 Lin grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area , and he earned Northern California player of the year honors as a senior in high school . After receiving no athletic scholarship offers , he attended Harvard University , where he was a three @-@ time all @-@ conference player in the Ivy League . Undrafted out of college , Lin reached a partially guaranteed contract deal in 2010 with his hometown Golden State Warriors . He seldom played in his rookie season and was assigned to the NBA Development League ( D @-@ League ) three times . He was waived by the Warriors and the Houston Rockets the following preseason before joining the New York Knicks early in the 2011 – 12 season . Lin continued to be played sparingly and again spent time in the D @-@ League . In February 2012 , he led a winning streak by New York while being promoted to the starting lineup . In the summer of 2012 , Lin signed a three @-@ year contract with the Rockets , for whom he played two seasons before the Los Angeles Lakers acquired him in a trade . He played one season with the Lakers before signing with the Charlotte Hornets . He signed with Brooklyn the following season . 
