His job at that point was to basically chew up the clock and run the game out as fast as possible. Minuscule to say the least, but in the annals of basketball history, a mere footnote on what will go down as a massive step forward for Asian communities around the world.

Social media has been quick to pick apart Lin’s performance, or lack thereof, in the play-offs. He only suited up for 27 minutes over four rounds and nabbed nine points in the process, and the online arguments are heated with equal parts mockery, racism and applause.

But taking a step back and looking at Lin’s life, and subsequent “Linsanity” in 2011-12 with the New York Knicks, sadly this is par for the course for the California native of Taiwanese descent.

Jeremy Lin promises ‘I’ll never stop representing Asians with everything I have’ after NBA title win

Growing up, Lin was so good he vaulted his high school in Palo Alto, California out of obscurity and into the state championship.

But, because he was Asian, the point guard was overlooked by scouts and dismissed almost as some odd token piece even though he regularly led his team in points.

He was also Northern California’s player of the year in 2005-06 but did not receive a single scholarship offer.

Lin, during the 2013 documentary Linsanity, did not mince words in describing his take on the time and why he was passed over: “Yeah, I have always said if I was black I would have got a D-I scholarship, but that’s my personal opinion.”

When he finally did make it to university, Harvard, where grades are just as important as play, things didn’t get better, and in fact, got worse.

On the Outside Shot podcast with Randy Foye, who was Lin’s teammate with the Brooklyn Nets at the time, Lin said racist remarks thrown at him reached a fever pitch in college.

Jeremy Lin becomes the first Asian-American to win an NBA championship as Raptors take game six

While playing for Harvard from 2006-10, Lin said he regularly got called “c****” by opposing players, coaches and fans.

This was just the tip of the iceberg as Lin was basically barraged by racist remarks through his university career, mocking Asian food, his eyes and overall appearance.

The more you read and watch about Lin’s life, the more blatantly apparent it becomes his career on the court was horribly mismanaged at every stage because he was an Asian playing a game dominated by African-Americans.

In high school he should have been groomed given his raw talent, but he was cast aside and overlooked. In university his play was impossible to ignore, but NBA teams were sceptical to draft an Asian point guard. Even in how his NBA career played out, Lin had to fight to get on the practise court, let alone suit up for games.

Luckily, not for Lin sadly, his career has now blazed a trail for Asian players to make their way to the NBA with much less racial prejudice staring them down. As they say, the first one through the wall always takes it the hardest. Lin, in the face of serious, legitimate adversity, carved out a substantial career in the NBA and now has a title to boot on his resume.

At the start of Linsanity, a must watch for those looking to understand the hardships he faced at every turn, Lin lays out his goals for playing in the NBA.

“I always told myself, my progression is become a rotation player, become a starting point guard, then win an NBA championship,” he said. “And people are definitely going to laugh when they hear that, but they’re not going to be laughing when it actually happens.”

Anyone who laughs or mocks Lin now, does so with egg on their face, and to be honest, should be ashamed of their actions.