Lin Gives Knicks More Bang for Their Buck

There’s no question that Jeremy Lin ’10 has created a financial bonanza for the New York Knicks. Lin’s jersey has quickly become the hottest-selling item in the NBA, and the stock price of Madison Square Garden skyrocketed following the start of Linsanity. In fact, by February 13th, Lin was branded a fourteen million dollar man. He drew global attention to the franchise; suddenly everybody was a Knicks fan.

But in addition to his immense marketing draw, Lin has also been one of the best bargains in the NBA this season.

With a salary of just $762, 195—small change by NBA standards—Lin has averaged 14.6 points per game, currently 63rd best in the league.

Extrapolate that production over the whole strike-shortened 66-game season, and we find that Lin earns $790.99 per point scored.

When we compared that with some of the biggest names in the NBA, the difference was stark. LeBron James earns $8,860 for every point he scores. Lakers guard Kobe Bryant takes home $13,420 for each of his points, while San Antonio’s Tim Duncan and Boston’s Kevin Garnett are both paid over $20,000 per point —a figure greater than 220 J-Lin jerseys.

The Boston Celtics are next on the calendar for the Knicks and their underpaid, highly hyped point guard, who will be returning to the city where he first became a star. And although the Lin jerseys have been selling just as well in Boston, we will have to wait until Sunday afternoon to see if the notoriously devout Celtics fans have completely bought in to Linsanity.