Jeremy Lin to have wax figure at Madame Tussauds San Francisco

The Los Angeles Lakers introduce newest player Jeremy Lin to the gathered media at the Toyota Sports Center training facility in El Segundo, Calif., on Thursday, July 24, 2014. (Photo by Brad Graverson/The Daily Breeze)

The Los Angeles Lakers introduce newest player Jeremy Lin to the gathered media at the Toyota Sports Center training facility in El Segundo, Calif., on Thursday, July 24, 2014. (Photo by Brad Graverson/The Daily Breeze)

It turns out Jeremy Lin has something in Kobe Bryant beyond playing for the same team (Lakers) or sharing the same birthday (this Saturday). By Thursday, both will have the honor in having wax figures depicting their likeness at the Maddame Tussauds, which showcases lifelike wax images of celebrities, athletes and politicians.

Bryant is already immortalized at the Los Angeles branch. On Thursday, Lin will have his unveiled at the San Francisco branch in Fisherman’s Wharf, which is fairly close to where he grew up in Palo Alto. Lin, who was born in Torrance, became the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA. That background coupled with the so-called “Linsanity” that featured his breakout season three years ago with the New York Knicks has contributed toward Lin having a huge following in Asian countries.

The Lakers acquired Lin this summer from the Houston Rockets, who also gave up a first and second round pick to clear cap space in their unsuccessful pursuit toward Chris Bosh. Though Lin fought inconsistency last season, the Lakers found promise in his statistical output in points (12.5), shooting percentage (a career-high 44.6%) and assists (4.1). They believe such talent could provide the Lakers some reinforcements for Steve Nash, who played in only 15 games last season because of persisting back injuries.

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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com