克雷湯普森的超然價值

In the summer of 2016, the Warriors made good on an unprecedented opportunity. An artificial spike in the salary cap left even the best teams in the league with the potential to create max-level cap room.

2016年的夏天，勇士隊把握住了一個前所未有的機遇。工資帽的上漲讓聯盟中最強的隊伍們都有了創造最大薪資空間的潛能。

Golden State had eyes for Kevin Durant, whose free agency was, in itself, a monumental event within the league.

勇士隊的目光鎖定了杜蘭特，杜蘭特成爲自由球員本來就是聯盟的一大事件。

Realistically, Golden State had but this one actionable opportunity to make use of its space; even if the Warriors hadn't spent a penny that summer, the imminent free agency of Stephen Curry (then among the league's most underpaid players) and Andre Iguodala would have swallowed Golden State's newfound flexibility whole.

現實點說，金州只有這一個可行動的利用他們薪資空間的機會，即便勇士隊在那個夏天不花一分錢，但斯蒂芬-庫裏（當時聯盟中薪水最低於實力的球員）和安德烈-伊戈達拉都即將成爲自由球員了，這倆人也會吞下勇士薪資空間新的靈活性。

As such, the timing had aligned perfectly for the Warriors to offer Durant something that no other team could.

因此，去年夏天對於勇士來說是一個完美的時機，他們可以提供給杜蘭特其他隊無法給予的東西。

The appeal was obvious. But it was because Curry was so underpaid that the Warriors could logistically afford to add Durant to a team that already had three All-NBA players.

勇士隊的吸引力是顯而易見的。但這是因爲庫裏的童工合同的福利使得勇士可以運籌帷幄，在隊內已有三名全明星球員的基礎上再引援杜蘭特。

It was because of Draymond Green's playing style that Golden State became the unstoppable ball movers that they did, which in turn spoke to Durant's sensibilities. And it was through Klay Thompson, perhaps above all, that the entire arrangement made sense.

這也是因爲德拉蒙德-格林的球風使得勇士又重新樹立了不可阻擋球的風格，反過來這一點對杜蘭特的情感產生了影響。這也離不開克萊-湯普森，也許是所有的這些安排結合在一起才發揮了作用。

That so much thought went into how Curry and Durant would coexist as teammates hints at why Thompson has been such a perfect fit for these Warriors: no matter the talent around him, Thompson's comfort—and success—can be fairly assumed.

很多人都在思考庫裏和杜蘭特作爲隊友應該如何共存，這也暗示了爲什麼湯普森能夠如此完美地適合勇士：無論身邊的隊友是誰，湯普森都可以舒適且成功地打球，這一點是完全可以設想到的。

Stars are often glorified for the ways in which their games scale upward. Russell Westbrook, in the wake of Durant's departure, took his superstar production to outlandish new extremes.

球星們常常會爲以某種方式提升自己的比賽水準而感到榮耀。拉塞爾-威斯布魯克，在杜蘭特離開之後，特立獨行地將自己打造成一個新極端的超級巨星。

James Harden made a legitimate MVP case by assuming even more creative responsibility than he had previously—quite a feat for a player who had already averaged 29 points per game.

詹姆斯-哈登，比以往更具創造性地承擔了更多的責任，這讓他理所應當地進入了MVP的討論—這對於一個場均29分的球員來說是非常了不起的。

Thompson, by contrast, has shown the virtue of scaling down. There is no other team in the league for whom Thompson would be the fourth-best player.

相比之下的湯普森卻有了一定規模的縮水。聯盟中再也沒有一支球隊可以讓湯普森做四當家了。

It is not a criticism to say that he is underutilized; the Warriors themselves won a title and mounted the winningest season in NBA history with Thompson playing a larger role. Still he found his footing once Durant arrived, all with an ease rare among players of his caliber.

這並不是在批評他沒有得到充分利用，在勇士贏得冠軍和創造了勝場最多NBA歷史記錄的那兩個賽季，湯普森在隊內都扮演了比現在更重要的角色。在杜蘭特加盟之後他仍能找準自己的位置，這在他這個水準的運動員上是實屬罕見的。

Thompson was made for the superteam era. The focus of his game locks him into a healthy, streamlined role.

湯普森是爲超級球隊時代而生的。他的比賽特點使得他擔任的角色健康且合理。

What Thompson does with those touches is incredible; without ever dribbling the ball, Thompson flashes around screens to create shots that wouldn't be there otherwise.

湯普森的觸球數是不可思議的，在幾乎沒有運球的情況下湯普森繞場掩護創造出不可思議的投籃。

Some shooters are made to be passive participants in the offense. What elevates Thompson is his activity. There is nothing in the league more dangerous than a shooter on the move, and Thompson works to make that danger ever present in the minds of his opponents.

有些射手則是被動參與進攻。提升湯普森的正是他的運動性。在聯盟中沒有比跑動中的射手更危險的了，而湯普森的工作就在於讓對手們意識到這種危險。

It's a wonder that he never stops. Even when the ball doesn't find him (as is inevitable on a team with this much firepower), Thompson still runs. Even when his shot isn't falling, Thompson still pursues his openings as if it were. And no matter the course of Thompson's offense in general, he commits fully to checking the most dangerous opposing guards.

他從未停止跑動，這真是奇妙。即便球沒有傳給他（這在一支火力充足的球隊中是難以避免的），湯普森也仍在跑動。即便他的投籃命中率下降，他也一如既往地追求空位投籃機會。無論湯普森的進攻狀態如何，他都會拼盡全力去防守對面的箭頭後衛。

Basketball is fraught with very human complications. One aspect of the game—and all its rhythms and frustrations—cannot help but bleed through into others. Thompson weathers it in persistence. There is an unrelenting quality to Thompson's work that stabilizes everything around him.

籃球是一項充滿人類複雜性的運動。比賽的一個方面—包括所有的節奏和挫折—都不得不影響到他人。湯普森是堅持不懈的。湯普森的比賽有着不屈不撓的特質，這一點能穩定他周圍的一切。

Teammates know that when Thompson will inevitably clear into open space, and that when he does, the defense will fret. Fellow defenders can rely on the fact that even when Thompson is run into a screen, he will recover back into the play to badger the ball handler from behind. These are somehow givens for a star scorer underserved by his role.

隊友們都知道湯普森總會得到空位，但他真的得到空位出手機會時，對面的防守就麻煩了。其他防守者們可以依賴的一個事實是，即使湯普森被對方擋拆者擋住，他依然可以通過從後面纏住對方持球人來完成防守。從某種程度上來看，這是一個做出犧牲的明星得分手的本職工作。

The importance of Thompson's disposition cannot be oversold. His possesses the kind of cool that can save the Warriors' season one night and blend seamlessly into the fabric of the team the next.

湯普森個性的重要性是不可忽略的。他是一個很酷的人，這種酷可以在一個晚上就拯救勇士的一個賽季並且在接下來的比賽中無縫融入勇士的體系。

Thompson is the sort who could average five fewer shots per game in this year's playoffs than last without raising the slightest stink. The structure of a basketball team relies on concession; what each player can do is only as important as what they choose not to. The players making the biggest concessions, however, aren't usually this good.

湯普森在今年季後賽的每場平均出手數比上年少了五次，但他沒有任何怨言。球隊的結構依賴於犧牲，每一名球員可以做什麼和他們選擇不做什麼一樣重要。常常犧牲最大的那名球員往往不是優秀的球員。

Thompson is one of the best players in the league, the fourth-best player on his own team, and a clearly prideful person. The perceived slights of everyday life tend to be amplified for those in industries as visible as professional sports, but not for Thompson.

湯普森卻是聯盟中最棒的球員之一，他在他的球隊中四當家，同時他也是個很驕傲的傢伙。職業體育運動行業中一些人斤斤計較每天小事的行爲被明顯放大了，而這對湯普森卻起不了作用。

He is perpetually unmoved—part of the reason why the Warriors are as much a marvel of personality as they are of talent. What makes their dynamic work is Thompson's greatest gift: his acceptance of both the player he is and the player he's asked to be.

佛祖巋然不動—這也是勇士的性格和天賦一樣讓人驚歎的原因之一。湯普森極佳的天賦使得勇士的運轉得風生水起：他知道自己實際上是多麼優秀的球員，但他也欣然接受他被要求所擔任的角色。

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