Charlotte Hornet's Jeremy Lin is still one of the most recognized Asian players in the NBA today, yet according to a report from Paper City, the NBA superstar is no longer making the amount of money from his hayday, dubbed the "Linsanity" era, and is now one of the most underpaid stars in the NBA.
The report points out that during Lin's tenure with the Houston Rockets, which was at the height of the "Linsanity" era, Jeremy Lin was paid $25 million for a three-year contract to play with the team. However, ever since that deal ended and Lin had been traded over the past couple of years, his current paycheck has dwindled.
As a matter of fact, the report states that the NBA star is now being paid only $2.1 million for this whole season. According to the report, this is less than half of what the average NBA player is earning, which is reportedly $4.9 million per season.
It is important to note that the $4.9 million is already a low-point for many NBA stars given that many superstars who are comparably just as famous as Lin are still earning more. Kobe Bryant, as listed by ESPN, is currently being paid $25 million while Kevin Durant is being paid $17.8 million.
The report also points out that Lin is performing far beyond what people should expect from a player being paid $2.1 million per season. During his previous games this season, Lin managed to lead the Hornets to overtake the game from the Houston Rockets despite the team lagging behind by 11 points, and he scored 17 points in the match against the Timberwolves.
Despite Lin being underpaid and under-utilized, the report does explain that Hornets' coach Steve Clifford at leasts makes good use of Lin's playing streak when necessary.
"I kept looking in the fourth quarter (to get starter Jeremy Lamb back in), but Jeremy Lin was really the one who did the best job on Kevin Martin," Clifford is quoted saying after one of their games.
