Linsanity

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Chris S @Janomi Jul 3, 2026 Linsanity tells an inspiring story that's about far more than basketball. Director Evan Jackson Leong follows Jeremy Lin's unlikely rise from an undrafted player to an overnight NBA sensation, while also exploring his upbringing, faith, family, and the perseverance that made his success so meaningful. The documentary effectively recreates the excitement surrounding "Linsanity" through game footage, interviews, and media coverage, reminding viewers just how unexpected and unforgettable that stretch really was. The film's biggest weakness is that it largely tells the story from Lin's perspective. While it acknowledges the obstacles he faced, it spends less time examining the basketball reasons his breakout wasn't fully sustainable or how opposing teams eventually adjusted. Even so, it's an engaging and heartfelt documentary that captures one of the NBA's most memorable moments and the impact it had well beyond the court. See more

Nevin C @nevincaulfield Mar 11, 2026 This doc was first, and really captures that buzz and excitement that swept NYC... It really gets down into who J. Lin is as a person too. See more

Apr 6, 2021 Enjoyed the story. It was entertaining to hear about his struggles, successes and sometimes just luck, during his climb to become a star NBA player. See more

May 29, 2016 Although imperfect, "Linsanity" is a fitting documentary putting to light Jeremy Lin's difficult journey to the NBA, even if it feels repetitive at times. Jeremy Lin made history by becoming the first Asian-American in the NBA. Throughout his unbelievable journey, the hardships he went through and the lessons he learned will come to light as his life story is put into one documentary. Now, although I recognize that documentaries are well loved, I myself have never been a huge documentary fan. However, I am an NBA fanatic, and Jeremy Lin has inspired me in countless ways. As a result, I was excited to view this film when I saw it on Netflix. It's difficult and new for me to write a review about a documentary, so here's how I felt about the film as a whole. The thing I liked most about this film was the star at the helm, Jeremy Lin. What this guy has done not only for basketball, but for Asians as a whole is unbelievable. Although racism and discrimination still exist, Asians in the United States are still heavily discriminated in their own right. Me being an Asian myself, there's still a lot of barriers that we have to face. Jeremy Lin has the tough job of being in the spotlight, but his personality and his virtues make this documentary more interesting. It's interesting to learn about him as a person and how he views life at this very moment, and I believe that many people should get to know his character better. The thing I didn't like was that the documentary felt kind of bland at times, and it relied to heavily on interviews and irrelevant home videos. Although interviews are a vital part of documentaries, I always had a problem with excessive interviews. Half the people they interview are from his childhood, and most shouldn't even remember a thing about him. Hearing from his "elementary rec league coach" not only feels fake, but unnecessary. They relied too much on the irrelevant home video clips rather than to tell the story through more interesting, real time action, which made the documentary feel bland at times. I do like that I got the sense that this film was less about how good Lin was, but rather how this is all one big life lesson. There's so much that you can take away from a story like this and this event really is inspirational to many. It also felt like the documentary spent so much time on irrelevant events in general, and it never felt like its ending justified the build up. It felt like they never knew where they shift their focus to, leading to pacing issues and scattered attention spans. In the end, I enjoyed this documentary for what it was, despite some noticeable flaws. See more

Mar 21, 2016 "Linsanity" chronicles the unlikely rise of Asian-American basketball star Jeremy Lin. In addition to tracing his love of basketball, the documentary examines the inspiration that Lin finds through his Christian faith. The film begins with a few moments from the Knicks vs. Nets game that determined whether Jeremy would make it in the NBA. This game is later highlighted in its entirety and becomes the climax of the film once we understand how he got to that point. Lin's story begins with his immigrant parents who raised him with the priorities of God, then academics, then sports. He was obviously an intellectual teenager because he was recruited by (and survived) Harvard University. This documentary also touches on possible racism in basketball with an argument that Lin would have been picked up by an elite college basketball program and drafted into the NBA if he was not Asian. Even after earning a spot on the Houston Rockets' practice squad and being signed by the Golden State Warriors, his path to basketball fame was a rough one full of ups and downs. And a pretty awesome indirect exchange with Kobe Bryant. "Linsanity" will inevitably make you into a fan of Jeremy Lin. He has lost some of his popularity since this documentary was made but his strong morals and impressive basketball skills make him a great role model. See more

Feb 20, 2016 Nice work making the story relatable and not getting too far into hero schmaltziness. I almost completely missed this moment in history so it was interesting to re-watch. See more

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Linsanity

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