NEW YORK (AP) - Covering Jeremy Lin has been easy for Sports Illustrated.

The high-scoring Knicks newcomer is on the cover of SI for the second week in a row. He's the first New York-based team athlete to be given such treatment since the magazine started in 1954 _ not even Mickey Mantle, Joe Namath or Eli Manning made two straight.

Lin became a global star after getting a chance to start for the Knicks. The unheralded point guard from Harvard is playing with a flair that has revitalized the team and the fans.

Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni was asked if all the attention on Lin could become a negative.

"It might, who knows. You never know, but we're not afraid of it. He's a great kid and he deserves it," D'Antoni said. "It's an unbelievable story, it's fun, people are excited and we'll see where it goes.

"Will it be a storybook ending? Everybody hopes so and that's what we're going to work for. But I do know he's a heck of a basketball player, so we'll just ride it and see where it goes."

Lin is the 12th athlete to appear on the SI cover at least two weeks in a row since 1990. Dirk Nowitzki did it during last season's NBA finals. Michael Jordan holds the SI cover record with three in row.

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