On March 17th, 2006, the Palo Alto High School boys’ varsity basketball team amassed a 24-1 record in regular season games, culminating in the state championship. Few people expected them to go that far, even fewer expected them to win. At Arco Arena in Sacramento against the Mater Dei Monarchs, Kevin Brown (’10) and Joseph Lin (’10) stood in the stands among hundreds of fans in support of the team, but more specifically in support of their brothers: starting forward Steven Brown (’06) and starting point guard Jeremy Lin (’06). Kevin watched his brother race up and down the court and wondered if that would be him someday, if he would ever step on the court to play in a state championship game. Joseph looked to his brother while the final buzzer rang, as he made the score 51-47. Excitement washed through his body, his brother’s team took the Division II CIF State Championship.
Four years later, Kevin and Joseph find themselves approaching a similar situation, the difference a capable team with a chance to go to states.
Kevin Brown and Joseph Lin set out this season planning to continue their brothers’ legacies of domination on the basketball court, hoping to lead their team to victory. Joseph and Kevin, although they resemble their brothers in many ways, bring different strengths to the court; each act as different players offensively and defensively. But, regardless of their different skills, the younger boys still look to Steven and Jeremy for motivation as they push themselves to their utmost potentials.
Kevin and Jeremy are both four years apart from their older siblings Steven and Jeremy. This age gap allows them to exclude the competitive factor that would accompany brothers closer in age, if they played at Paly at the same time. The Browns and Lins have unique relationships; they share a bond that not many can say they have with their siblings. Even with Jeremy across the country at Harvard, Joseph and Jeremy maintain a strong connection.
“We’re really close,” Jeremy said. “Me, him, and my older brother grew up together and have always done everything together. We keep a really close relationship.”
The boys realize that they are not like other families. The amount of time they spend together exceeds the amount of time most other siblings spend together.
“Whenever Jeremy is back for a couple of days, during winter break and all summer starting in May, we don’t really do much with other friends,” Joseph said. “We do, but not like we hang out with our friends every day like most high school and college kids do. We spend a majority of the time with each other.”
They are also able to relate to each other. Jeremy does not only act as a big brother, but also as someone who went through everything Joseph is going through now.
“Our relationship is special and really different than a lot of typical other ones,” Jeremy said. “I think part of it is because we’re a lot closer than the average brother-to-brother relationship. Everything I’ve been through he’s been through, too, and it’s an interesting dynamic with both of us playing basketball. A lot of what he goes through I’m able to connect with and help him out with.”
Jeremy is Joseph’s best friend; a support that will always be helping him. Jeremy knows him better than anyone and knows his potential better than anyone.
“There’s really no one else I would rather talk to,” Joseph said. “No one who can make me feel better. It’s a relationship I can’t describe.”
During the summer the boys have the chance to play together. As Jeremy disciplines himself for his Harvard basketball season, he trains with Joseph. They go to the gym and play pick-up games; anything that Jeremy thinks will help Joseph gain experience about varsity competition.
“Jeremy will always involve Joseph to go work out with him,” mother Shirley Lin said. “Jeremy takes care of Joseph like a big brother takes care of a little brother. If Joseph wants to pursue basketball, Jeremy will help him be a better player.”
Jeremy and Joseph’s relationship is not just special in the way that they are close. Being Christians, they connect a lot of their discussions to their faith. The brothers try to bring a deeper meaning to their lives.
“What makes our relationship different than most brothers is our spiritual life,” Joseph said. “There’s so much more to everything we talk about because of the fact that we have a spiritual life. There’s more of a purpose, a certain attitude to show which is humble. When we talk about basketball, we always relate it to our spiritual life. All of our talks are centered on Christian life.”
Joseph’s passion for basketball did not only stem from his brother’s love for the game. His own interest initially sparked his desire to play the sport. Even though Jeremy and Joseph can relate through basketball, they differ on and off the court.
“We’re brothers with two very different personalities,” Jeremy said. “I’m naturally more competitive and he’s [Joseph] really laid back. He just enjoys having fun and doesn’t really get bothered by anything.”
Shirley Lin also recognizes the differences between her sons’ personalities regarding their attitude towards basketball and competition in general.
“To Jeremy, winning or losing is very important. His desire to win is stronger than Joseph’s,” Shirley said.
Joseph acknowledges Jeremy’s intensity as an admirable quality.
“Jeremy is one of the hardest workers I’ve seen,” Joseph said. “He’ll wake up at six in the morning to work out and when he was home early we went before school. He does a lot of stuff to try and improve himself, just trying to get better every day. His work ethic is ridiculous.”
Jeremy has a hard working interior that Joseph idolizes. Joseph sees Jeremy’s accomplishments as ones he hopes to achieve someday, too.
“For Joseph, Jeremy is his role model and he will follow him,” Shirley Lin said. “For Joseph, there is no jealousy or pressure because Jeremy is so good, he is actually proud of his brother for being so good.”
But, the pressure of his brothers’ reputation can get to him; being Jeremy Lin’s little brother can be intimidating. As people look to the court and see Joseph, they immediately compare him to his brother.
“I don’t really pay attention to the pressure that much, I’m just trying to do what I can so we can win,” Joseph said. “But there’s definitely a little bit of pressure that I’ll have to do well because people are expecting a lot from me.”
Because of this pressure, Joseph remains open to any insight or assistance Jeremy can offer. He accepts the option of practicing with him to the extent of utter exhaustion.
“In general, I try to tell him where he can improve,” Jeremy said. “That’s part of being an older brother, pushing him and motivating him. This summer we worked out a lot as I was getting ready for my season. Everything I did I brought him along and tried to push him to work harder than he’s ever worked before.”
Jeremy’s influence on Joseph does not only play out in basketball, but also ventures to teach Joseph lessons that he can bring to his everyday life.
Jeremy learned much of what he wants to pass on to Joseph from Paly’s previous head basketball coach, Peter Diepenbrock. Diepenbrock coached and mentored Jeremy all four years of his basketball career, motivating him to become a more prominent individual on the court.
“He [Diepenbrock] was a mentor to me,” Jeremy said. “With everything we went through he’ll be a lifelong mentor and I’ll always give him a call. Diepenbrock really instilled a work ethic in me and that’s what I’m trying to do with Joseph. He taught me about responsibility and integrity, a lot of which can be applied outside of the basketball court. Those are the things I want to instill in Joseph.”
Joseph receives all of Jeremy’s advice on life openly. He admires Jeremy’s ability to promote his well being as well as the people around him.
“Being his younger brother I experience him being a leader towards me all the time because he helps me a lot and mentors me,” Joseph said. “When he says things, you want to listen and follow. On the court, I see him tell his teammates things and they nod in agreement, like they are saying ‘yes, I’ll do it.'”
Just as Joseph looks up to Jeremy, Jeremy looks up to Joseph. He admires his talents, only criticizing in support. The brothers learn from each other, searching for ways to improve. Jeremy sees tremendous potential in Joseph.
“He has a god given talent of being able to score, left hand, right hand, inside, outside,” Jeremy said. “Offensively he’s really dangerous.”
For Jeremy, associating himself with parts of Joseph’s life is just part of his responsibilities as a big brother. Steven Brown also shares this view.
Steven Brown, now at California State University Chico, frequently involves himself in pickup games with his brother Kevin. Steven pushes Kevin to help him improve.
“He would motivate me; playing a pickup game, he would guard me twice as hard as anyone else,” Kevin said. “He really challenged me, and I never asked. Even today, he plays against me 100 percent, because he wants to prove he’s better and also teach me.”
Unlike the Lin brothers, Steven and Kevin share a competitive drive. Whether on the court or playing video games, they are in constant pursuit of proving the other inferior. This drive allows them to feel a deeper connection than that of most brothers, similarly to the conjunction between Joseph and Jeremy.
Although the two are very close, most of Steven’s biggest role in Kevin’s life revolves around basketball.
“I motivate him in basketball in a trash talking sense,” Steven said. “With school, he takes it seriously. Him seeing me and seeing other brothers and sisters not do so well in school made him realize that he needs to take it seriously. An older brother is someone to look up to, so I’m not necessarily telling him to do his homework.”
Despite Steven’s lack of influence in Kevin’s academic world, he knows how to push Kevin, teaching him not only about basketball; but also about life. As Steven went to states, he realized the meaning of all the hard work that went into reaching the championship, the goal he had set for himself at the start of the season.
“I remember when the buzzer went off, I was kind of struck and didn’t know what to do,” Steven said. “It makes you realize if you want to do something in life, you can make it happen as long as you believe and put your mind to that certain goal. I don’t think anyone in the state would have imagined that we would win the championship. Some of the best players in the country were on that team; I don’t think anyone knew we would win. Just work hard and you don’t realize till you get your goal that you could achieve it.”
To Steven, this means Kevin can accomplish whatever he sets his mind to. For Kevin, this being his fourth year on Paly’s varsity team, he feels inspired to win the championship this year.
“I want to win a state championship too, especially because of my brother,” Kevin said. “I walked past Diepenbrock freshmen year and he said, ‘Now we have to win one with you.’ I was really motivated.”
With Steven as inspiration, Kevin keeps pushing to achieve his goal. With senior year being most important to pursue a future career in basketball, he knows the amount of work he needs to put in.
“Kevin needs to work hard at every game and every possession,” Steven said. “That will make him a much better player at the next level. He definitely has a future playing, but depending on how he does this season, it will dictate where he will end up. This season has a lot to do with how he continues to work hard every day and expand his game. He’s not that big compared to the competition at the next level.”
Even though Kevin and Joseph look up to their brothers for motivation, it helps that they also have each other.
“We’re close, good friends, but he’s busy with football a lot and I don’t really get to hang out that much,” Joseph said. “Me and Kevin have known each other for a really long time.”
Kevin feels similarly about his friendship with Joseph.
“I’ve known him since second grade, and played on his team from third till now,” Kevin said. “We’re good friends even though we don’t hang out much.”
Because Jeremy and Steven are also the same age, Joseph and Kevin have been able to share the same emotions regarding what it means to be “the next Jeremy” or “the next Steven.” The two have a lot in common with their older brothers, but not necessarily on the court. Each exhibits different strengths than their older siblings.
“They’re both very different players from their brothers, they both have different strengths than their brothers did,” Diepenbrock said. “Kevin’s more of an inside player and Joseph is more of a scorer. It’s hard to compare the two to their siblings.”
But, when the four combine strengths, they overshadow any competition.
“Sometimes we go play a pickup game,” Kevin said. “Sometimes we play on a different team but, when we’re on the same team, we dominate.”
Jeremy and Steven also share a similar contingency with each other. They have been friends since the third grade and have played basketball together on the same team until they separated to take on their collegiate careers.
“I don’t think I’ve had a friend that long,” Steven said. “When he comes back for summer we workout together, we’re close. I think the friendship will always be there.”
The two sets of brothers consider themselves lucky to be in such circumstances that would allow them to relate so closely with someone else. Their similar conditions have helped Joseph and Kevin immensely, being able to ascribe to each other as they attempt to continue on a career that has been partially constructed for them by Steven and Jeremy.
“We had to go on our basketball journey alone,” Jeremy said. “We didn’t have brothers to pave the road. Joseph and Kevin are following in our footsteps, and we’re trying to guide and motivate them, as well as give them advice.”
As the season starts, both boys realize this is the season to excel. It is now or never for them to prove that they have what it takes to bring it to the next level. With their brothers’ full support behind them they have the ability to become magnanimous; their close relationships all them to galvanize each other. As Jeremy induces Joseph through a summer workout or as Steven plays against Kevin in a pickup game, each of the boys have someone they can call an idol. Joseph and Kevin continue to fight to reach the place their brothers were four years ago.
“Being the younger brothers of two renown Paly basketball players makes us want to achieve something just as great as they did –State Championships,” Joseph said. “That makes us work harder, giving us motivation. We want to go the same place they did, do the same things they did.”
