Jeremy Lin: First Asian-American Ivy League Professional Basketball Player - January 24, 2012

Jeremy Lin previously played for the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, and Houston Rockets before getting picked up off of the waivers on December 27, 2011 by the New York Knicks. Although he had little playing time with the Warriors, got cut from the Rockets, and is now trying to prove he deserves a spot on the Knicks, Jeremy Lin is making history and has a lot to be proud of on and off of the court.

Jeremy is the only Asian-American player currently in the NBA, making him the fourth to make it that far. He is also the first Harvard graduate to go pro since 1953. Given that the Ivy League's main focus is academic excellence, it is very rare to see Ivy League graduates enter into professional sports. To put it in perspective, the Ivy League has created more presidents, four, than NBA draft picks, two. Jeremy Lin has proved that just because the odds are against him as a professional basketball player, nothing is impossible.

Jeremy Lin has become a positive role model for the youth to look up to. Throughout his journey to the NBA, you can see he is a strong advocate of academics and a believer in pursuing one's dream. Seeing there are a lack of Asian American professional athletes, Jeremy Lin's story is very inspirational to aspiring Asian-American athletes. He exemplifies how hard work, practice, and determination can payoff to make one's dream come true. It looks like Jeremy has a promising future ahead of him and is taking it one step at a time, while representing the Asian American community.

To learn more about Jeremy Lin and his journey to the NBA check out the links below...

100 Percent of the NBA's Asian-American Population now plays for the Knicks

Knicks claim Harvard grad off waivers

Knick claim guard Jeremy Lin

**We reserve the right to monitor any comments posted on the Budokan of Los Angeles' website**