Lin, the Harvard-educated guard and first American-born NBA player of Chinese heritage, has taken China and the world by storm, with his skills, humor and work ethics. He made it to the covers of both Sports Illustrated and Time Magazine's Asia Edition.
People tend to think Asians are better at "skill" sports like table tennis and diving, but come up short on physical and aggressive games like soccer and basketball. However, Lin and Yao Ming have proved that Asians could also become first-class basketball players with different styles, which inspires millions of young people including Wang Yipeng.
The 28-year-old Wang, who had played for a Beijing junior high school team, concluded that size and height didn't matter that much in basketball.
"Lin's success tells us that nothing is impossible as long as you try hard and do it right," said Wang, who stands only 1.65 meters tall. "One of my friends who didn't touch basketball for years told me that after watching Lin's game, he would hit the court tomorrow."
Lin also became a media darling in Taiwan, where his parents grew up. His sudden fame even propelled his grandmother to a newsmaker status as she repeatedly talked to the camera about Lin's eating habits in childhood.
Lin is also providing a fresh impetus to the NBA's lucrative China business in the wake of Yao's retirement. While difficult to match the huge interest generated by Yao over the years, Lin's sudden stardom means that basketball fans in China have another person to relate to, beyond Yi Jianlian, currently the Asian nation's only NBA player.
According to NBA China CEO David Shoemaker, Lin's stunning rise is spurring growth in TV ratings and merchandise sales that soared during the years Yao played with the Houston Rockets.
Lin's underdog story continued as he had his first bad game as a starter last Thursday, held to eight points and three assists on 1-for-11 shooting in a loss at Miami.
People are waiting to see Knicks' next match against the Celeveland Cavalier Thursday and looking forward to what "Lincredible" will deliver.