Jeremy Lin on Maya Moore stepping away from basketball to fulfill her ‘purpose’

ATLANTA — Jeremy Lin’s brand soars beyond basketball.

The immensely popular nine-year NBA veteran is also known for being one of the more outspoken celebrities on a variety of topics, including his faith.

On Feb. 5, Atlanta native and basketball legend Maya Moore announced on The Players’ Tribune that she was stepping away from basketball in 2019 in order to focus on spending more time in ministry and with her family. In the article, Moore said the decision was the result of examining her life and asking one simple question.

“The main way I measure success in life is something I don’t often get to emphasize explicitly through pro ball,” Moore wrote. “I measure success by asking, ‘Am I living out my purpose?’”

Lin said that while he hasn’t felt the same conviction that Moore has yet, her question of fulfilling her purpose is one that he can relate to.

“I do ask that question to Him of ‘is this still what you want me to do?’” Lin said. “And I still feel like it is.”

Lin said that while he’s aware of Moore’s announcement, he didn’t know the specifics of her 2019 plan yet.

“I read the article, but I didn’t know specifically what she was doing, but it’s commendable,” Lin said. “I feel like if you have that calling, or have that peace or conviction in your spirit, then you have to go with it.”

Recently, Lin sent out an email to his fans explaining that he wanted to become more “desperate” for God in 2019, as reported by sindefeated. In the email, he was transparent about finding himself relying on his own abilities often.

“But this concept of being so so desperate for God every day and leaning not on my own understanding (or talents, or habits, or ‘normal’ ways of doing things) has been something I’ve been focusing on,” Lin wrote in the email, according to sindefeated.

He said that he’s picked up habits of using his prayer journal more, in addition to taking a deeper dive in his time of praise and worship.

Lin also asked for prayer for the organizations he decides to donate to, the current political climate and that his team continues to build in the right direction on and off the court.

“We’ve been playing much better basketball as of late, so pray that our team would continue to build the right way and play unselfish basketball,” he reportedly wrote in the email. “Please pray for opportunities for [a] breakthrough on and off the court as well. I felt like in this season, I needed to invest into 2-3 people more deeply either through evangelism or mentorship.”

The Hawks guard said that he sees basketball as a platform to continue spreading his faith, as opposed to walking away from the game altogether at this time.

On the court, Lin has helped guide rookie guard Trae Young along the way on a team that has only been three games under .500 (11-14) since Dec. 18. After weeks of heavy trade rumors, the guard stayed put in Atlanta after the Feb. 7 deadline.

“I like the city a lot,” he said in an interview earlier this season with Peachtree Hoops. “It’s really nice, actually. It’s a lot better than what I thought it was going to be. There’s a lot to do, a lot of great food, and a lot of great people.”