長江後浪推前浪 NBA新王之爭

"The Greek Freak, I think, is a force," Durant said in 2017. "His ceiling is probably — he could end up being the best player to ever play if he really wanted to. That's pretty scary to think about."

“希臘怪獸，我認爲，是一種力量，”杜蘭特在2017年說道。“他的上限大概是在——最終成爲有史以來最好的球員，如果他想的話。想到這個確實很可怕。

What's even scarier? Since Durant made those comments a year and a half ago, Antetokounmpo has added more than 20 pounds of muscle. The Bucks have catapulted to the top of the NBA this season, with coach Mike Budenholzer's five-out system spacing the floor for Antetokounmpo to attack the rim with ease.

更可怕的是？自從一年半前杜蘭特發表那些評論，字母哥已經增重20磅。本賽季雄鹿隊高居榜首，稱霸全聯盟，在主教練邁克·布登霍爾澤的五出戰術下，讓字母哥能輕殺到籃下。

He won the NBA's Most Improved Player Award in 2017, and he has been named the league's player of the month three times. He has made the All-NBA Second Team twice, and he was voted into his third All-Star game this season, this time a captain. Perhaps a less formal decoration — the title of best player in the league — is not far 's easy to forget Antetokounmpo is only 24 and he is still getting better — even though he already is in the MVP conversation.

他贏得2017年NBA最快進步球員獎，已經三次獲得聯盟月最佳球員。兩次當選聯盟全明星二陣，本賽季是他第三次入選全明星正賽，這次他還是隊長。或許這不是一個正式的稱號—聯盟最佳球員—已經不遠了。很難忘記字母哥還只有24歲，而且他還在變強—儘管他已經在MVP的話題之中了。

Luka Doncic, at 19 years old, already has earned his way into LeBron James' excive company, in terms of all-around production as NBA teens. Nobody else arrived in the NBA as the most hyped European prospect ever, and he has exceeded expectations so far with the Dallas Mavericks, who expedited their rebuilding process in part because Doncic is already a dominant force.

19歲的盧卡東契奇，通過努力進入勒布詹姆斯的公司。作爲一名新秀，東契奇各方面表現是最好，作爲歐洲最具天賦球員登錄NBA，他已經超過達拉斯獨行俠的加速球隊重建過程的預期，某種程度上因爲東契奇已經是球隊基石。

"I love the fact that he loves carrying the load," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said Sunday after Doncic scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Mavs to a comeback win over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers. "He has great belief in himself, and he's one of these dynamic young players that has the charisma to give his teammates confidence."

“我欣賞他願意承擔責任的事實，” 達拉斯小牛教練裏克卡萊爾在東契奇在第四節拿到他28分中的13分，帶領球隊逆轉取勝到訪的波特蘭開拓者隊。“他有很強的信念，他是那些最具活力球員中的一位，他有那份給球員自信的魅力。”

Doncic was a proven winner before he played a minute in the NBA, having led Slovenia to a EuroBasket championship and Real Madrid to Spanish league and Euroleague titles. He possesses the intangible quality required to have a chance to take over the title as the NBA's best player: the ability to thrive under pressure.

在NBA打球之前，他已經是一位被證明過的勝利者。他帶領斯洛文尼亞贏得了歐洲籃球錦標賽冠軍，並帶領皇家馬德里贏得了西班牙聯賽和歐洲聯賽的冠軍。他擁有一種無形的品質，需要有機會接管NBA最好的球員的頭銜：在壓力下茁壯成長的能力

When running through a list of the things that would allow a player to become the face of the NBA today, Joel Embiid checks every one of them.

當瀏覽一份誰將成爲當今NBA代言人的名單時，恩比德是通過檢查的最佳人選。

For starters, he is a tremendous player. Despite missing two full seasons and most of a third with injuries, the 24-year-old is one of the NBA's most gifted stars. He is an efficient hub of the Philadelphia 76ers' offense and a massive anchor of the team's defense, making him one of the league's most valuable players. His ascent has been the biggest reason the 76ers have risen from the rubble of The Process to one of the league's elite teams.

首先，他是一個偉大的球員。儘管錯過了兩個完整的賽季，並且有三分之一的時間是受傷的，這位24歲的球員是NBA最有天賦的球星之一。他是費城76人隊進攻的有效中樞，也是球隊防守的重要支柱，使他成爲聯盟最有價值的球員之一。他的崛起是76人從這一過程的廢墟中崛起爲聯盟頂級球隊的最大原因。

On top of that, Embiid also has a personality specifically built for today's media environment. His social media game — whether it be Instagram posts or tweets — is entertaining, and he plays to the camera in virtually every setting. He is, in every way, the modern embodiment of Shaquille O'Neal — another guy who, for a time, was arguably the face of the league.

除此之外，恩比德還有一種爲當今媒體環境量身打造的個性。他的社交媒體遊戲——不管是Instagram上的帖子還是twitter上的帖子——都很有趣，他幾乎在任何場景下都對着鏡頭玩。從各方面來看，他都是沙奎爾·奧尼爾的現代化身——在一段時間內，他可以說是聯盟的代表人物。

Anthony Davis already has the hard part out of the way: the nickname. He's The Brow. And with one of the most complete, dominating skill sets in the league, he has the other big thing: He's a league power broker, able to shift the balance depending on what he does.

安東尼·戴維斯已經有了最難的部分：綽號。他的額頭。擁有聯盟最全面、最具統治力的技能，他還有另一件重要的事情：他是聯盟的權力掮客，能夠根據自己的行爲改變平衡。

Big market, small market, it doesn't especially matter. But should Davis complete a move to a different franchise, what elevates stardom isn't necessarily your new zip code. It's visibility when it matters: Davis has played in the postseason twice and made it to the second round once, but to make a case for being the face of the league, he has to dominate on the biggest stage. That's the critical element behind whatever decision he makes.

大市場，小市場，這不是特別重要。但是，如果戴維斯完成了向不同的特許經營的遷移，提升明星地位的並不一定是你的新郵政編碼。重要的是可見度：戴維斯打進季後賽二次，並進入了第二輪，但要想成爲聯盟的代言人，他必須變得更有統治力。這就是他做出任何決定背後的關鍵因素。

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