来源：The Athletic
作者：Chris Kirschner Feb 27, 2019
网址：
https://theathletic.com/837429/2019/02/26/how-hawks-rookie-trae-young-found-a-co
nnection-with-superstar-chris-paul/?access_token=7409245
Title:
How Hawks rookie Trae Young found a connection with superstar Chris Paul?
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HOUSTON — Trae Young’s perspective on basketball changed in one night in Novem
ber 2016. As with almost every Oklahoma City Thunder home game since the team’s
relocation from Seattle, Young and his father, Ray, were sitting in Section 121
, Row X, Seats 3-4. Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers had come to town, wh
ich meant another opportunity for Trae to meet one of his favorite players in th
e league.
在 2016 年 11 月的一个晚上，Trae Young对篮球的看法发生了变化。自从球队从西雅图搬
迁以来，几乎每一场俄克拉荷马城雷霆主场比赛，Young和他的父亲都坐在第 121 区，X 排
，座位 3- 4. 等待着Chris Paul与快艇队的来到，这意味着Trae又有机会见到他在联盟中
最喜欢的球员之一。
Young was a senior at Norman North High School and one of the top recruits in th
e country. He had first met Paul when he was 7 years old during Paul’s rookie y
ear, 2005-06, when the New Orleans Hornets had temporarily relocated to Oklahoma
City because of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation.
Young是诺曼北高中的一名四年级学生，也是该地区最优秀的新生之一。他第一次见到Paul
是在他的新秀赛季，2005-06 赛季，当时新奥尔良黄蜂队因卡崔纳飓风的破坏而暂时搬迁到
俄克拉荷马城。
But it was that night during Young’s senior year of high school, as the two tal
ked inside the tunnel of Chesapeake Energy Arena, that Paul made his biggest imp
ression on the young player.
就是在他高三的那个晚上，当两人在切萨皮克能源球场的走廊交谈时，Paul给这位年轻球员
留下了深刻的印象。
Paul challenged Young to discover his intrinsic motivation for playing the game.
Was it because he wanted fame or fortune? Was it because he wanted to provide f
or his family? Paul told Young that once he found the reason, his sense of motiv
ation would transform.
Paul要Trae去寻找他打球的初衷为何。是为名利吗？还是为了养家糊口？他告诉Trae，一旦
找到了自己的目的，他的打球的动力就会完全不同了。
For Young, the answer rested with his grandfather, to whom he was close before t
he older man passed away. His grandfather always told Trae that he was going to
make it to the NBA one day. Shortly after that conversation with Paul, Trae went
to his grandfather’s grave and placed a bracelet on the tombstone. Engraved on
the bracelet was this phrase: “What is your why?”
对于Young来说，这个答案无庸置疑是他最亲密的祖父。祖父生前总是告诉Trae，他总有一
天会进入 NBA。在不久后，他去了祖父坟前，在墓碑上放了一个手镯，而那只手镯上刻着一
句话：”你将为何而战？”
“Ever since then, I started carrying myself differently and started thinking ab
out the game differently,” Young said. “I realized that night that I don’t pl
ay for myself. I play for others.”
“从那之后，我更加真诚的对待自己，并开始以不同的方式看待比赛，”Young说。 “那天
晚上我意识到了我不只是为自己打球。”
The relationship between Young and Paul has grown so strong over the years that
the Hawks rookie point guard still turns to the Rockets superstar for advice. In
high school, he would text and call Paul for tips on how he should handle his r
ecruitment. During his year at Oklahoma, he would ask Paul how he should handle
the overwhelming fame brought his way and the constant dissection of every play
by fans and media around the country. Now that Young is in the NBA, it’s Paul w
ho has told him that the fandom he held for Paul, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and
Russell Westbrook had to stop. It’s fine to recognize and respect their games,
but it shouldn’t go further than that, Paul told him.
多年来，Trae和Paul的关系早已根深柢固，如今这位老鹰队的新秀控球仍然会从那个火箭队
的超级巨星寻求建议。在高中时，他会发短信并打电话给Paul，询问他应该如何处理大学的
招聘。在俄克拉荷马大学那一年，他会问保罗怎么面对那铺天盖地而来的名声以及各路球迷
、媒体对他的评论。如今他已是个NBA球员，Paul提醒他，他不能再把自己当作一个Paul、J
ames、Durant、Westbrook的粉丝，尊敬他们的比赛很好，但也仅此就好。
That hasn’t been an issue for Young during his rookie season. He’s always had
that mindset, and it’s something he’s picked up from Paul and Westbrook when h
e was growing up in Oklahoma and going to Hornets and Thunder games.
而在他的新秀赛季，这对Young来说显然并不是个问题。他一直保持着竞争的心态，这是他
在家乡俄克拉荷马州从黄蜂队和雷霆队的Paul和Westbrook身上学到的。
“Whenever I play against you, we’re not friends anymore. We’re enemies,” You
ng said. “We’re competing against each other, and that’s how I look at it. We
could be friends and talk afterwards, but once we’re on the court, none of tha
t matters to me. I only care about winning and taking care of business.”
“每当我们站上战场时，我们就是敌人了”Young这样说。 “我们是竞争对手，我是这么想
的”我们可以在赛后像朋友一样谈笑风生，但是一旦站上了战场，我脑中只有赢球。”
Young dropped a career-high 36 points and eight 3-pointers Monday night against
Paul and the Rockets. A few hours before the game, his father reminded him not t
o get caught up in the moment of playing against one of his mentors, that Paul i
s the type of player who might throw an elbow in your chest and try to get into
your head. The only time Young lets the realization of going up against his idol
s get to him is during warm-ups. Young said he looks across the court before gam
es and soaks up the moment. After introductions, however, the feelings of awe ar
e over.
周一晚上对阵Paul和火箭队的比赛中，Young得到生涯新高的 36 分和 8 个三分球。比赛前
几个小时，父亲提醒他不要在与其心灵导师比赛时陷入困境，Paul可是那种可能会暗拐并试
图惹恼你的球员。Young则说，他唯一一次意识到他可是要对抗他的偶像是在热身期间，他
在比赛前环顾球场并享受着这一刻。然而，在比赛开始之后，那份敬畏之情也结束了。
After the Rockets beat the Hawks on Monday night, Houston head coach Mike D’Ant
oni went up to Paul and said, “Man, he can play.” Paul laughed and said, “Yea
h, I already knew that.” Young has been to several of Paul’s camps through the
years, and the Houston guard knew Young was going to be a problem when he got t
o the league.
在周一晚上火箭队击败老鹰队后，休斯顿主教练Mike D’Antoni 走到Paul面前说：“伙计
，他很能打。”Paul笑着回应：“当然，我早就知道了。”多年来，Trae去过他的几个训练
营，而他知道Young在进入联盟之后会是一个大麻烦。
“I knew that right away because he’s ultra-competitive,” Paul told The Athlet
ic. “He’s fun to watch because he’s so skilled. I think that’s what people m
ay miss when watching him. His handles, man. He can come off a ball screen, and
he can stop and whip it to the other side of the court with his left hand.
“我马上就知道了，因为他总是非常有竞争力，”他告诉 The Athletic。 “我非常享受他
的比赛，因为他的技术无可挑剔。我想人们在看他的比赛时很容易忽略他的持球有多高明。
他非常能利用掩护、急停、变向换手等技术。
“It ain’t maybe four or five guys in the entire NBA that can do that, and he d
oes it efficiently. He’s only going to get better and better.”
“整个NBA可能不到四五个人能做到这一点，而他可以，而且他只会越来越好。”
Paul watches games around the league every night. He has watched several Hawks g
ames because of his relationship with Young, as well as with John Collins, who s
hares a bond because both went to Wake Forest, and head coach Lloyd Pierce. Befo
re the game, Paul went over to the Hawks’ bench and dapped Pierce up. After the
game, Paul hugged Young and told him to keep going and stay patient.
Paul每晚都会看比赛。由于他俩的关系，他也观看了几场老鹰的比赛，那里还有Collins ,L
loyd，他们则是同样来自维克森林大学的学弟和主教练。赛前，Paul会走到老鹰队的替补席
上，给Lloyd寒暄几句。比赛结束后，他拥抱了Young，并告诉他继续前进并保持耐心。
Paul said the reason he takes pride in mentoring Young is because of the rookie
’s desire to continually get better and because Young makes it a point to stay
in touch. Paul said some players ask for advice, and that’s it. Even now, when
Young sees Paul have a good night on the floor, he’ll send quick “good game, b
ro” texts. Even for someone of Paul’s stature, that means something.
Paul说道，他为指导Young而感到自豪的原因是因为他随时渴望变得更好，并且他知道Young
对此有多珍惜、多重视。他提到有些球员也会征求意见，但仅此而已。即使是现在，当Youn
g看到Paul有好表现时，他也会快速发送讯息 “干得好，兄弟” 。即使对于Paul如此地位
的人来说，这也意义重大。
“Even now, when I’m watching games, I keep in touch with him,” Paul said. “I
f someone keeps in touch with you, you’re going to want to keep in touch with t
hem. I’m always willing to help someone who wants the help.”
“即使是现在，当我看比赛时，我也会和他保持联系，”Paul 说。 “如果有人时时与你保
持联系，你也会与他们有所连结。我一直愿意帮助那些想要寻求帮助的人。”
Paul has heard the criticism about Young’s game since the rookie was in high sc
hool and playing AAU basketball, which Paul is heavily involved in. Young has al
ways felt like he had something to prove because of his height. Watching Paul in
person during his rookie year gave Young the confidence that a small point guar
d could make it in the NBA. Paul still counsels Young to use those doubts as fue
l.
Paul从Young高中和打AAU开始就听到了关于Young的批评，而他也很在意这些。就好像是因
为Young的身高问题，他总是需要向世人证明些什么，即使他已经验证过了。而在亲眼目睹P
aul的新秀赛季后，Young开始相信一个小个子控球后卫可以在 NBA 取得成功。至今Paul仍
然建议他将这些质疑作为自己的燃料。
“You hear some of the visiting commentators talk about the deep threes he takes
when they don’t go in, and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, who does he think he is? Wh
y is he pulling up from that deep?'” Paul said. “He’s been doing that since h
e’s been playing AAU. He’s more than capable of making those shots. When he wa
s in college, I told him that the NBA is going to be easier than college because
the court is so open. When he can handle the ball like that, he’s a handful.
“当他的大号三分没投进时，你会听到一些客座评论员对此品头论足，他们会说，‘哦，他
以为他是谁？他为什么要从那么远的地方拔起来？'”Paul说。 “自从他打 AAU 以来，他
就一直在这样做，所以我敢说他绝对有能力投进这些球。当在大学时，我告诉他NBA将会比
大学更容易，因为球场是如此开放(三分线更远？）当他能那样控球时，他会变得很难对付
。
“I couldn’t shoot it like that when I came into the league — hell, I still ca
n’t shoot like that right now. I used to talk to him all of the time about defe
nse because when you’re a young guy in this league, one of the biggest things y
ou have to do is learn how to defend. Once he keeps working on that, he’s going
to be fine.”
“当我进入联盟时，我不能像他那样投篮——唉别说了，既使现在仍然不能。我一直和他谈
论防守，当你还年轻时，你最重要的事情之一就是学习如何防守。一旦你持续为此努力，一
切都会水到渠成。”
Seven hours before Young’s stellar night against Paul and the Rockets, he sat o
n one of the courtside chairs inside the Toyota Center and talked about his bond
with Paul and what he has learned from the Houston guard through the years. He
talked about the alpha mentality the two share, the belief that he is better tha
n the point guard he’s going up against that night.
在Young对阵Paul的七个小时前，他坐在丰田中心的一张场边椅子上，谈论了他与Paul的关
系以及多年来从他那里学到的东西。他谈到了两人共有的领袖心态，总是相信自己比当晚所
对抗的对手更好。
He also talked about the Rookie of the Year race with Luka Doncic, the player he
’ll forever be linked to because of the draft-night trade between Atlanta and D
allas. Young smiled when asked about the consensus from the media that the race
is already over and the award is essentially waiting for Doncic. Young proceeded
to have his best game of the season on the same night Doncic finished with a tr
iple-double against Paul’s former team, the Clippers.
他还谈到了与Doncic竞争年度最佳新秀，由于亚特兰大和达拉斯选秀夜的交易，他俩将永远
被联系在一起做比较。当被问及媒体一致认为奖项基本上在等待Doncic时，他笑了。而在Do
ncic对阵Paul老东家快艇的比赛中拿到了大三元的夜晚，Trae也打出了他本赛季最好的一场
比赛。
“I don’t think the race is over,” Young said. “At the same time, that’s not
really my main focus. But I don’t think the Rookie of the Year race is over ju
st yet. You see guys come out all of the time super hot and get all of the hype
and deservedly so. Luka has had a terrific year so far. But there’s been multip
le times where there’s been co-winners, or it’s been flipped at the end just l
ike last year with Donovan (Mitchell) and Ben (Simmons).”
“我认为比赛还没有结束，”Young说。 “虽然这并不是我的重心，但我认为年度最佳新秀
的竞争还没有结束。你会看到人们火热的炒作而且这是当之无愧的，Doncic有着非常棒的赛
季。但也有时会有两位以上球员共享殊荣，或者像去年Mitchell与Simmons一样在最后被翻
转。”
Even if Young doesn’t win the award, Paul believes he is going to have a long c
areer in the league because of his work ethic and his success in the pick-and-ro
ll game. Paul said the pick-and-roll is “what the NBA is about, for the most pa
rt,” and Young’s court vision and the ability to make something happen every t
ime he’s on the offensive end of the floor separate him from many players aroun
d the league. The court is just more open for guards who can handle the ball the
way Young does.
即使Young没有获奖，Paul仍相信由于他的职业精神以及他在挡拆战术的成功，他将在联盟
中拥有很长的职业生涯。Paul说到，在大多数情况下，是挡拆战术即NBA比赛的核心，而You
ng的球场视野以及他在进攻端的创造性将他提升到与许多球员不同的档次。如今对于能像Yo
ung那样控球的后卫来说，球场更加的开放。
As for Young, he’s going to continue to ask Paul for advice whenever he can bec
ause he’s reminded every time they talk that an undersized point guard can exce
l in the league.
至于Young，他在任何时候仍会继续向Paul征求意见，因为每次Paul持续证明著矮个子球员
也能在联盟中出类拔萃。
“He saw this short point guard from Wake Forest out on the floor doing work,”
said Young’s father, Ray. “You have to be able to believe that you can do it,
too. I can preach to him until I’m blue in the face that he’s good enough and
can make it, but until you see it like Trae saw it with Chris, that’s when he r
eally believed it could happen for him, too.”
“他看到这个来自维克森林的矮个控卫在场上竞争，”Young的父亲说道。 “也许我能持续
说服他要相信自己也能做到，也许我能一直讲到他能做到为止。
但是，当我看到Young目不转睛的盯着Paul在场上所做到的一切，我能肯定，在那当下，他
才真正相信这也会降临在他身上。”
Said Young: “The way Chris carries himself, the way he gives back and the way h
e is with younger players is the same way I want to be when I get older.”
Young提到：“像Chris这样证明自己、回馈后辈以及与年轻球员相处的方式，就是我以后想
要成为的样子。”
心得：师傅跟徒弟有机会对决吗？
作者：
Chris Kirschner is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Atlanta Hawks. H
e previously covered Alabama recruiting for SEC Country, where he covered the Cr
imson Tide's past two national championship game appearances. Follow Chris on Tw
itter @chriskirschner.