Knicks Blocked Kardashian
Jeremy Lin reveals Knicks secretly blocked Kim Kardashian dating approach for a TV show
Key Points
In revisiting the original 2012 gossip, Lin said he had been completely in the dark at the time, telling the media on the archival footage, “I have no idea where that came from,” when asked about the Kardashian-dating claim.
Lin recalled that the tabloid speculation was intense enough to reach major NBA media in real time—InStyle notes that ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols asked him directly, “You don’t think you’re the Kim Kardashian type?” during the height of the frenzy.
Yahoo’s recap adds operational detail about how tightly the Knicks tried to control access during the media maelstrom, saying “team publicists wouldn’t even let him secure an interview with the athlete at Madison Square Garden.”
Podcast host Pablo Torre said he still “doesn't know the origin story” of how the rumor started, highlighting that Lin’s explanation was based on what he was told afterward rather than on first-hand knowledge.
Fourteen years after tabloids linked him to Kim Kardashian, Jeremy Lin finally explained what actually happened. Speaking on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast on June 9, 2026, Lin said Kardashian's team sent a formal request to the New York Knicks seeking a local athlete for a TV project. The Knicks said no — and never told Lin.
Lin, now 37 and playing for the New Taipei Kings, said he was "completely in the dark" during the height of "Linsanity" in February 2012. When reporters asked him about the Kardashian rumors at the time, he told cameras, "I have no idea where that came from." That, he now says, was the truth. MEAWW News noted that Kardashian — currently dating Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton — has not responded to Lin's comments.
Knicks Blocked the Request Without Telling Lin
According to Lin, the request from Kardashian's team was real. It was tied to a TV production — likely a show needing a high-profile New York athlete. The Knicks front office rejected it outright. Their reported reason: "We're not allowing our young second-year player to go down this route right now," according to In Touch Weekly.
Lin only learned about the rejection after the fact. Podcast host Pablo Torre said on air that he still "doesn't know the origin story" of how the romance rumor spread from what was essentially a TV casting inquiry. Lin's account was based on what he was told — not something he witnessed directly, HITC reported.
ESPN's Rachel Nichols Asked Him Live on Air
The rumors were loud enough that major sports media picked them up in real time. During the peak of Linsanity, ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols asked Lin directly: "You don't think you're the Kim Kardashian type?" Lin's answer then was consistent with what he says now. He told her, "I'm not that type of guy."
InStyle noted the exchange as one of the more surreal moments of the 2012 media frenzy. Lin had gone from a benchwarmer to a global star in under a month — scoring 136 points in his first five NBA starts, the most since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976. The Kardashian rumor landed in the middle of all of it.
The Knicks Ran a Media Fortress Around Their Star
The team's move fit a broader pattern. Yahoo Sports reported that Knicks publicists were so protective during Linsanity that they blocked journalists from getting standard interviews — even at Madison Square Garden. Torre himself said he was refused access at the arena during that period.
Sports analysts now see the Kardashian block as a textbook example of 2012-era franchise
Where Both Sides Stand Today
Lin's 2026 podcast appearance reframes the old gossip. The romance was fiction. The TV request, Lin says, was real. The Knicks killed it before he even knew it existed. Kardashian's publicists called the dating rumors "absolutely 100% NOT true" back in 2012, IBTimes reported — a denial that Lin's account does not contradict.
Lin signed a $28.8 million deal with the Houston Rockets later that summer — a contract the Knicks chose not to match. The team that worked hard to protect his image ultimately let him walk. Kardashian, meanwhile, began dating Kanye West shortly after the Linsanity frenzy faded, MEAWW News noted.
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