Mike D'Antoni Confesses He Didn't See Potential In Jeremy Lin | Behind-The-Scenes Of LINSANITY

Mike D'Antoni relives Linsanity w/ JJ Redick and Tommy Alter. He talks about the amazing Jeremy Lin run that led to Linsanity and how he was quite skeptical that Lin would even come close to doing what he did. He also discusses the game against Kobe Bryant.

Subscribe to The Old Man and The Three podcast w/ JJ Redick (ESPN) and Tommy Alter YouTube channel for more interview highlights.

[fredfred]

That 2 week Linsanity run is still one of the best moments in the NBA

[nicholasalexander]

Kinda want Jermey Lin to be on the podcast. It’ll be cool to hear his side of this story

[ragingfiip]

The reason Steve Novak was hitting all those shots, the reason Landry Fields and Jared Jeffries (who was absolutely awful before Jeremy Lin got playing time) started playing well out of nowhere is BECAUSE of Jeremy Lin. He got into the paint, drew the defense, and actually LOOKED for his open teammates. Before that, their offense was... give the ball to Melo and everyone stands around and watches him ISO for 20 seconds. There was 0 ball movement. 0 chemistry.

Jeremy Lin utilized every one of his teammates. Novak was always a superb 3-point shooter... but his teammates barely looked for him before that. Lin gave him the wide open shots he needed to excel. Lin played the pick n roll with Tyson Chandler and Amar'e Stoudemire to perfection and gave them easy baskets. Same thing with Jeffries. And he had great chemistry with Landry Fields, as well.

[Ninja_moto]

Lin was a prime example of what players could be like with tremendous support and what they could turn into without the support.

[ianmista]

Linsanity is proof of how deep the NBA is talent wise. An undrafted 3rd sting point guard on a 10 day contract was able to take the world by storm when given the opportunity

[jamaalgill]

As a Knicks fan for 22 years, that was the most exciting time of Knicks basketball of my entire lifetime

[matthewwangerin]

As a former highlight producer at NBA TV, we got early video feed that many did not. I saw Lin do his little pre-game thing where he acted like he was reading some ancient scripture that his teammate was holding. The Knicks highlight was already finished for the night. I went to my supervisor and lobbied for him to add that to the highlight ( it is called the "stab"). He did it. Next thing you know, ESPN changed their highlight overnight to match the one we had. So of course I pat myself on the back for adding to the "folklore" of Linsanity

[hughmann]

Which is so strange because Lin was perfect for his system - run, fast breaks, etc.

[arizjones]

I love how honest D'Antoni is to admit he didn't see Lin's potential. There are a lot of Jeremy Lin's in the world that have untapped potential and are never given the chance.

[MrAlvarez]

Finally he's getting his respect.
Look at how D'antony is talking about him, how happy he was for him

[N_metab]

Not only did Jeremy Lin shine like a gem, the other benchers morphed into stars alongside him. JJ said it best it was a literal movie script come to life with how electric that run was. I sometimes go back to watch those highlights and I often find myself wondering the question of what if Linsanity kept going..

[Publiclighthouse]

This is all you need to know about the basis of Linsanity:
2:44 - “Melo got hurt”
3:04 - “The comradery, the chemistry of the team is off the charts.”
3:09 - “It was fun, it was a great ride.”

Then the ball chucker came back

[TheBzHAlex]

Such a "What if" player. Intrinsically Lin was really skilled, you could see that "it" factor from the way he played hard and never feared to get in the paint, or shoot a game-winner. He did some good seasons as a primary point guard, noticeably in Brooklyn, before his knee injury, but I remember foundly his time in Charlotte as the 6th man as well. A shame that he didn't produce more later on in his career, because he certainly had a place in the NBA.

[redfox]

1. I love how coach reacted when it was brought up, genuine happiness recalled.
2. I love that its was Kenny Atkinson that proposed the move.
3. With Lin at PG, the Knicks was a balanced team with Chandler and Novak doing their things and great chemistry.
4. Last but not least, coach is such a wizard when playing with a gd playmaking PG!

[seize]

That car and coach story is 100% true because Jeremy Lin talked about the same thing a few years ago. It's also crazy that D'antoni remembers that 😂

[Eric-zrje]

Credit to Kenny Atkinson once again for his eye for talent and tremendous player development

[Thesuperfractor]

Ppl don’t noticed that Jeremy blocked prime D’Rose fast break once & put 15pts, 8asts on him, which shows how underrated he’s athleticism was, he’s first step was top 3 on the tryout, on par with John Wall

[portopottybreath]

The Jeremy Lin moment was the game winning shot vs Toronto. As a life-long Knick fan, who seen 2 Champoinships, that was the only time I ever jumped up and danced around the room.

[abbajabba]

Only time in the last 20 years I made it a point to tune in for a Knicks game. Was absolutely amazing to see at the time.

[BentleyVB]

Linsanity was one of the best thing that happened in the NBA . But it ended to soon . Won’t ever be forgotten tho. Legend .