有点久的文章，但没球赛看闲闲还是顺手翻了下。
https://goo.gl/Ksa8f3
I Miss the Sonics - by Shawn Kemp
我想念超音速队
People will come up to me when they see me in Seattle and say stuff like, “
Hey, where you living these days, man?”
当人们在西雅图遇见我，总是会问，
“嘿，这些日子你到哪去了？”
“Seattle, man. I never left.”
“我一直在西雅图，没有离开过。”
Nobody believes me when I tell them I’ve pretty much stayed here since 1989.
I mean, after I left the Sonics for Cleveland — that was around ’97 — I
bounced around a little bit before my career was over. But even when I was
playing in Italy, I always kept my house in Seattle. There was never a doubt
in my mind that I’d be back someday. And, you know, a lot has changed here.
The heart of the culture is still the same. But a lot has changed.
没人相信我打从1989之后就没离开过。97年我到了骑士队打球，在生涯告终前又跑了些地
方。但就算我在意大利打球的那段日子里，我在西雅图的房子始终在那。我从来没怀疑过
我会回来的。这里变了很多，虽然文化内涵还是相同，但变了很多。
But man, the city’s just not the same without basketball. It’s not like it
used to be.
没有了篮球之后，这城市不再像以前一样了。
This is funny to think of now, but in ’89 I was the youngest person in the
NBA. A 19-year-old kid — and I’m the first one to admit that I didn’t know
a single thing about being a professional or living on my own or any of that.
It didn’t really feel like a big deal to me, though. I was young. I was
hungry. I wanted to dunk on fools, go out at night, and then dunk on ’em
again the next day.
回想起来很有趣，89年我是全NBA最年轻的家伙，而当时的我也明白我根本什么事都不懂
。这对我来说没什么大不了。我很年轻，我很想表现，我想要在别人面前灌篮，我想要
晚上去鬼混，然后隔天再继续灌篮。
And I was lucky. A lot of guys who come into the league with that sort of
mentality don’t last long. I learned from guys like Xavier McDaniel, Nate
McMillan, Michael Cage — the veterans who were in Seattle when I got there.
They all taught me early on that there was a lot more to the game than
waiting down low for the dunk.
当时的我很幸运。很多像我有这样心态的球员基本上都撑不了多久。我来到西雅图后我向
Xavier McDaniel, Nate McMillan, Michael Cage这些老将学了很多。他们告诉我球赛不
是只有灌篮。
My rookie year was a big transition. I was a teenager who had to start
following rules, practicing hard in the gym every day, studying player
reports on my time off – just educating myself about basketball. They always
say, “It’s a job,” but it only really becomes a job if you learn how to
approach it like a job.
踏入NBA对我来说是个很大的改变。我这个小屁孩得开始守规矩，每天到健身房苦练
，研究球员报告，开始真正去学习篮球。他们总说“这是你的工作”，但一直到你有正确
的态度之后，才会真正变成了那么一回事。
So that’s what my rookie year was like — growing up a little bit. When I
came back for my second season I was ready to show my full potential. I wasn’
t going to let anything distract me from being dominant.
我的新人年让我成长了一些些。第二个球季开始我准备好要大干一场，没人可以阻止我。
We had the second pick in the draft that year.
那一年我们有第二顺位的选秀权。
We picked up this cat named Gary Payton.
我们选了个叫Gary Payton的家伙。
Gary already had buzz, especially up in the Oregon-Washington area. He was an
All-American. He’d already been on the cover of Sports Illustrated, all of
that.
Gary老早就出名了，享誉全美。被刊在运动杂志之类的。
I remember the first time I saw him play. It was my rookie year. I think it
was a Friday afternoon, and our GM, Bob Whitsitt, called me up. He told me to
watch the Oregon State–USC game on TV because there was a possibility that
this Gary kid could be my future teammate. It was kind of cool, having the GM
ask you to play scout — like really watch, really study a prospect’s game.
By that time I was trying to be a pro and a good teammate. I wanted to take
my job seriously.
我还记得我第一次看到他打球，那是我的新人年，一个星期五的下午。我们的大老板Bob
Whitsitt打电话给我，他告诉我打开电视看场大学比赛，因为有个叫Gary的小鬼可能会成
为我的队友。当大老板打电话给你做球探是很酷的事情。我想要表现的很专业，当个
好队友，认真的做好我的工作。
You know what my main memory from that game was? Gary barking. Not Gary’s
handle or his defense, it was his barking. He talked at everybody. From
before the tip until the final buzzer, dude was talking — and like, angry
talking, not banter. Either side of the floor, to guys on the bench, USC
fans, referees — it didn’t matter. Nobody was safe. I remember pulling my
chair up closer to the TV to try and make out the things he was saying to the
USC coach. The opposing coach, man! A college kid. I loved it. Gary had
something to say to everybody.
你知道我记得最清楚的是什么吗？Gary的鬼吼鬼叫。不是他的运球或是他的防守，是他在
鬼吼鬼叫。他跟每个人说话，从一进场到比赛结束，他不断在讲话。是很愤怒的那种。不
管是队友还是对手，板凳上的人，对方的球迷，裁判... 无论是谁，没人能逃过。我还记
得我特地坐到电视旁边想听清楚他跟对方教练说了些什么...
对方教练耶我的天！他还只是一个大学的小鬼！我爱上这家伙了。
Gary不管对谁都能说上两句。
He ended up finishing with 58, if I’m not mistaken.
我没记错的话，他那场得了58分。
Right when the game ended, I called up our management.
比赛结束后我打电话给我们的管理团队。
“If we get a guy like this, you won’t have to do anything to motivate me.”
“如果他在我们队中，你就不必再担心我对比赛有没有热情。”
That’s what I told them.
我就是这么跟他们说的。
“We gotta get Gary. The two of us will go on a tear.”
“我们得想办法得到他。我们两个会屌翻天。”
Bernie Bickerstaff was the coach my rookie year. Then K.C. Jones replaced him
the next year, Gary’s rookie season. Right away, Gary and K.C. did not
really get along. All these years later, Gary and I still talk about how much
K.C. taught us, though — how important he was to our development. He was
tough, but you gotta remember, K.C. was coming over from the Celtics, from a
championship culture, coaching some of best guys to ever come through the
league. He was drawing up plays on the chalkboard for Larry Bird and Kevin
McHale.
我菜鸟年的时候Bernie Bickerstaff是我们的教练。然后K.C. Jones在隔年取代了他，也
就是Gary的菜鸟年。Gary跟K.C.处的并不好。但就在多年以后我跟Gary仍然不断在谈论
K.C.教导过我们的东西，他对我们的成长过程有多么重要。他很强硬，你必须知道，K.C.
是从赛尔提克那么一个有悠久冠军历史的队伍来的，他带领过那么多出色的球员，像是
Larry Bird 与 Kevin McHale.
Then all of a sudden, he had to draw plays for Shawn and Gary. With us, man,
we were kids. We had a lot of talent, but we didn’t know what to do with it
yet.
然后他现在必须带领Kemp跟Payton, 两个乳臭未干的小子。我们很有天赋，我们只是不知
道该怎么运用。
I think basketball people don’t fully appreciate what K.C. Jones did for
that Sonics team. Even in that one year, he taught us a lot about maturity
off the court as well as in practice and games. Gary and I still talk about
how much he set us up for the next few years.
我想很多人并不真正明白K.C. Jones为超音速队做了些什么贡献。即使只有那一年，他教
导了我们如何成熟面对比赛，面对练习，面对场下的一切事情。我跟Gary仍然常常聊到他
对我们的影响是多么大。
One of the things I struggled with early on was bringing it every single
game. In the NBA, you have to be ready to win every night. I know that’s the
cliché, but the truth is that when we started out with the Sonics, we were
lucky. They were already a .500 team, with veteran guys who knew the league.
We could go out and perform and play pretty great basketball, just on
instinct. Off the court, Gary and I would spend all of our time messing
around at bars or just goofing around wherever. We tried to have it all for a
little bit there. But the great NBA teams, they’re never taking a night off.
You dog it in practice all week and suddenly you’re playing against one of
those teams, you’re going to get beat up.
在刚踏入联盟的时候，我遇到的困境就是无法持之以恒。在NBA打球你必须每一晚都做好
充分准备，我知道这听起来像是陈腔滥调，但实际上我们进入超音速队的时候是很幸运的
。他们已经是一只胜率过半的球队，有很多熟悉这个联盟的老将，我们只需要上场凭著直
觉打球就行。在场下我跟Gary老是去酒吧或一起鬼混，我们每样新鲜的事物都想玩玩看。
但这在NBA的强队中是不会发生的，强队的球员是不会晚上出去鬼混的。你只要疏忽了练
习隔天马上就会被他们洗脸。
I remember when Xavier McDaniel told me, straight up, that we had better not
put the team through that. The other veteran guys didn’t want to waste any
time, and not only because they could actually see their windows closing. It
was because they approached the job like professionals.
Xavier McDaniel告诉我清醒点，不要再这样下去。那些老将确实用专业的态度来看待这
份工作。
Xavier and those guys saved me and Gary from having forgettable careers. They
pushed us and tried to hold us accountable. It’s funny because I was a
little easier for those vets to mentor. It definitely took some time for
everyone to understand Gary. Like I said, when I came into the NBA, I was
confident, but still a baby. I think I recognized that everyone else saw me
as this teenager who came right out of a public high school in Indiana. When
the older guys told me to do something, I did it. I didn’t ever make a thing
out of it. That’s just what anyone goes through as a rookie. Maybe you have
to carry an extra bag or grab somebody a Coke or a deck of cards. To me it
was never a big deal.
Xavier跟其他人拯救了我跟Gary. 说来有趣，因为我已经算是听话的了。大家花了很长时
间去了解Gary. 就像我说的，当我来到NBA我还是个小屁孩，但我自己也知道这点。当老
将们叫我去做事，我就会乖乖遵命，不会造次。每个人都是这样走过来的，拎个大包包或
是拿杯可乐或是纸牌，没有什么大不了的。
Gary, though. Nah. He wasn’t trying to do those things.
但对Payton来说，喔不，他可不干这种事情。
He was the second pick in the draft and he walked around like, you know,
carrying a guy’s bag wasn’t in his contract. Guys occasionally got annoyed
with him, but for the most part everyone would let stuff slide because they
knew Gary actually had the skills and the heart to back up what he said. It’
s like, even his rookie year everyone kind of saw it as — Gary could be the
future of Sonics basketball. But if you’re going to ship out every player or
coach who initially didn’t get along with him, then you’re not going to
have a very deep bench. So there was an adjustment period with Gary and
everyone. But it was worth it.
他老兄是第二顺位的选秀，帮别人拎包包可不在他的合约之内。有时候大家会感到不悦，
但大部分的时间还是会尊重他的自信与能力。就像是虽然他刚到球队，但所有人已经在他
身上看到了球队的未来。球队也因此经历了很多调整，但这一切都值得。
As Gary settled in, everyone saw how lucky we were to have him — and to not
have to play against him. Gary barking at everyone in practice motivated us.
Made us better. He was a problem, but he was our problem.
当Gary来了之后，大家都明白我们有多幸运能得到他，而不是跟他对阵。Gary在练习时同
样对我们大吼，但那激励了我们，让我们进步。他是一个大麻烦，专属于我们的大麻烦。
There’s a story Gary tells about a preseason game where he called out
Michael Jordan and MJ embarrassed him. I remember that. I think for the rest
of the team, when we saw Gary step up and get in MJ’s face, it was like …
it was symbolic. It was a big sign. A kid picking a fight with the
schoolyard bully.
有个Gary与Michael Jordan的小故事，当他挑衅了Jordan之后被洗了脸。当我们看到Gary
上前靠近了Jordan... 大家都知道大事不妙，就像某个低年级的小鬼挑战了学校的恶霸。
I’m lucky I got to see MJ in his prime, the early-’
90s-MVP-coming-to-kill-you Michael Jordan. I had only been in the league a
year at that point, but c’mon — it didn’t take anybody long to realize
that when you played Michael, you could be coming off the best game of your
life, playing at home, playing on your birthday — he could have the damn flu
— whatever. All the odds could be in your favor, and then MJ would score 25
in the first half, stick his tongue out … just take aim at your entire
organization. He lived for that.
我有幸能看到Jordan的全盛时期，90年代的MVP，遇神杀神见佛杀佛的Michael Jordan.
虽然我才刚进联盟一年，但任何人都能看的出来，你能打出你的最佳表现，在主场享受所
有优势，然后那红色光头还得了感冒... 即使是这样，Jordan还是能在上半场砍下25分，
对你吐个舌头。这就是Jordan的日常。
So when we saw how fearless Gary was with Michael, we’d encourage it. We’d
all get in his ear, tell him to keep it up, not to back down. Gary gave us
all that grit and that fight that Seattle had for a lot of years there. After
a while we sort of got a reputation. Seattle was physical. We were gonna run
our mouth. No matter if we were winning or losing, those Sonics teams were
special because we always thought we had a fighting chance.
当我们看到Gary浑身是胆的对上了Michael, 我们都站在他这边。我们靠在他耳边告诉他
尽管上，不要退却。Gary带给了西雅图奋战的精神与胆量。在那之后我们得到了一个名声
"西雅图是硬汉"。我们将嘴巴上讲过的付诸实行。不管我们赢球还输球，超音速队永
不放弃。
That was Gary’s rookie moment, and it’s not even so bad. Michael was
Michael.
这是Gary的新人年，还不算太差，Jordan就是Jordan。
When I played Bill Laimbeer for the first time, I got a little of that
medicine.
当我跟Bill Laimbeer对阵，我得到了一些真的教训。
It was 1989. I was coming off the bench as a rookie. The Bad Boys in Detroit
were still in full effect and coming off their first championship.
那是1989年，我是板凳上场的菜鸟。底特律的坏孩子正是全盛时期。
I had been playing well for a few weeks. We were winning games and I was
dunking on everybody. I’m basically thinking I’ll dominate forever, like
when you’re playing neighborhood kids with the hoop lowered.
我打了几场不错的比赛，赢了好几场球，我也灌了不少篮。
我心想我就此称霸篮坛了吧，就像我在矮篮框欺负小孩子一样。
We had the Pistons one night and it was early in the game. I got open down
low and threw it down on Bill Laimbeer. Detroit called a timeout. I was
feeling good. Running back to our huddle, I saw Laimbeer pointing at me.
然后我们对上了活塞队。我在Bill Laimbeer面前灌了篮。
底特律叫了暂停，我感觉超爽。
然后我看到Laimbeer 用手指着我。
“Is he pointing at me?”
"他在指着我吗?"
He ain’t gonna be pointing at me. I just dunked on this guy.
他没资格那样指着我。我才刚在他脸上灌了一球。
So I point right back at him.
然后我也用手指了回去。
The Bad Boys didn’t get that nickname just because they were good on
defense. They were bad dudes. They’d hurt you. I had never really played
basketball against guys like that.
底特律坏孩子并非浪得虚名，他们不是只会防守。他们绝非善类，会想办法伤害你。我从
没跟这种类型的球员打过球。
The timeout ended, we got a rebound, and on the other end somebody passed it
to me in the paint.
然后上场，我们抓到了篮板，队友传球到了我手上。
Laimbeer was behind me.
Laimbeer 站在我后面。
I don’t know what happened next. I woke up in the hospital.
我不知道发生什么事情，我只知道我在医院醒来。
I’ll tell you one thing. I get a lot more sleep than I used to.
这样说吧，我睡了很长的一觉。
All that going out, hitting the clubs with Gary after games. Feels like a
long time ago. We still get together from time to time, though. But it has
chilled out a lot.
那些跟Gary鬼混的时间已经是好久以前的事情了。我们还是会出来聚聚，但已经不像以前
那样疯狂了。
My mom and Gary’s mom have become friends. I’ve gotten to know Gary’s
family, and he’s gotten to know mine very well. We even saw our sons play
college ball against each other in Seattle, not too long ago.
我母亲跟Gary的母亲也变成了朋友，我认识了Gary的家庭，他也认识了我的。我们也看到
了我们的儿子在大学球赛彼此对阵。
It’s surreal, man. We used to joke about it all those years ago, that
someday we’d be watching our sons play basketball like we did.
这一切很不真实。我们以前老拿这种事情开玩笑，像是可以看到我们的儿子一起打球，现
在竟然已经成真了。
And now it’s like — to see it happen with both of them in college — it’s
just hard to believe. Being able to share some of the experiences we had as
players with our kids and with each others families … if you look back at
the types of men we were then, and how much has changed over so many years, it
’s crazy.
很难想像我们现在就看着他们在大学里面打着篮球，能够将自己的经验分享给他们。想想
当初我们是怎样的球员，这些年来又变了多少。
I was a father throughout my entire career as a basketball player. I missed a
lot of moments with my family while I was playing, and that’s sometimes
difficult to think about. And I can tell you that I certainly wasn’t always
the best role model to my children. But I always tried to learn. And
eventually you learn that just like basketball — a daily commitment is
important.
在我身为一个父亲的同时我的大部分时间都在打篮球。我错过了许多能与家人共处的机会
，有时候这真的令人难过。我不是一个模范父亲，但我总是在学习。
而这些就像打篮球一样，日复一日的坚持才是最重要的。
Fatherhood, basketball. It all takes time. Except in fatherhood, there are no
coaches or veteran guys looking to make sure you’re getting it right. You’
re on your own the whole way. Really, I’m just grateful for my family, my
career, and to have made some lasting friendships. Grateful for everything.
成为父亲，成为球员，都需要时间适应成长。不过父亲这一项却没有任何教练或是老将能
给你指导或训练。你必须靠你自己。我很感激我的家人一路上支持我。
“Stockton and Malone” is what me and Gary used to always say in practice.
They were the guys we looked at, first and foremost, when it came to trying
to polish our game. And it’s funny, those are two guys where you can’t
mention one of their names without automatically thinking about the other.
“Stockton 跟 Malone” 是我跟Gary老是挂在嘴边的词。他们是我们追随的目标，自始
至终。他们是一个典型的双人组，当你提到其中一位就会马上联想到另一个人的名子。
It’s an honor now when I hear people say the same thing about Gary Payton
and Shawn Kemp. It’s something beyond basketball — a history on the court
and a true friendship off the court, even all these years later.
我感到很光荣，当人们也是这样看待Gary Payton 跟Shawn Kemp的。这已经不仅仅是篮球
，除了球场上的历史还有场下的友谊，即使是多年后的今天。
I’m still out here in Seattle, man. I’ve been married 23 years now. Gone
from spending all of my time on the road to being a husband and father. I’ve
watched the city change so much, but it’s still got the same passionate
fans, and it’s still a city that loves basketball, even without a real team
to root for. Since the day I arrived, I have been treated so well by the
people here. And the love lasted much longer than my career. I was welcomed
back with open arms as soon as my playing days were over.
我还是待在西雅图呢老兄。我结婚了23年，认真地当个丈夫与父亲。我看着这个城市变了
好多，但始终有那么多热情的球迷，始终是一个热爱篮球的城市，即使现在已经没有一支
职业篮球队了。这份爱一直延续至今，超越了我的篮球生涯。即使我离开了超音速队，这
座城市还是愿意热情拥抱我。
Basketball has taken me all over the world, and after seeing so much over so
many years, I can say with absolute certainty that there’s nowhere else in
this world I’d rather be.
篮球带我环游了世界，而就在看尽了那么多的事物，我还是可以很坚决地告诉你我想要留
在这里。
But something is not right. Something’s missing. We need the Sonics back.
唯独少了一件事情。我们需要超音速队。
So many great sports moments have happened here. So many legends of the game
have had their moments in Seattle. I know that the NBA bringing in a new team
now might be a mess, but it just feels off here without the Sonics.
我们有过那么多美好的运动时刻。那么多的传奇人物在西雅图写下了光辉的时刻。我知道
NBA很难在这时候成立一支新球队。但西雅图少了超音速就是不对味。
I believe it’ll happen — we will have a team again someday. I don’t know
when, or how, but I feel it. Basketball will come back to Seattle.
我相信总有一天会发生的，我们会有一只自己的球队。篮球会回到西雅图。
And I’ll still be here when it does.
等到发生的那天，我还是会在西雅图，哪里都不去。