Shawn Kemp 我想念超音速 - NBA

有點久的文章，但沒球賽看閒閒還是順手翻了下。

https://goo.gl/Ksa8f3

I Miss the Sonics - by Shawn Kemp
我想念超音速隊

People will come up to me when they see me in Seattle and say stuff like, “
Hey, where you living these days, man?”
當人們在西雅圖遇見我，總是會問，
「嘿，這些日子你到哪去了？」

“Seattle, man. I never left.”
「我一直在西雅圖，沒有離開過。」

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.
沒人相信我打從1989之後就沒離開過。97年我到了騎士隊打球，在生涯告終前又跑了些地
方。但就算我在義大利打球的那段日子裡，我在西雅圖的房子始終在那。我從來沒懷疑過
我會回來的。這裡變了很多，雖然文化內涵還是相同，但變了很多。

But man, the city’s just not the same without basketball. It’s not like it
used to be.
沒有了籃球之後，這城市不再像以前一樣了。

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.
回想起來很有趣，89年我是全NBA最年輕的傢伙，而當時的我也明白我根本什麼事都不懂
。這對我來說沒什麼大不了。我很年輕，我很想表現，我想要在別人面前灌籃，我想要
晚上去鬼混，然後隔天再繼續灌籃。

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.
當時的我很幸運。很多像我有這樣心態的球員基本上都撐不了多久。我來到西雅圖後我向
Xavier McDaniel, Nate McMillan, Michael Cage這些老將學了很多。他們告訴我球賽不
是只有灌籃。

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對我來說是個很大的改變。我這個小屁孩得開始守規矩，每天到健身房苦練
，研究球員報告，開始真正去學習籃球。他們總說「這是你的工作」，但一直到你有正確
的態度之後，才會真正變成了那麼一回事。

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.
我的新人年讓我成長了一些些。第二個球季開始我準備好要大幹一場，沒人可以阻止我。

We had the second pick in the draft that year.
那一年我們有第二順位的選秀權。

We picked up this cat named Gary Payton.
我們選了個叫Gary Payton的傢伙。

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，享譽全美。被刊在運動雜誌之類的。

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.
我還記得我第一次看到他打球，那是我的新人年，一個星期五的下午。我們的大老闆Bob
Whitsitt打電話給我，他告訴我打開電視看場大學比賽，因為有個叫Gary的小鬼可能會成
為我的隊友。當大老闆打電話給你做球探是很酷的事情。我想要表現的很專業，當個
好隊友，認真的做好我的工作。

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.
你知道我記得最清楚的是甚麼嗎？Gary的鬼吼鬼叫。不是他的運球或是他的防守，是他在
鬼吼鬼叫。他跟每個人說話，從一進場到比賽結束，他不斷在講話。是很憤怒的那種。不
管是隊友還是對手，板凳上的人，對方的球迷，裁判... 無論是誰，沒人能逃過。我還記
得我特地坐到電視旁邊想聽清楚他跟對方教練說了些甚麼...
對方教練耶我的天！他還只是一個大學的小鬼！我愛上這傢伙了。
Gary不管對誰都能說上兩句。

He ended up finishing with 58, if I’m not mistaken.
我沒記錯的話，他那場得了58分。

Right when the game ended, I called up our management.
比賽結束後我打電話給我們的管理團隊。

“If we get a guy like this, you won’t have to do anything to motivate me.”
「如果他在我們隊中，你就不必再擔心我對比賽有沒有熱情。」

That’s what I told them.
我就是這麼跟他們說的。

“We gotta get Gary. The two of us will go on a tear.”
「我們得想辦法得到他。我們兩個會屌翻天。」

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.
我菜鳥年的時候Bernie Bickerstaff是我們的教練。然後K.C. Jones在隔年取代了他，也
就是Gary的菜鳥年。Gary跟K.C.處的並不好。但就在多年以後我跟Gary仍然不斷在談論
K.C.教導過我們的東西，他對我們的成長過程有多麼重要。他很強硬，你必須知道，K.C.
是從賽爾提克那麼一個有悠久冠軍歷史的隊伍來的，他帶領過那麼多出色的球員，像是
Larry Bird 與 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.
然後他現在必須帶領Kemp跟Payton, 兩個乳臭未乾的小子。我們很有天賦，我們只是不知
道該怎麼運用。

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.
我想很多人並不真正明白K.C. Jones為超音速隊做了些甚麼貢獻。即使只有那一年，他教
導了我們如何成熟面對比賽，面對練習，面對場下的一切事情。我跟Gary仍然常常聊到他
對我們的影響是多麼大。

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.
在剛踏入聯盟的時候，我遇到的困境就是無法持之以恆。在NBA打球你必須每一晚都做好
充分準備，我知道這聽起來像是陳腔濫調，但實際上我們進入超音速隊的時候是很幸運的
。他們已經是一隻勝率過半的球隊，有很多熟悉這個聯盟的老將，我們只需要上場憑著直
覺打球就行。在場下我跟Gary老是去酒吧或一起鬼混，我們每樣新鮮的事物都想玩玩看。
但這在NBA的強隊中是不會發生的，強隊的球員是不會晚上出去鬼混的。你只要疏忽了練
習隔天馬上就會被他們洗臉。

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告訴我清醒點，不要再這樣下去。那些老將確實用專業的態度來看待這
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. 說來有趣，因為我已經算是聽話的了。大家花了很長時
間去了解Gary. 就像我說的，當我來到NBA我還是個小屁孩，但我自己也知道這點。當老
將們叫我去做事，我就會乖乖遵命，不會造次。每個人都是這樣走過來的，拎個大包包或
是拿杯可樂或是紙牌，沒有甚麼大不了的。

Gary, though. Nah. He wasn’t trying to do those things.
但對Payton來說，喔不，他可不幹這種事情。

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.
他老兄是第二順位的選秀，幫別人拎包包可不在他的合約之內。有時候大家會感到不悅，
但大部分的時間還是會尊重他的自信與能力。就像是雖然他剛到球隊，但所有人已經在他
身上看到了球隊的未來。球隊也因此經歷了很多調整，但這一切都值得。

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.
當Gary來了之後，大家都明白我們有多幸運能得到他，而不是跟他對陣。Gary在練習時同
樣對我們大吼，但那激勵了我們，讓我們進步。他是一個大麻煩，專屬於我們的大麻煩。

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.
有個Gary與Michael Jordan的小故事，當他挑釁了Jordan之後被洗了臉。當我們看到Gary
上前靠近了Jordan... 大家都知道大事不妙，就像某個低年級的小鬼挑戰了學校的惡霸。

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的全盛時期，90年代的MVP，遇神殺神見佛殺佛的Michael Jordan.
雖然我才剛進聯盟一年，但任何人都能看的出來，你能打出你的最佳表現，在主場享受所
有優勢，然後那紅色光頭還得了感冒... 即使是這樣，Jordan還是能在上半場砍下25分，
對你吐個舌頭。這就是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.
當我們看到Gary渾身是膽的對上了Michael, 我們都站在他這邊。我們靠在他耳邊告訴他
儘管上，不要退卻。Gary帶給了西雅圖奮戰的精神與膽量。在那之後我們得到了一個名聲
"西雅圖是硬漢"。我們將嘴巴上講過的付諸實行。不管我們贏球還輸球，超音速隊永
不放棄。

That was Gary’s rookie moment, and it’s not even so bad. Michael was
Michael.
這是Gary的新人年，還不算太差，Jordan就是Jordan。

When I played Bill Laimbeer for the first time, I got a little of that
medicine.
當我跟Bill Laimbeer對陣，我得到了一些真的教訓。

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，我是板凳上場的菜鳥。底特律的壞孩子正是全盛時期。

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.
我打了幾場不錯的比賽，贏了好幾場球，我也灌了不少籃。
我心想我就此稱霸籃壇了吧，就像我在矮籃框欺負小孩子一樣。

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.
然後我們對上了活塞隊。我在Bill Laimbeer面前灌了籃。
底特律叫了暫停，我感覺超爽。
然後我看到Laimbeer 用手指著我。

“Is he pointing at me?”
"他在指著我嗎?"

He ain’t gonna be pointing at me. I just dunked on this guy.
他沒資格那樣指著我。我才剛在他臉上灌了一球。

So I point right back at him.
然後我也用手指了回去。

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.
底特律壞孩子並非浪得虛名，他們不是只會防守。他們絕非善類，會想辦法傷害你。我從
沒跟這種類型的球員打過球。

The timeout ended, we got a rebound, and on the other end somebody passed it
to me in the paint.
然後上場，我們抓到了籃板，隊友傳球到了我手上。

Laimbeer was behind me.
Laimbeer 站在我後面。

I don’t know what happened next. I woke up in the hospital.
我不知道發生甚麼事情，我只知道我在醫院醒來。

I’ll tell you one thing. I get a lot more sleep than I used to.
這樣說吧，我睡了很長的一覺。

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鬼混的時間已經是好久以前的事情了。我們還是會出來聚聚，但已經不像以前
那樣瘋狂了。

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.
我母親跟Gary的母親也變成了朋友，我認識了Gary的家庭，他也認識了我的。我們也看到
了我們的兒子在大學球賽彼此對陣。

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.
這一切很不真實。我們以前老拿這種事情開玩笑，像是可以看到我們的兒子一起打球，現
在竟然已經成真了。

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.
很難想像我們現在就看著他們在大學裏面打著籃球，能夠將自己的經驗分享給他們。想想
當初我們是怎樣的球員，這些年來又變了多少。


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.
在我身為一個父親的同時我的大部分時間都在打籃球。我錯過了許多能與家人共處的機會
，有時候這真的令人難過。我不是一個模範父親，但我總是在學習。
而這些就像打籃球一樣，日復一日的堅持才是最重要的。

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.
成為父親，成為球員，都需要時間適應成長。不過父親這一項卻沒有任何教練或是老將能
給你指導或訓練。你必須靠你自己。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老是掛在嘴邊的詞。他們是我們追隨的目標，自始
至終。他們是一個典型的雙人組，當你提到其中一位就會馬上聯想到另一個人的名子。

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.
我感到很光榮，當人們也是這樣看待Gary Payton 跟Shawn Kemp的。這已經不僅僅是籃球
，除了球場上的歷史還有場下的友誼，即使是多年後的今天。

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.
我還是待在西雅圖呢老兄。我結婚了23年，認真地當個丈夫與父親。我看著這個城市變了
好多，但始終有那麼多熱情的球迷，始終是一個熱愛籃球的城市，即使現在已經沒有一支
職業籃球隊了。這份愛一直延續至今，超越了我的籃球生涯。即使我離開了超音速隊，這
座城市還是願意熱情擁抱我。

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.
籃球帶我環遊了世界，而就在看盡了那麼多的事物，我還是可以很堅決地告訴你我想要留
在這裡。

But something is not right. Something’s missing. We need the Sonics back.
唯獨少了一件事情。我們需要超音速隊。

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.
我們有過那麼多美好的運動時刻。那麼多的傳奇人物在西雅圖寫下了光輝的時刻。我知道
NBA很難在這時候成立一支新球隊。但西雅圖少了超音速就是不對味。

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.
我相信總有一天會發生的，我們會有一隻自己的球隊。籃球會回到西雅圖。

And I’ll still be here when it does.
等到發生的那天，我還是會在西雅圖，哪裡都不去。

--