The New York Knicks' recent success has made "Linsanity" feel like a fever dream.
But for Knicks fans, Jeremy Lin's out-of-nowhere, three-week explosion was the most exciting basketball the Knicks had produced in over a decade.
One of the highlights of Lin's breakout was his 38-point explosion against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers at Madison Square Garden.
The matchup was an anticipated one, with Lin having come out of nowhere to lead the Knicks to three straight wins. The matchup with the Lakers would be just his third start with the Knicks, and the reigning champions' size and defense presented his toughest challenge yet.
Baron Davis was there to witness all of Linsanity, as he had joined the Knicks for the 2011-12 season but was sidelined with an injury at the time. Davis now says he tried to warn Bryant that Lin was red-hot.
"I'm like, 'Yo, [Lin] is going to kill you guys tomorrow, and I'm telling you this now, bro, just so when I come in here after the game, you're not mad at me,'" Davis said he told Bryant.
Davis said Bryant dismissed him. Indeed, in an interview before facing the Knicks, Bryant said he was unaware of how Lin had been playing and scoffed at the notion that he'd have to guard Lin.
"Me and [Bryant] are at dinner, and this is all I'm talking about," Davis told Green. "No matter what Kobe is talking about, all I keep coming back to is, 'Hey dawg, he is going to bust y'all a-- tomorrow, and I'm going to show up in your locker room, and I'm going to be laughing.'"
Lin went off for 38 points to lead the Knicks to the win, raising his profile even further. The game became the inspiration for a documentary about Lin called "38 at the Garden."
Davis said he went to the Lakers locker room after the game to find a frustrated Bryant.
Davis, who said his locker was next to Lin's, said Lin "had magic" for that three-week stretch.
"It was just some s--- that you only see the greats have," Davis said, adding: "The attention and the level he was playing at was ridiculous."
Watch the clip of Davis' comments below:
