Jeremy Lin among NBA's best undrafted point guards
How does Jeremy Lin compare to other overlooked NBA point guards?
Jeremy Lin owns the NBA spotlight right now but he's not the first undrafted player to shine in the league.
In fact, on Tuesday night, Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace played in his 1,055th game, a record for an undrafted player. Arguably the best overlooked NBA player ever, Wallace reflected on Lin's success - and in a way, his own.
"It takes a special type of guy to stay at something long enough to make it to this level," the four-time Defensive Player of the Year said. "A lot of times you're being told that you're too this, you're too that, you can't do this, you can't do that."
In addition to Wallace, several undrafted big men (like Brad Miller and Udonis Haslem), swing men (Raja Bell and Bruce Bowen) and shooting guards (John Starks and Wesley Matthews) have thrived in the NBA.
But what about the little guys like Lin? How many undrafted point guards have enjoyed success in the NBA?
Click on the scroll bar above to see some of the best NBA point guards whose names were never called on draft day.
Jeremy Lin among NBA's best undrafted point guards
Darrell Armstrong (6'0")
Armstrong, now an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks, played 14 NBA seasons despite being undrafted coming out of Division II school Fayetteville State University.
After playing in Europe for several years, Armstrong signed as a free agent with the Orlando Magic in 1994 and the rest is history. Armstrong averaged more than 12 points per game four different seasons for Orlando.
In the 1999, he won the Most Improved Player Award and Sixth Man of the Year award - the only player in NBA history to win both honors in the same year. The following year Armstrong became a starter for the Magic and led the team by averaging 16.2 points and 6.1 assists per game.
Jeremy Lin among NBA's best undrafted point guards
Jose Caldron (6'3")
Calderon may very well be the best undrafted point guard currently playing in the NBA. Despite playing in relative obscurity in Toronto, the Raptors star is one of the best in the league at dishing the rock - averaging over seven assists per game in his career.
Amazingly, since 2007, only six players have more assists than Calderon: Steve Nash, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, Rajon Rondo and LeBron James. That's pretty good company for a guy who spent the first six years of his career playing in Europe.
Jeremy Lin among NBA's best undrafted point guards
Avery Johnson (5'11")
The current head coach of the New Jersey Nets is probably the best undrafted point guard to ever play in the NBA. The diminutive guard nicknamed the "Little General" led the Spurs to the 1999 NBA title.
In his long career, Johnson scored 8,817 points and more impressively dished out 5,846 assists. That is 32nd all-time and the most assists of any player who was never drafted.
The Spurs retired Johnson's jersey in 2007 and he was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame two years later.
Jeremy Lin among NBA's best undrafted point guards
David Wesley (6'1")
Wesley starred as a shooting guard at Baylor but was not drafted in 1992 because, at 6'1", 190 pounds, he was deemed too small by scouts to play his natural position and ill-equipped to play the point.
Wesley proved the skeptics wrong by having a solid NBA career, playing both point and shooting guard. He averaged 12.5 points and 4.4 assists per game over a 14-year career, including ten straight seasons with double-digit scoring averages.
Jeremy Lin among NBA's best undrafted point guards
Earl Boykins (5'5")
Standing at just 5'5" and tipping the scales at 135 pounds, Boykins was the ultimate David taking on NBA Goliaths. Boykins averaged more than 25 points per game his senior year at Eastern Michigan but NBA teams passed on the undersized guard on draft day.
Bad move. Boykins enjoyed a solid 12-season career, averaging 8.9 points and 3.2 assists per game.
Boykins had his best years from 2003-2007, where he averaged in double figures in scoring despite rarely starting. He also finished his career ranked 15th with an .876 free throw percentage.
Jeremy Lin among NBA's best undrafted point guards
Troy Hudson (6'1")
Hudson was a standout at the University of Missouri and Southern Illinois University but was not taken in the 1997 NBA draft. After starting his career in the CBA, he broke through the following year with the Jazz and ultimately played 11 years in the NBA, averaging 9 points and 3.4 assists per game. His best year came in 2002-2003 when he averaged 14.2 points as a starter for the Timberwolves.
Hudson was clearly motivated by his journey from overlooked college player to solid NBA contributor. In 2007 he released an album titled "Undrafted."
Jeremy Lin among NBA's best undrafted point guards
Mike James (6'2")
James was a star at Duquesne and ranks high in nearly all of the school's basketball records: 3rd in steals, 5th in assists and 10th in points. But he was not drafted and played a few seasons in Europe and the CBA.
When he landed with the Miami Heat in 2001, he was in the NBA to stay. James, who recently signed a 10-day contract with the Chicago Bulls, has averaged more than 10 points per game in his career. In 2005-06, he averaged 20 points per game as a starter for Toronto.
Interestingly, "Linsanity" could have been "Mike-sanity." James revealed to ESPN that Lin was nearly cut by the Knicks last month to sign him from the D-League.
Jeremy Lin among NBA's best undrafted point guards
Jeremy Lin (6'3")
With just 34 NBA games under his belt - and just six starts - it's impossible to compare Jeremy Lin with the others on this list.
The sample size may be small but the numbers speak for themselves. Over his last five games, the undrafted guard out of Harvard is averaging 23.6 points, 9.8 assists, 1.4 steals, a 3-pointer per game and is shooting almost 50 percent from the field.
While his streak of 20+ points was snapped Wednesday night, Lin had a career high 13 assists as the Knicks won their seventh straight game. The 23-year-old phenom has electrified New York City and NBA fans worldwide.