After retiring from basketball, former NBA point guard and shooting guard Jeremy Lin discovered pickleball. 

“Basketball was my first love. But since retiring, it’s been tough. Fortunately, I’ve found a LOT of joy in pickleball as a way to stay active. Coming in with zero racket/tennis background, I had no idea how hard pickleball actually is,” shared Lin. 

“I’ve heard countless tennis players talk so much crap about pickleball, and it’s true that pickleball is a much easier sport to pick up early on. But like every sport, I’ve slowly had my eyes opened to just how deep the game of pickleball is. How hard it is to be great. How micro-sensitive the touch has to be. How nuanced the details are. How many levels there are to this sport,” he continued. 

“I’ve developed a tremendous passion and respect for the game. The complexity and layers to flicks, rolls, volley dinks, resets, counters seem endless, and the strategy is a consistent chess match fighting for every centimeter of advantage,” he added. 

Lin has been hitting the court in Los Angeles with Pickleballtv broadcaster and coach, Matt Manasse, actor Simu Liu, and Maroon 5 lead guitarist and avid pickleballer, James Valentine. 

Lin has also learned the finer points of the game by playing with MLP's Bay Area Breakers and California-based pros Mary Brascia and Maggie Brascia.

“Jeremy is a solid player,” praised Mary. “He told us he was over in Asia grinding, and it shows. He’s working hard to get better at the game. He has great touch, fast hands, and has most of the shots down.”

Brascia has also noticed Lin’s passion and increasing enthusiasm for pickleball, and she hopes to see him keep improving his game.

“He is also super kind and fun to play with. I hope we get to play with him again soon,” she added. “Shout out to our friend Geoff Ngyuen for inviting us to play in Santa Monica.”

After Lin shared this heartfelt post, the pickleball community poured into the comments, warmly welcoming him to the game. Former NBA star Dwight Howard added, “It’s crazy. I love pickleball too. We gotta play.”

Lin is among the many professional athletes who have taken up pickleball after retiring from their original sports. At this pace, pickleball could soon support an entire league made up of former NBA, MLB, and NFL players eager to compete.

This just goes to show that pickleball truly is a sport for everyone. And if elite athletes like Lin are embracing it, there’s no limit to how far it can grow.

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