Former NBA star Jeremy Lin, most known for his “Linsanity” run with the Carmelo Anthony-era New York Knicks, joined the NBA Today crew in the studio on Friday. In one segment, Lin walked studio hosts Malika Andrews and Tim MacMahon through what makes Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić so dynamic.
Lin, who won the NBA Finals in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors, started with Dončić’s favorite move, a left-to-right through-the-legs dribble that he loves to make his first read off of. From there, Lin highlighted Dončić’s ability to either step back to his left for a shot or drive right to put pressure on the rim with “the best touch in the NBA” with the studio’s display monitor.
Lin proceeded to detail how “every good offensive player is looking at their defensive player’s feet,” and used MacMahon to demonstrate how Dončić uses his left-to-right through-the-legs move to force defenders to drop their left foot.
.@JLin7 joins NBA Today, and walks us through why Luka Doncic continues to be unstoppable in isolation 🤝 pic.twitter.com/veJm6GJx7i
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 27, 2026
From there, Lin showed how Dončić responds with his second read when defenders successfully press up on him and cut him, using the display monitor to highlight an example of the All-NBA guard spins into a step-back three-pointer when he’s cut off early or spins into a post move or floater when he’s cut off late.
Lin ended the segment by revealing how opposing defenders can successfully stop Dončić: yelling, “HELP!”
The segment finishes with an example of the Houston Rockets double-teaming Doncic, only for him to find a wide-open Marcus Smart for a three-pointer.
“He has the deepest bag; he is a generational scorer. We talked about the ball in his left hand. We haven’t even talked about the ball in his right, we haven’t talked about triple-threat, we haven’t talked about back-to-the-basket isolation. He can score and do everything, and that’s exactly why he’s averaging 40 over 11 games,” Lin said.
Fans took notice of Lin’s execution on social media.
Okay JLin I see you break the game down https://t.co/ou0vMk8jP3
— Brandon Jennings (@Tuff__Crowd) March 28, 2026
this was incredibly good https://t.co/CdgazCatqw
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) March 27, 2026
Best basketball analysis I may have ever seen on espn. Shows you how worthless Kendrick Perkins is.
— Charles gordon (@gordo12238) March 27, 2026
Lin’s segment serves as a glaring example of the heights studio shows can reach when networks prioritize creating sports content for sports fans, rather than funneling everything toward debate. The former NBA Champion has been great in the studio this week. Hopefully, the Worldwide Leader brings him back for more breakdowns.