Rockets fans should recall Jeremy Lin fondly

A Houston Rockets legend just announced his retirement. At 37, Jeremy Lin has made it official - his professional basketball career is over.

His NBA career has been finished for some time. Lin last laced up for an Association team in the 2018-19 season. Lin's NBA career was a unique one.

Rockets fans may remember him as "the other guy". The Rockets acquired Lin and James Harden in the same summer. It didn't take long for The Beard to establish himself as the lead guard of the future.

At the time, that wasn't a foregone conclusion. Lin was on the heels of the season that most NBA fans will remember him for. It was the "Linsanity" season. During an 11-game stretch in 2011-12, Lin averaged 23.9 points and 9.2 assists per game.

The rest is history. Lin found an opportunity when Carmelo Anthony was injured. When the star wing returned, Lin's role shrank. He signed with the Rockets in the offseason, but he wasn't able to capture lightning in a bottle again.

Still, don't make the mistake of dismissing his Rockets tenure.

Jeremy Lin was solid with the Rockets

In Lin's debut 2013-14 season with the Rockets, he averaged 13.4 points and 6.1 assists per game.

He wasn't a superstar. That 11-game stretch did not represent Lin's capabilities as an NBA player. That doesn't mean he wasn't solid. Make no mistake: Lin had multiple seasons as an above-average NBA guard.

Two of them came in Houston. As it became clear that Harden was the future, the Rockets sent Lin to the Lakers. From there, Lin became a journeyman, but he made a positive impact in each of his NBA stops.

That final 2018-19 season came with the Raptors. Lin won an NBA title, but he was on the back of the bench. It was still a fitting conclusion to an illustrious NBA career, even if it's only now officially ending.

Rockets fans should honor Lin. It's not difficult to trace a direct path from his brief tenure in Houston to today's iteration of the squad. The Rockets had been a solid, competitive, but mediocre team before acquiring Lin and Harden. The Lin acquisition represents a new era during which taking risks has become permissible.

When NBA fans picture him, he'll be in a Knicks uniform. That's where Lin established his place in NBA lore. Still, he deserves to be remembered fondly by Rockets fans, too.

Here's wishing him insane success in his next chapter.