’s 45 turnovers in his first seven starts is the most by any player in NBA history since the league began recording the statistic, not a record synonymous with superstars and hall of famers.

That Lin is young and talented is not debatable. However, whether or not he will continue to be a devastating force in the NBA is something only time will tell. Will Jeremy Lin become a part of our universal linguistics, like Shaq? Or will he become an obscure answer to a Trivial Pursuit question 20 years from now? Some stars we will always see when we look up into the sky but some shoot past us in the blink of an eye.