HOUSTON >> Jeremy Lin and his new Rockets teammate Chandler Parsons went out to dinner the night before Lin’s introductory news conference in Houston.

Parsons quickly realized that “Linsanity” had left New York and landed in Texas.

The two were interrupted on Wednesday night 15 to 20 times, by Parsons’ estimate, by fans who recognized Lin and wanted an autograph or a photo. Parsons, who played in all but three games for Houston last season, was virtually ignored.

“I was a little insulted,” Parsons said. “But that’s exciting. You want someone like that on your team to bring fans, you want sold-out games. You want the attention like that. The more attention he has, the more attention the Houston Rockets have.”

And Lin will certainly bring it.

The Rockets introduced Lin on Thursday on the practice court at the Toyota Center — the court where Lin worked in virtual anonymity seven months ago before he was waived — to accommodate a massive media contingent.

Lin, a 23-year-old undrafted point guard out of Harvard, became a Rocket again when the New York Knicks decided not to match Houston’s three-year, $25 million offer.

“It’s been an unbelievable ride,” Lin said. “Just a lot of things I didn’t expect to happen, in terms of just the way last season went. I still have to kind of remind myself that this is all actually happening, sometimes. But it’s a huge blessing. I can’t believe how it all shaped up, and for me to be here right now. I’m definitely excited and thankful.”

Lin said he expected to be re-signed by the Knicks after he electrified the Big Apple last season before he was sidelined by a knee injury. Shortly after the Knicks officially declined to match, Lin was quoted on SI.com as saying, “Honestly, I preferred New York.”

Lin said the question he answered was set in the context of before the start of the free agency period.

“The question was, ‘Going into free agency, which team did you prefer?'” Lin said. “Before July 1, I didn’t even know what teams were interested in me. But all I was hearing was, ‘You’re going back to New York.’ At that time, before free agency started, I preferred New York. By the time it came to the offer sheet, I was just excited about both opportunities.