Basketballer shocks fans at wax museum

US basketballer Jeremy Lin has pranked fans at a Madame Tussauds’ in San Francisco, posing as a wax figure before “coming to life”.

The museum recently unveiled a Lin exhibit and the new LA Lakers signing was on hand to catch visitors' reaction.

But instead of joining the gallery viewers, the former New York Knicks point guard posed as his wax version to shock fans.

Showing he may have a post-basketball future as a street performer, Lin sat motionless holding a ball to dupe visitors into thinking they were checking out the mannequin before jumping to life.

And the results proved predictably hilarious as one after another fans stood and sat next to him to pose for photos and even touched what they thought was a wax figure - only to almost jump out of their skin when he broke pose.

At another point Lin also burst out from behind a curtain while fans were checking out the genuine mannequin before making a classic dunk - much to their joy.

Shocked or delighted, visitors certainly got their money's worth.