Lin played in the NBA for nine seasons, including two-year stints in Houston and Brooklyn and part of the Toronto Raptors’ championship 2019 season, but he remains best known for his lone season with the Knicks. Current Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, who grew up in New Jersey, even credited Lin for influencing his Knicks fandom.

Lin helped the Knicks turn around their season in February 2012 when he joined the starting lineup and led the team on a seven-game win streak while star Carmelo Anthony was out injured.  The Knicks made the Eastern Conference playoffs but, with Lin injured and unable to play, were eliminated in the first round.

“I don’t think people understand the agony – putting in that much, having the team be able to turn around and really find good rhythm, and then to not be there for the most important games,” Lin said. “It was really hard for me to not be out on the floor. I know that there were some reports at that time, but the reality was, I was doing everything I could to try get back and contribute, and I wasn’t able to do that.”

Lin went on to play in the NBA playoffs in four different seasons for three different teams and said he plans to lean on that experience in his analyst role with ESPN.

“The goal for me is really how do I bring my previous experience and distill the complexities into something simple and digestible for the fans?” Lin said. “And that’s not just the successes. It’s the failures of multiple first-round exits before I was able to be a part of a team that was able to win it all. And seeing what worked, what didn’t work or what was the differentiator in getting us over the top, those are the things that I want to talk about.”

The whole idea of TV came out of left field for Lin, who said that while playing he never contemplated a broadcast career. But last season, after Lin returned from playing basketball in China and decided to retire, he wanted to figure out his next steps.

This March, Lin made a guest analyst appearance on "NBA Today," which he said was effectively a three-day trial period. He wanted to find out whether he was passionate about broadcasting and whether a network would give him the chance. His analytical breakdown of Luka Doncic’s isolation play was well-received by viewers and answered his own questions.

“I think after those three days, the reception that we got from the fans as well as what I felt internally was definitely beyond what I expected,” Lin said. “So that was nice in the sense of like, oh, people had really appreciated the breakdown, but I also felt joy in being back in NBA basketball.”

He said he’s texted three former teammates-turned-analysts — Danny Green, Iman Shumpert and Steve Novak — for advice. He’s also relied on ESPN anchor Malika Andrews and Guy, the vice president of production, for constant coaching.

“I’m less of the super hot take, loud persona,” Lin said. “I try to be somewhat even keeled, I try to be educated and then I try to be uplifting, even if I have to criticize.”

Lin said he’s learned that broadcasting is harder than it looks, and that he wants to do it anyway. Although his current agreement with ESPN is only through these Finals, he hopes to continue his broadcasting career afterward.

“I definitely have serious interest in trying to do this more and to do this long-term,” Lin said. “Honestly, I’m just really grateful to ESPN for these opportunities and I know that it’s truly special that they were willing to carve the space for me in the Finals. I know that doesn’t grow on trees and is something extremely special, so I’m just very grateful.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Knicks legend Jeremy Lin joining ESPN's NBA Finals coverage team