BASKETBALL/Jeremy Lin, Daron Russell named TPBL Players of the Month for March

Taipei, April 8 (CNA) New Taipei Kings star Jeremy Lin (林書豪) and Daron Russell, a new addition to the New Taipei CTBC DEA, have been named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League's (TPBL) Players of the Month for March, the league said Tuesday.

The league awards two players every month, one for Taiwanese (called "non-imports") and the other for foreign nationals ("imports"). Lin, a Taiwanese-American, qualifies as a non-import because he got a Taiwan passport in 2020.

Lin earned the honor for non-imports for the second time in the league's inaugural season by averaging 23.8 points and 5.3 assists over four games, helping the Kings stay atop the seven-team league with a 4-1 record during the month.

Among his highlights was a 36-point performance against the Taoyuan Leopards on March 23, when he hit seven three-pointers in the Kings' 108-97 win. On March 30, he scored 12 points in the fourth quarter to help his team outlast the DEA 100-98.

Lin received 15 first-place votes out of 24 from the media and won fans' support with 1,920 votes -- nearly 1,000 more than Taoyuan Leopards point guard Gao Jin-wei (高錦瑋), who received 969.

Now 36, the former NBA combo guard first claimed the award in November 2024, but the spotlight shifted to Gao in December and again in January-February.

Meanwhile, Russell, who made his debut for the DEA on Feb. 28, secured the honor on his first try by averaging 28.3 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 2.8 steals over four games in March. He scored more than 35 points in two of them.

The DEA went 5-2 during the month and won all four games in which Russell played.

The American point guard tallied 37 points in the DEA's 116-106 win over the Leopards on March 2, then dropped 40 points on the Taipei Taishin Mars on March 9.

His 21-point fourth quarter on March 2 broke the previous single-quarter scoring record of 16.

Russell emerged the winner of the monthly award for foreign players with an overall 33.6 percent of support, followed by Kings center Jason Washburn, who had 31.4 percent.

As of Tuesday, the Kings lead the league with a 20-6 record, while the DEA sit in fourth place at 14-14.