’38 at the Garden’: Jeremy Lin says he cried, was ‘blown away’ after watching new doc on ‘Linsanity’
By Bryan Ke
Basketball superstar Jeremy Lin was moved to tears while watching “38 at the Garden,” a documentary highlighting the “Linsanity” phenomenon that debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival on Tuesday.
Directed by Frank Chi, “38 at the Garden” revisits Lin’s cultural impact after he kicked off the “Linsanity” phenomenon. During the 2011-2012 NBA season, the former Taiwanese American athlete turned the New York Knicks’ score around during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Madison Square Garden, scoring a total of 38 points.
Following the documentary’s premiere, Lin, 33, admitted that he got emotional while watching the film.
“Yesterday was my first time [watching the film] and I cried, and I don’t cry,” Lin said during the Q&A session after the premiere.
“I spent my whole life trying to be good at basketball because on the court my skin color didn’t matter,” Lin continued. “But once I played basketball all that mattered was my skin color.”
Indian American comedian Hasan Minhaj, who was interviewed for the documentary, moderated a discussion with Lin about Asian American athletes after the screening. He said the athlete’s story for him was of “perseverance, dignity and possibility.”
“NO project or film ever [makes] it this far without the help of a community,” Lin, regarded as a trailblazer for Asian Americans in basketball, wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday. “Still blown away at all the love. Tribeca family & friends screening in the books!”
“38 at the Garden,” produced by Oscar-winning filmmakers Travon Free and Samir Hernandez, features interviews with several people – including Minhaj, comedians Ronny Chieng and Jenny Yang and journalists Lisa Ling and Pablo Torre – to talk about Lin’s cultural impact.
Tyson Chandler and Iman Shumpert, two of Lin’s former Knicks teammates, also addressed his performance during his time with them on the court.
After his stint with the Knicks ended following the 2011-2012 season, Lin went on to play with the Houston Rockets, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Charlotte Hornets, the Brooklyn Nets, the Atlanta Hawks and the Toronto Raptors.
He became the first Asian American player to win an NBA Championship before moving to the Chinese Basketball Association in 2019 to play with the Beijing Ducks. He then played with the Santa Cruz Warriors in 2021 before returning to the Ducks.
HBO, which acquired “38 at the Garden,” will start streaming the documentary later this year.
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