Lin opens up about pressure of playing for hometown Warriors

Jeremy Lin admits he didn't have the easiest time playing for his hometown Golden State Warriors.

The Bay Area native, who signed with the Warriors as an undrafted free agent in 2010, spoke about the pressure he experienced on a recent episode of the "All The Smoke" podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.

"It was so crazy," Lin said. "I was just so happy about it, and then once the season started, it was like everything that I thought it was about got flipped upside down.

"And it's weird because every time I checked into a game, I remember like if the team was up 10 in the 4th, I'd be like, 'Okay, I hope the other team comes back so I don't get put in.' That's how nervous I was because every time I would be put in the game, there was a Standing O. And every time I'd touch the ball, the crowd would be like, 'Ooh!' and it got to the point where I didn't know what to do. I would catch the ball, shoot a three, and it would be an airball, and everyone would be like, 'Ugh,' you know? I just had no confidence."

Lin said he was used to flying under the radar and had no idea how to handle his newfound fame.

"I had always been the biggest underdog my whole life, like always under the radar, whether it was in high school, whether it was in college," he explained.

"Every story, every article was like, 'Who is this guy and where did he come from?' All of a sudden people knew about me and were expecting big things. I didn't know how to handle it. I had no idea how to handle it, and I struggled with it ... it was almost like you went from underdog to being the target on your back that everyone's coming after."

Lin attempted a comeback this season with Golden State's G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, but his stint ended without an NBA contract.