The All Jeremy Lin Team

Right now if you ask a non basketball fan which NBA players they know of they'll likely say Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and..... Jeremy Lin. He's gone from a virtually unknown third string point guard to being the most talked about story in the sports world. He has shined on a team that prior to Linsanity had struggled to get wins even with with three players making more than 12 million dollars this year. Lin only got his shot because two of the players making the big bucks, Amare Staudemire and Carmelo Anthony, got injured. The Knicks won the first 7 games that Lin got good playing time in, and even with Amare and Carmelo coming from injuries Lin and the Knicks have continued their success. His trash to treasure story is an incredible one, as he was sleeping on his brothers couch not sure about whether he'd be able to stay with the Knicks just days before his success began. 

Lin's popularity in the media world has overshadowed some players that have done nearly the same thing as him. They've gone from the end of a teams bench to having a major role on the team by taking advantage of the opportunity given to them. If there was going to be a team full of players that have done the same thing as Lin throughout this year, this would be it.

The All Jeremy Lin Team

Starting PG: Isaiah Thomas (Sacramento Kings):

This 5 9' 22 year old point guard was the very last pick of the 2011 NBA draft. He cracked the Sacramento Kings roster after really impressing at the pre-season camp and has now become the starting shooting guard for the Kings. He has completely outplayed his fellow rookie, Jimmer Fredette, who unlike Thomas had incredible hype after being picked with the tenth pick of the draft. No one expected Isaiah Thomas to have a key role or even a role at all for the Kings, but he has shown that he deserves it due to the spark he brings to the games he's in. Unlike Jimmer Isaiah had zero hype when entering the NBA, but he's showing he can be a solid starter in the NBA.

Starting SG: Danny Green (San Antonio Spurs):

Danny Green had a rough start to his NBA career. After playing just 20 games with the Cavs in the last year of the LeBron era he was waived (basically meaning was cut). The next year he was picked up by San Antonio, and after just twelve games there he was waived. After getting cut by two teams it seemed like his NBA career might be nearing an end, until the Spurs decided give him another try. They picked him up at the start of this 2011-2012 season and he has not disappointed. Manu Ginoblis injury gave Green an opportunity and he's taken advantage, resulting in now being the starting shooting guard for the Spurs. He has earned his coaches trust, especially on the defensive end on the floor. Recently he shut down Chris Paul during overtime in one of the biggest games of the season for the Spurs. Green has come from the end of the bench to become arguably San Antonio's best shut down defender.

Starting SF: Ersan Ilyasova (Milwaukee Bucks):

Since 2006 Ersan Ilyasova has been on the Milwaukee Bucks. He's started some games, mainly because of the lack of power forwards on this team, but made virtually no impact the Bucks team. Milwaukee was looking to trade him during the off season but couldn't make a deal so ended up keeping him. It seems that all he needed were some trade rumors to get him going because this year he's been a rebounding beast. He had 29 points and 25 rebounds against the Nets, and even managed 16 rebounds against Dwights Magic.

Starting PF: Tiago Splitter (San Antonio Spurs)

For a team with an old core of players to do well a lot of things have to go right. That's been the case with the San Antonio Spurs this year. The top three players on San Antonio are all in the end of their career, and arguably their best player (Ginobli) has been inured for most of the year. One of the things that went right for the Spurs has been Tiago Splitter. The critics of the Spurs had said that the Spurs won't be successful without a center that can guard other teams centers. The Spurs have Blair and Bonner who are both unable to successfully guard a good center, and Tim Duncan is just too old for that. Splitter has stepped up this season and taken the role as the teams best center defender while scoring some points as well. This has all happened just a season after being a bench player that got minimal minutes last season.

Starting C: Nikola Pekovic (Minnesota Timberwolves)

Nikola Pekovic is a lot like Jeremy Lin. They both had gotten barely any playing time until an injury to a teammate  when they took advantage and showed just how good they can be. Since Darko Milicic's injury Pekovic has been a beast. He has been a double double machine and has been exactly what Darko Milicic was supposed to be (when he was picked over Bosh Carmelo and Wade!!!). Pekovic has become the starting center for the Timberwolves, but his story has received barely any media attention because of Linsanity.

Sixth Man

Greivis Vasquez (New Orleans Hornets):

Last year Greivis Vasquez was a very small part of the great run that Memphis put together in the playoffs. He averaged just 3.6 points per game with the grizzlies, and at the time seemed like a below average backup point guard. Oh how things can change. Vasquez has meshed very well with the Hornets since his arrival. He's shooting an amazing .462 on three pointers, and has a .457 field goal percentage. When Jarrett Jack got injured Vasquez got more minutes and started dishing and scoring at will. He has made the decision of who to start at point guard very hard for the Hornets coach Monty Williams to decide now that Jarrett Jack has come back from injury.

Other Team bench players:

Backup SG: Eliot Williams (Portland Trailblazers):

Backup SF: Chandler Parsons (Houston Rockets):

Backup PF: Brendan Wright (Dallas Mavericks):

Backup C:Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets):