“You know times are hard when a Harvard Business School Graduate finds it easier to get a job as a starting point guard in the NBA than as a bond trader on Wall Street.” Steven Colbert

The NBA’s latest on-court sensation has appealed for space to be given to his relatives in Taiwan. Jeremy Lin, whose name in Mandarin is “Lin Shuhao,” is the NBA’s first U.S. player of Taiwan or Chinese descent.

The story of the Los Angeles-born star’s rise from obscurity to sudden superstar has captivated Taiwan — home to his grandmother and birthplace of Lin’s parents — and mainland China, which also claims to be his roots. There is even debate among his fans about who Lin should represent at the Olympic Games in London this summer.

The New York Knicks star issued a request in a post-game interview after starring in his team’s dramatic 104-97 win over defending NBA champions, the Dallas Mavericks.

“One special request I have is for the media back in Taiwan to kind of give them their space because they can’t even go to work without being bombarded, and people following them. And so, I just want people to respect the privacy of my relatives in Taiwan. … They need to live their lives as well.”

The Knicks beat the Mavs 104-97 on Sunday. Lin scored 28 points.

Here’s a video of the “Jeremy Lin’s Top Ten Plays,”