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At just 24 years old, Yao Ming is already one of the most popular and respected players in the NBA. But Yao's road to professional basketball wasn't clear-cut until just a few years before he joined the league. In this excerpt from his new book, \"Yao: A Life in Two Worlds\" (written by Yao Ming with Ric Bucher), Yao recounts the winding and often humorous road he took from China to the NBA. Here's how Yao and others remember his journey to sports stardom.
<<我的世界我的梦>> 'A Life in Two Worlds' 作者: 姚明
I left China for the first time in 1997 to go to the Nike camp in Paris. That’s where I met my first NBA star, Tim Hardaway, who was one of the camp counselors. He looked like the rest of us—two hands, two legs, one head—but he was quicker than anybody I’d ever seen, especially the way he dribbled the ball. His footwork, his hands—all quick. He would challenge everyone to play one-on-one until he was too tired to move. I don’t remember who the best player in camp was because I didn’t know what good basketball was then. There were eighty-five players at the camp, and I wore number 85. I wasn’t worried about how good Hardaway was because at that time I was just thinking I’d play in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). I didn’t think I’d see anyone like Hardaway again.
1997年我第一次出国,去耐克的巴黎训练营。蒂姆·哈达威是我见到的第一个美国球员,他后来成为NBA的明星。他看上去和我们其他人都一样———两只手、两条腿,一个脑袋,只是,他好快,尤其是运球的时候,他的步伐和手都很快。他会挑战每个人和他一对一,直到他累得打不动为止。我不记得他是不是营地最好的球员了,因为那时我不知道篮球打成什么样才算好。营地有85个球员,我的编号是第85,你自己想那意味着什么吧。那时候我不担心蒂姆·哈达威有多好,因为我想的是在CBA打球,反正以后不会再碰到蒂姆·哈达威那样的人。 Yao at a recent book signing at the NBA Store in New York.
YAO ZHI YUAN (Yao Ming's father): The trip to Paris made a big impression on Yao Ming. He was there for only six days, but he learned a lot—not just about basketball, but maybe about himself and his place in the world of basketball. He found out there are a lot of great players outside of China and how good a player could be. He knew for the first time where he stood among the best young players in the world. He thought, “I’m not that good, but I’m not that bad.” When he went to Paris, he learned what was possible. There was no way to really know that until he left China. Then when he went to the U.S., it was more about learning how to improve his game and reach the level he’d seen in Paris. 姚志源(姚明父亲):巴黎之行给他留下了最深刻的印象。他只去了6天,但学了很多。
不是关于篮球的,而是关于自己,以及自己在篮球世界的位置。他发现,中国之外还有许多优秀球员,而且他们打到了那样高的水平。他第一次知道自己和世界上最好的年轻球员相比位置怎样。他想,“我是比上不足,比下有余。”去了巴黎,他知道了什么是可能的,踏出国门前是不可能知道的。他在巴黎发现了篮球的境界,去美国的时候,他做得更多的就是改进自己以达到在巴黎看到的水准。
The winter after I went to Paris, I broke my left foot. This was near the end of my last season with the Shanghai Sharks’ junior team. I jumped for a rebound and landed on somebody else’s foot. I sprained my ankle on that play, too. I think if I hadn’t gotten hurt, they would’ve brought me up to the Sharks before the season ended.
巴黎之行后的那个冬天,我崴断了左脚。那时我在东方青年队的最后一个赛季就要结束了,我跳起来抢篮板,但踩在别人的脚上,那一次我还扭伤了踝骨。我想,要不是受伤的话,那个赛季结束前我就会进大鲨鱼队了。
Instead, I finally joined the Sharks the next season, didn’t get hurt, and averaged 10 points and 8.3 rebounds. I didn’t win Rookie of the Year, just like in the NBA—but the CBA didn’t have a Rookie of the Year award at that time. Now they do. They also have moved the CBA All-Star Game from after the season to the middle of the season, just like in the NBA. The two leagues are looking more and more alike.
下一赛季我终于加入了大鲨鱼,平均得10分,8.3个篮板。我没能拿到新人奖,就像在NBA的第一年一样,是因为那时CBA还没有新人奖,而现在有了。他们还把CBA全明星赛从赛季后移到赛季中,CBA跟NBA的有些方面越来越像了。
The next year, I broke the same foot again, this time in a pre-season game in December. Someone stepped on my left foot just before I tried to move. I didn’t play until the end of the season, the last twelve games. When Houston first saw X-rays of my feet, they saw that my left foot had been broken a couple of times and were worried I might have serious problems and not be able to play. They had their team doctor fly to Beijing and check me out.
第二年,我伤了同一只脚,在12月的季前赛中。我正要移动,有人踩了我的左脚。直到赛季末我才打球,打最后的12场比赛。休斯顿火箭队第一次对我的脚作X光时,他们看到我的左脚断过2次,担心我有严重问题不能打球。他们的队医飞来北京,对我进行检查。
The doctor said I was OK, but I can tell you I haven’t jumped the same since the second break. Not that I could jump high before then. The first time I tried to dunk, I was thirteen years old and about 6-2. I didn’t miss by a little, I missed by a lot. Dunking wasn’t that important in China, so I didn’t worry about it. A couple of years later I tried again and still couldn’t do it. Then one day when I was fifteen, about six months after I’d last tried, I was walking across the court to put a ball away after a junior Sharks practice and decided to try. I surprised myself. I did it. I was about 6-8 then. The Chinese always say, “You don’t want to think about it, you just do it. That’s how you become strong.” But when I tried again the next day, I missed.
医生说没问题。但我可以说,第二次受伤之后,我再也不像过去那样弹跳了。并不是说以前我跳得更高,我13岁第一次试着灌篮,那时我1米88。我不是差一点点,而是差一大截。
在中国灌篮不是那么重要,所以不必担心。两年后我再试,还是办不到。15岁的一天,大概是上一次试过灌篮之后的大约6个月,青年队的一次训练后,我走过球场,准备把球收好,忽然我决定再试一下,我自己也大吃一惊,成功了!那时我只有2米03。中国人总是说:“不要多想,放手去干———这样你就会变得强大。”第二天我再试,没有成功。
It was after that season, playing for the junior national team, that I dunked in a game for the first time. I had fallen down near our basket, and the other team went on a fast break but missed the layup. Someone threw me the ball, and I was all alone. I remember I jumped really, really high. My head was at the rim.
那个赛季后,在国家青年队打球,我第一次在比赛中灌篮。我在篮下摔倒,对手快速进攻,但是单手跳投没中,球传到我这里,无人防守。我记得我跳起来,真的很高,我的头就在篮框边。
The next time I dunked was playing for the Sharks in my second game as a rookie. We were down by 10 with a minute left and won! I scored 7 points, including a dunk while being fouled. A guard drove and passed the ball to me, and I made it even though someone bumped me.
第二次灌篮,是在大鲨鱼队作为新人的第二场比赛。我们在剩下1分钟的时候还落后10分,但最后获胜了。我得了7分,包括被判犯规罚下的第一次灌篮。后卫突破,将球给我,尽管有人在撞我,我还是将球灌入。
I know I can’t jump very well, but I feel lost at the start of a game when I don’t jump for the tipoff. I’m almost always the tallest player on the court, so it feels strange to watch someone smaller jump center. I’ve had time to get used to it; even before I joined the Rockets, there were times I didn’t jump center. When both Wang Zhi Zhi and I were on the national team, he would jump for tipoffs because he can jump much quicker and higher than I can. He even won the CBA dunk contest during his last year playing in China. In my rookie year with the Rockets, our power forward, Eddie Griffin, jumped center, except for the first time I played Shaquille O’Neal. Eddie started to line up to jump when Stevie pushed me in the middle and told me to do it. That meant a lot. It showed he had confidence in me. It was almost like a movie the way he did it, waiting until the last second and then pushing me in there. Very dramatic.
虽然我不能再跳,一场比赛开始时我不跳着出场会觉得失落。我几乎总是场上最高的球员,看个头小得多的球员跳入场中觉得很奇怪。我有时间慢慢去适应———即使在加入火箭队之前,我也有不跳着出场的时候。王治郅和我都在国家队的时候,他会跳入场,因为他比我跳得高得多。我在火箭队的新人年,我们的大前锋埃迪·格里芬跳入场中。埃迪格排队准备跳的时候,斯蒂夫会把我推到中间,让我也做。这对我意味着许多,说明他对我有信心。 他的做法几乎像部电影,等到最后一秒钟推我出场。非常有戏剧性。 |
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