Jeremy Lin Forced To Wait In Limbo As Chinese League Lifts Suspension, Then Reimposed Due To Coronavirus

All foreign players in China are still stuck in overtime but not with the way that they wished they’d be a part of.

Since the Chinese Basketball Association announced a tentative date for the ongoing season to resume, they called out the foreign players for each team to fly back to China so that they can still have enough time to settle down and play on the announced schedule.

Despite the dangers brought by the coronavirus pandemic, some foreign reinforcements rushed back to China to avoid a hefty sanction. Reports from CBS Sports say that the Chinese League are requiring them to return to their respective ball clubs or be banned in playing for the league for life, as well as the players’ affiliated agency if the players failed to show up.

Jeremy Lin was among the first influx of foreign players since the suspension that started back in late-January. He shared on his Instagram account his excitement in going back on the floor when he arrived in Beijing and started his two-week quarantine period before going to the team’s practice facility.

Part of the last season’s NBA champions Toronto Raptors, Lin kept himself in shape by working out during the suspension. The star guard of the Beijing Ducks is averaging 24.2 points, 5.8 boards, and 5.8 dimes in his first season in the league but the continuation of the season. He is still considered a foreign player despite his Chinese lineage as he grew up in the US.

Now in China and the suspension was once again reinstated, foreign players aren’t going to play basketball as they hoped to when they boarded the plane to China.

Per China Daily, only 21 players out of 46 total non-Chinese players went back to China and all others who will try to travel to the country will not be covered by the country’s temporary ban to prevent foreigners from entering the country as prevention.

Among those who didn’t fly to China is Lance Stephenson who opted not to fly back to China as he is scared to leave his family while in the middle of the virus spread in the USA. He is the enigmatic star for the Liaoning Southern Tigers and, like Lin, was left unsigned by an NBA team this season after his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The league was looking at an April 15 return per reports from Reuters but was asked to keep the status indefinite as they are still fighting the disease. Now, the foreign players are stuck and are just waiting for the buzzer to sound so they can go up and down the court once again.