This year’s NBA Championship was a night of firsts not only for Toronto, but for Toronto Raptors point guard Jeremy Lin.
When the buzzer sounded on Thursday night, the Raptors were the 2019 champions, and Lin became the first-ever Asian American player to be crowned.
While he played only 27 minutes in the postseason — and less than a minute in the finals — Lin brought the fan craze known as “Linsanity” back to Toronto when he was signed in February.
Lin shared some of his post-game celebrations on social media, including a moment with his mother holding the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy.
On Twitter, he expressed sheer gratitude.
Earlier this year, Lin described the pride he has for his heritage, but acknowledged that it wasn’t always easy.
“I used to run from it because that’s all anybody ever wanted to label me…It was like ‘Oh, he’s Asian, he’s Asian, he’s Asian,’” he told the Canadian Press.
“I’ve really embraced just being able to represent Asians and to do that the right way, hopefully, and do my best with it.”
Lin is among a number of players dubbed “global champions” that led the Canadian team to victory.
Serge Ibaka, the centre who nailed 15 points in Game 6, hails from the Congo.
WATCH: Toronto Raptors superfan Nav Bhatia celebrates historic win
One of the youngest members of the team, Pascal Siakam, 25, is from Cameroon. After the confetti cleared and champagne moved into the Toronto locker room, the power forward took part in a post-game interview with the flag of Cameroon draped around his shoulders.
The Raptors played a tight game Thursday against the reigning dynasty of the Golden State Warriors. The Toronto team ultimately became the first outside the United States to win an NBA title with a final score of 114-110.
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