Jeremy Lin makes 'hardest decision' to retire from pro basketball - ESPN

Jeremy Lin, who took the NBA by storm in 2012 during a stretch of games for the New York Knicks that was dubbed «Linsanity,» has announced his retirement from professional basketball.

Lin, who most recently has been playing professionally in Taiwan, made the announcement via Instagram on Saturday night.

«As athletes, we are always aware that the possibility of retirement is never far away. I've spent my 15 year career knowing that one day I would have to walk away, and yet actually saying goodbye to basketball today has been the hardest decision I've ever made,» he wrote.

A post shared by Jeremy Lin 林書豪 (@jlin7)

«It's been the honor of a lifetime to compete against the fiercest competitors under the brightest lights and to challenge what the world thought was possible for someone who looks like me. I've lived out my wildest childhood dreams to play in front of fans all around the world. I will forever be the kid who felt fully alive everytime I touched a basketball.»

Lin, 37, is coming off back-to-back championships with the New Taipei Kings. Last season, he was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League's MVP during its inaugural season and followed that up with Finals MVP honors during New Taipei Kings' championship run.

Before playing in China and Taiwan, Lin spent nine seasons in the NBA with eight different franchises after going undrafted out of Harvard, where he made the team as a walk-on.

Lin made his mark with the Knicks in 2012 when then-coach Mike D'Antoni inserted him into the lineup in February of that year when Carmelo Anthony was sidelined and he led New York to a seven-game win streak.

One of the highlights of «Linsanity,» during which Lin scored at least 20 points in nine of 10 games, was a