Jeremy Lin Recalls Mom Emptying 401k Towards His NBA Draft Prep

ASFN Admin · Jun 15, 2026

You must be registered for see images attach

Chad Salvador/WWD via Getty

Jeremy Lin opened up on Pablo Torre Finds Out about the huge financial risk that his mother took to help him realize his NBA dream.

Lin shared that his mom took out everything from her 401k so he could use the money ahead of the 2010 NBA Draft.

“We were, financially, in such a tough position, and when it really came down to it,” he recalled. “When I was preparing for the NBA Draft, my mom emptied out her entire 401k so that I can eat until I was full, so I could prepare for the NBA Draft.”

Lin revealed the extent of his family’s considerable debt when he was given the money.

COMPLEX SHOP: Shop the brands you love, anytime and anywhere. Uncover what's next. Buy. Collect. Obsess.

“At that time, we were very far in debt,” he said. “We had already borrowed from the bank. We had borrowed from the house. We had borrowed from Harvard. No one would let us borrow anymore, and then we had to borrow from family.”

Lin said the money from his mother came with an ultimatum: accomplish your NBA dream in two years or put the Harvard degree to use.

Lin explained that his mother’s wholehearted support towards seeing her son live out his dream came from her own upbringing.

“My mom grew up and she loved dance, but she couldn’t pursue it,” he said at the 15-minute mark. “My dad grew up, loved sports, but couldn’t pursue it because their parents, my grandparents, wouldn’t allow them to do that.”

“So when they got married and had kids, the one thing they decided was, ‘If our kids have a passion towards something, we won’t restrict them from going down that route,’” he continued.

Lin went undrafted in 2010, but ended up receiving an invite to play for the Dallas Mavericks in NBA Summer League that same year. After a brief stint with his hometown team, the Golden State Warriors, Lin bounced around a bit before landing on the New York Knicks where Linsanity was born.