may 07/ favorite AANHPI athlete

By Nicole Alonzo, APIASF Staff

“There’s a lot of perceptions and stereotypes of Asian-Americans that are out there today, and the fact that I’m Asian-American makes it harder to believe, even crazier, more unexpected…I’m going to have to play well for a longer period of time for certain people to believe it, because I’m Asian. And that’s just the reality of it.” – Jeremy Lin

A year after “Linsanity” began, Jeremy Lin continues to be one of my favorite AANHPI athletes. His presence in the sport gives all AANHPIs someone whom they can identify with and maybe even aspire to be. In writing this post, it was difficult to choose a favorite AANHPI athlete, because the sad truth is that there are not many AANHPI athletes today. However, just because we do not have a large presence in basketball should not deter any of us from aspiring to be a successful NBA point guard or any other type of athlete. We can all take notes out of Jeremy Lin’s playbook and keep dribbling along.

Photo from GQ.

Who is your favorite AANHPI athlete?