小牛隊的傳奇 年輕人的導師

Milwaukee — Over an hour before the Dallas Mavericks took on the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night, a jovial Dirk Nowitzki took a break from his comprehensive pre-game routine to joke with fellow big man Salah Mejri. "Stop shooting before you take all the paint off the rim," Nowitzki cracked, before telling all the rebounders they should cover their heads when he shoots.

密爾沃基當地——在達拉斯小牛隊和密爾沃基雄鹿隊週五晚比賽開始前的一小時前，快樂的德克-諾維茨基在賽前訓練的間歇休息期跟球隊裏的另一個大個子薩拉赫-梅傑裏開起了玩笑。“在你完全佔據油漆區之前別投籃。”德克笑着說道，在這之前他告訴搶籃板的人要保護好自己的頭在他投籃的時候。

In an alternate universe, right there in the Bradley Center is where Nowitzki would have spent his 20-year career. But, of course, instead of keeping Dirk after selecting him ninth 9 overall back in the 1998 NBA Draft, the Bucks dealt him to the Mavs for Robert "Tractor" Traylor — a move that obviously did not age well.

在另一個平行宇宙中，作爲雄鹿隊球員的諾維茨基正在布拉德利中心球館經歷他的第20個賽季。但是，這只是一種幻想罷了。雄鹿隊在1998年選秀第9順位選擇德克之後，並沒有把他留在隊中，反而把他交易到了小牛隊換來了羅伯特-“拖拉機”-特雷勒——一個回頭來看十分不成熟的交易。

Regardless, that he was on the floor warming up to play a game in his 20th season is not something the Bucks nor the Mavericks could have foreseen back in 1998. But there he was, going through his pre-game drills with the same enthusiasm as if it was Day One, smiling and joking with his teammates in between his awkward-looking jumpers.

不管怎麼樣，無論是雄鹿隊還是小牛隊在1998年都想象不到德克現在能做着賽前熱身——準備着他的第20個賽季的比賽。但是德克就在這片球場上，就像他生涯第一場比賽前那樣積極地做着賽前訓練，一邊笑着一邊和隊友們打趣着如今自己笨拙的彈跳。

It was, as Nowitzki's long-time teammate J.J. Barea pointed out, a testament to how much he loves the game. "I've known him for a while now, so I'm used to seeing him work. It's crazy," Barea told CBS Sports after the Mavericks' 109-102 loss. "It's crazy what he's gotta do to be out here with us, so you gotta give him a lot of credit. That's how much he loves the game."

作爲德克的老隊友，何塞-巴里亞談起了他眼裏的德克對籃球、對比賽的熱忱。“跟德克在一起這麼久了，我們經常一起訓練，所以我很瞭解他。德克對籃球真的很瘋狂，”在小牛隊以102-109輸給雄鹿隊的賽後巴里亞告訴CBS體育，“德克能夠和我們在一起比賽這真的是太瘋狂了，他應該享受足夠的讚譽，他對比賽無比的熱忱。”

But more than that, it was just a joy to watch. It's a rare and beautiful sight to watch someone who has been at the top of their craft for so long still put in the necessary work to get out there and compete — and to do it with a smile on their face. Nowitzki is no longer the player he once was, but you could never tell it from his attitude.

但更重要的是，看德克的比賽簡直是一種樂趣和享受。作爲一名成名已久的高順位球員，德克爲了在球場上有足夠的競爭力依然做着那些必不可少的訓練——同時它的臉上也浮現着微笑。雖然德克不再處於巔峯期了，但是從他對比賽的態度上你肯定看不出來這一點。

Of course, you can tell it when the game begins. Always awkward, Nowitzki's movements are much more methodical now. But even as he nears 40 years old, Nowitzki is still helping his team, both on and off the floor.

當然了，在比賽中你還是看得出來的。即使如今在球場上顯得有些笨拙，但德克的動作更加有條理了。在40歲的年齡，德克依然盡其所能在幫助着球隊，無論是在場上還是場下。

"Even though he's not the Dirk of when he was younger, he's still a great shooter, he still draws attention," Devin Harris, another of Nowitzki's long-time teammates, told CBS Sports after the game. "You know people still pay attention to him when he's out there, so it helps us offensively with spacing."

“即便他不再年輕了，但德克仍然是一位偉大的投手並在防守端吸引對方的注意，”德克的另一位老隊友德文-哈里斯在比賽後告訴CBS體育，“當德克在場上的時候，對手仍然會對他進行嚴防，所以他爲我們的進攻拉開了足夠的空間。”

And there's good reason for opponents to still pay attention to Nowitzki. Through the first 26 games of the season, he's knocking down a career-high 42.1 percent of his 3-point attempts. Plus, as the Bucks' Thon Makerexplained, he's still teaching people lessons.

還有很好的理由讓對手仍然注意着德克。在賽季的前26場比賽中，德克的三分球命中率是職業生涯新高的42.1%。不僅如此，雄鹿隊的索恩-梅克說德克仍然是他們的導師。

Recounting a story from last season — when he was a rookie — Maker told about the time he got burned by the legend the first time he faced him. Knowing Nowitzki isn't as mobile as he once was, Maker said he kept straying too far from the big man on help defense, thinking he could recover in time. Unfortunately for him, he said Nowitzki made him pay by knocking down a bunch of jumpers. "He couldn't miss," Maker said. "And everybody was like, 'because that's Dirk!' After that, I learned my lesson."

梅克說起了一個在上賽季他只是一個新秀時的故事，在第一次面對德克時他簡直要瘋了。梅克認爲德克已經不像年輕時那麼移動敏捷了，所以爲了能夠更好地保護內線在防守時就離德克很遠。不幸的是，德克用一連串的跳投得分讓他爲自己的防守付出了代價。“他根本不會投丟球，”梅克說道，“每個人都好像說‘那可是德克啊！’，在那之後，我從他身上學會了很多。”

Maker isn't the first youngster to learn a lesson from Nowitzki, and he won't be the last — no matter how much longer Nowitzki plays, which hopefully will be beyond this season. Few players have been as fun to watch as Nowitzki throughout his career, and even if he isn't who he once was, the NBA is better place with the big German around.

梅克並不是第一個從德克身上學到些東西的年輕人，當然也不會是最後一個——不論德克會接着打多久，但很有希望在下一個賽季依然能看到他。很少有球員的整個職業生涯的比賽能夠讓我們如此享受，但德克是其中一位。即使德克不再年輕了，但他的存在的確爲整個NBA增色不少。

"He's great. He's a total pro. He loves the game, loves to compete, loves to play with his teammates. He makes everybody better," Barea reflected. "So as long as he has all those qualities, he can keep playing."

“他太偉大了，他就是一個全面的超級明星，他熱愛比賽，熱愛競爭，熱愛和隊友們一起打球，他讓每個人都變得更好，”巴里亞說道，“只要德克一直身上擁有這些優良的的品質，他的職業生涯能一直延續下去。”

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