Beijing Ducks star Jeremy Lin says he has rediscovered himself in first year in China

‘I had lost sight of myself and the bold, fearless player I once was,’ Lin says, ‘I can honestly say I broke free from that this season’

‘I believed we could go all the way, even up until the last shot,’ NBA champion says of play-offs defeat

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Jeremy Lin of the Beijing Ducks during the Chinese Basketball Association semi-final match against the Guangdong Southern Tigers. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 3:47pm, 11 Aug 2020Updated: 3:47pm, 11 Aug 2020

“Every hooper knows, you miss 100 per cent of the shots you don’t take,” Jeremy Lin wrote on Instagram on Monday, looking back on his first season in China. ” You also miss 100 per cent of the dreams you don’t chase.”

With a little over a second on the clock and the Beijing Ducks down 88-85 in Saturday night’s decisive game three of the Chinese Basketball Association play-off semi-finals against the Guangdong Southern Tigers, Lin took the shot, he chased the dream, letting rip from almost half court.

The NBA champion’s attempted buzzer beater was not to be. It hit the rim and bounced to safety and Lin sank to his knees. His disappointment was clear to see and he wrote as much on his Weibo the following day. “I'm sorry I had too much emotion yesterday and I didn't know what to say … I didn't sleep all night,” he wrote. “Frankly speaking, such a defeat was heartbreaking. It really hurts.”

Now, he has taken time to look back on the season and while it still hurts, there have been positives along the way, he reflected in his social media post.

“Not gonna lie, this one hurts. Lost a nail-biter in the semi-finals. I wanted to go all the way with this team so badly. For God, for the fans, for Beijing, for everyone that's put so much effort into helping us and supporting us this season. Even though I knew what we were up against, I believed we could go all the way, even up until the last shot,” he wrote on Instagram on Monday.

Lin told of how the team worked hard not knowing if the coronavirus-disrupted season would ever restart, while also using the time to reflect on his career in general. Before he moved to China last summer Lin had told of being at “rock bottom” following his NBA free agency.