风雨相伴20载,诺维茨基心甘情愿助母队重建 [美国媒体]

德克-诺维茨基多年以前就已经坦然接受了这样的事实:他会在达拉斯独行侠度过整个职业生涯,就算在这里很难或者根本没机会再一次赢得总冠军。



DALLAS (AP) -- Dirk Nowitzki made peace years ago with the reality that spending his entire career with the Dallas Mavericks would likely mean little or no chance to win a second championship.

达拉斯(美联社)—— 德克-诺维茨基多年以前就已经坦然接受了这样的事实:他会在达拉斯独行侠度过整个职业生涯,就算在这里很难或者根本没机会再一次赢得总冠军。

The most accomplished European player in NBA history never seriously considered leaving the franchise that courted him as a teenager in Germany and drafted him five days after his 20th birthday in 1998.

1998年,诺维茨基年纪轻轻还待在德国的时候就已经收到独行侠的招募,并且在选秀大会上被选中,那天刚好是他20岁生日之后的第5天。此后,这位NBA史上最功成名就的欧洲球员从来没有真正考虑过离开这只球队。

Now in his 20th season, Nowitzki is comfortable with the idea that he led the Mavericks to their first title and can try to help a younger core build toward making Dallas a title contender again.

时至今日,这已经是诺维茨基的第20个赛季了。他对于自己过去曾率领球队夺得队史首冠早已感到心满意足,现在他也很乐意扶持队里的年轻核心球员以便球队再次回到冠军争夺者的行列。

“I just think I pride myself with this city, with this organization, whatever this city or this franchise goes through, I want to push it through,”Nowitzki said.“I want to be there for it. If it's rebuilding, I want to push it through and help as much as I can. If we're playing for a championship, then I'll do that.”

“我为这座城市、这个组织感到自豪,无论这座城市或这支队伍想要前往何方,我都愿意提供助力,”诺维茨基说道。“我想一直守护这里。如果球队想要重建,我会尽我所能协助。如果球队想要争冠,我会倾尽所有去做到。”

The Mavericks haven't won a playoff series since beating Miami in the Finals in 2011, LeBron James'first season with the Heat. They had a woeful start for the second straight year, all but assuring that they will miss the playoffs with consecutive losing seasons for the first time since Nowitzki's first two.

自从在2011年的总决赛击败了首次有勒布朗-詹姆斯加盟的迈阿密热火队之后,独行侠再也没能赢下任何一轮季后赛。此后的第二年他们的开局相当的糟糕,接连不断的失利导致最后缺席了季后赛,这种情况自诺维茨基新秀那两年以来还是头一次。

The slide out of contention means little to the context of Nowitzki's career: a 7-footer who changed the game with his 3-point shooting, the first foreign-born player to reach 30,000 points and the distinction with Kobe Bryant (Lakers) as the only players to spend 20 seasons with the same franchise.

不管怎么说,偶尔未能打入季后赛只是白璧微瑕,无损诺维茨基光辉的职业生涯:他是个能用3分球改变比赛的7尺长人,他是首个在NBA砍下30000分的外籍球员,他还和科比-布莱恩特(湖人)一样,能和一支球队不离不弃共度20载光阴,自两人之后更无来者。

“I think the reality is that when you see this kind of consistency of greatness, there's a tendency to take it for granted,” said Rick Carlisle, in his 10th season as Nowitzki's coach.“And we must be careful about taking this for granted. We're seeing a generational player that's changed the game.”

“我觉得当看到一名球员这么多年来都发挥得如此出色时,你会理所当然地让他继续这么打下去,”执教了诺维茨基10个赛季的教练里克-卡莱尔说道。“当然我们也要警惕这种“理所当然”的心态。我们想要的是一个能改变比赛的划时代球员。”



Nowitzki still starts - Carlisle pretty much declared earlier this season that he will start as long as he's playing - but often sits at the end of close games. He's probably the fourth scoring option, behind Harrison Barnes, Wesley Matthews and even rookie point guard Dennis Smith Jr.

诺维茨基仍然是队里的首发——卡莱尔在本赛季初就开成公布,只要诺维茨基还打球,他就是铁打不动的首发——不过到了比赛快结束时,他就会下场歇息。诺维茨基差不多算是球队第四得分点,哈里森-巴恩斯、韦斯利-马修斯甚至是菜鸟控卫丹尼斯-史密斯都排在他前面。

But the 39-year-old played the first 54 games, an important measure for him to feel he's contributing. Nowitzki, the only 7-footer to win the 3-point contest that's part of All-Star weekend, is in position for the best shooting percentage of his career from beyond the arc. The number of attempts isn't far off from his prime either.

话虽如此,在本赛季已结束的54场比赛里,这位39岁的老将依旧以自己的方式发挥出重要的作用。作为唯一一个曾经在全明星三分大赛中夺冠的七尺长人,诺维茨基本赛季的三分命中率达到生涯的巅峰,而且出手次数也接近生涯最高。

“I wish he can play forever,” said Washington coach Scott Brooks, who was at Oklahoma City when the Thunder lost to the Mavericks in the 2011 Western Conference finals and beat them in the first round the next year.

奇才教练斯科特-布鲁克斯表示:“我祝愿他能一直打下去。”该教练曾执教过雷霆,他们曾在2011年的西部决赛中被独行侠击败,然后在次年的季后赛首轮又一次相遇并最终复仇。

“You know the time is winding down, you don't know how many more years he has. He probably has maybe six or seven more left in him,'' Brooks said, trying to keep a straight face.

“你也知道岁月不饶人啊,你不清楚他剩下的时间还有多少。说不定他只能再打那么个6、7年了。”布鲁克斯忍着笑意,一脸严肃地说道。

Nowitzki has already said he is considering a 21st season. Barring a dramatic improvement through a trade, the draft or free agency, that likely means another year of helping turn Smith into a point guard that can guide a champion the way Nowitzki credits Jason Kidd for doing in Dallas.

诺维茨基已经说了他正在考虑第21个赛季。可预见的是,除非能有交易换来选秀权或自由球员使得球队实力一下子暴涨,否则下一个赛季依然是专注于培养丹尼斯-史密斯,让他成为能够引领球队夺冠的控球后卫,就像当年基德在达拉斯做到的那样。

Assuming the Mavericks stay near the bottom of the West standings, they'll have another high draft pick after getting Smith at No. 9. That will be another young player who sees the work Nowitzki does away from the court to stay in shape, and a 13-time All-Star who is frequently the last player to quit shooting after practice.

假如独行侠本赛季的战绩在西部垫底,那么他们会再次获得一个高顺位的选秀权,上一次就是用9号签选中了史密斯。如此,又可以多一个能陪诺维茨基在球馆练习技术、锻炼身体的年轻球员,毕竟这位已经参加过13次全明星的老将反而是每次训练完,经常最后一个才走的人。

J.J. Barea spent his first five seasons with the Mavericks and was still a relatively young guard at 26 when the Mavericks won the title.

何塞-巴里亚职业生涯的前5个赛季都在独行侠度过,球队夺冠的那一年巴里亚还只是个26岁、相对年轻的后卫。

“I used him a lot,” said Barea, who returned to Dallas three years ago. “If I work half of what he does, I'm going to be all right. These guys, they really didn't get him at his best like I got him. But they still see how hard you've got to work to be able to play out there with us.”

“我经常以他为榜样,”三年前重归独行侠的巴里亚说道。“如果我训练的程度有他一般,我就感觉已经够了。现在这些家伙根本没见识他的最强形态。不过他们仍然能看到诺维茨基拼命训练以求跟上现在球队的步伐。”

Nowitzki doesn't mind admitting that practice isn't quite as fun as it used to be.

诺维茨基毫不掩饰地承认,现在训练没有以前那么轻松有趣了。

“But once the ball goes up, it's still great,” said the 2007 MVP, who has career averages of 21.4 points and 7.7 rebounds.“I still love to compete. I still love to be out there for the guys and trying to help them with my experience and spread the floor for them and maybe getting some timely scoring here and there.”

“不过一旦开始比赛,我还是能打的,”这位职业生涯场均获得21.4分和7.7个篮板的2007年MVP说道。“我依然热衷于比赛。我依然愿意协助队友,用我的经验帮助他们,为他们拉开空间,说不定还能在关键时刻进几个球。”

Always big on self-deprecation, Nowitzki quips that he can't help the younger players by showing them any moves. He doesn't have to be joking to acknowledge that his patented one-legged fadeaway jumper isn't nearly as dangerous as it was when he was Finals MVP.

诺维茨基总喜欢自嘲说他已经没几招可以教给年轻球员了。其实他不这么说我们也知道,他的绝技“金鸡独立”早已不如当年他拿下总冠军MVP时那么有威胁了。

What Nowitzki can offer is work ethic and experience, not to mention longevity. He became the sixth NBA player to reach 50,000 minutes Tuesday night at the Los Angeles Clippers.

另一方面,诺维茨基倒是可以提供激情和经验,更不用说他的“长寿”了。在周二与洛杉矶快船的比赛中,他成为了第6位出场时间达到5000分钟的NBA球员。

“It's been two decades of fun and competing,” Nowitzki said. “Getting to 20 years is special. There's not a lot of guys that have done it. Not a lot of guys have done it with one franchise. I'm proud of that, but want to finish the season strong.”

“对于这20年的比赛我感到很快乐,”诺维茨基说道。“能在联盟打上20年感觉很特别。没多少人能做到这一点,更别说20年都在一支球队度过。我对此感到很自豪,不过目前我还是要专注于打好这个赛季。”

Nowitzki always finds a way to steer the conversation back to the present - and future.

诺维茨基总是能找到办法把话题引回到球队的现状——或者未来。

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