[分享] Finest person I've ever been around …

看板Kings (沙加緬度國王)作者santabrelai時間15年前 (2010/10/09 12:51)推噓5(5推 0噓 0→)

留言5則, 5人參與討論串3/6 (看更多)

Do wedding rings count? During his Sacramento visit in March for the jersey retirement, sensing the skepticism in every audience, Vlade made the claim again and again: 在他的球衣退休儀式上，疑惑還是在每個觀眾的心中，不過 Vlade再次澄清： I'm over it. 我已對此釋懷。 As in: Divac swears that he can live with the Kings' having missed out on a potential 3-1 lead over the Lakers in the '02 West finals when his long tap-out to Horry led to Horry's game-winning triple at the Game 4 buzzer. He swears that he is not haunted by the 27 free throws awarded to the Lakers in the fourth quarter of Game 6 that helped L.A. stave off elimination … or the 14 missed free throws that sealed a crushing Game 7 loss at home. 不管是那個搧到 Horry手上造成最後一擊的籃板、第六戰第四節給湖人的二十七顆罰球、在主場第七戰失手的那十四顆罰球，都是過去了。 Divac發誓說他還是能活在擁有以上的回憶中。 When you consider the off-court burden he carried for most of his Kings career, with war overrunning his homeland and his first season in Sacramento coinciding with multiple NATO-led bombings of his hometown, Divac probably shouldn't have to work so hard to convince us. 在他替國王出賽的時刻，他的家鄉戰火連天，他的第一個沙城球季就碰上了北約轟炸南斯拉夫。那些籃球場上的勝負，與擔心遠方的家人相較，並不是那麼地重要。 But the Kings' steady slide from relevance ever since seemingly makes the memories even more painful. 不過國王的狀況在那之後不停下滑，才是比較不好的回憶。 "Back then it bothered me," Divac said. "From this distance, I am OK. I know we didn't win [the] championship, but I think we were a championship team. 「當時會很困擾。不過到了這個時刻，那已經無所謂了，我知道我們沒有贏得冠軍，但我想我們是隻冠軍球隊。」 "People here [in America] are making a big deal about ring or no ring. I was playing against the Lakers and I remember someone [in the crowd] shouted, 'How many rings you got?' I told him one. He looked at me [funny], so I said, 'I got one in '89 when I got married, I got a ring from my wife.' That's the most important thing." 「這兒的人們很在意手上的戒指。我記得一次我和湖人對上的時候，一位觀眾對我吼說：『你拿過幾個戒指？』我告訴他我有一個戒指，他以為我在搞笑。我接著說：『從我 89年結婚後，我和我老婆就各有一隻戒指。』那才是生命中最重要的事物。」 http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2009/0407/nba_g_divac-frustrated_300.jpg

The Kings reached new heights during the Divac era, but the lows were especially painful. In a subsequent conversation, Divac adds: "It doesn't bother me at all. I think we did something special [in Sacramento]. … People around the world, not just in Sacramento, liked to watch [that team]. So that was, right there, [a] big accomplishment for our team. … In my heart, I believe we were the champions. We didn't win, but we played the way champions should play." 在隨後的交談中， Divac補充說：「這一點也不會困擾我，我想我們帶給了沙加緬度些很美好的時光。世界上的人們，不只是這個城市的居民，都喜歡我們。這是我們最大的成就。在我的心裡我們就是冠軍，我知道我們沒有贏球，但我們打得就像個冠軍。」 From the recent legends tour, with Divac and Horry traveling together and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar along as a coach, Horry reported that the 3-pointer he sank after Divac batted the ball out to him was "all they wanted to talk about everywhere we went." 最近Divac與Horry以及Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 曾一起出訪， Horry說因為那顆籃板及三分球，每到一個地方，都會有人問起相關的問題。 Horry said, however, that he and Divac spoke easily about "how we will forever be linked to one of the greatest moments" in NBA history. 而Horry與Divac的回答是「這讓我們連結在一起，成為見證NBA偉大時刻的一員。」 Not that Vlade's take is anywhere near unanimous among his ex-teammates. 不過並不是每個前隊友都這麼想。 Late last season, back for a second stint with the Kings and plotting a transition to coaching, guard Bobby Jackson was asked whether he's over it nearly seven years later. 上個球季，我們詢問重回國王並準備執教的後衛 Bobby Jackson是不是已經不在乎那麼多了。 "Until somebody brings it up again," Jackson said. "Those days you do think about, because it's very rare you get to experience that in life, when you get to go to the Western Conference finals, almost have a chance to win the NBA championship … and having eight people on the basketball court instead of five." 「只要沒有人提起來就好。那是一生中難以觸及的體驗，我們到了西區冠軍戰，也只差一線就能拿下總冠軍。可惜我們在場上對抗的是八名對手。」 The greatest teammate If you can't win an NBA championship, snagging the title of "Greatest Teammate" isn't a shabby consolation prize. 如果不能拿下冠軍，成為一位最偉大的隊友也是值得讚頌的一點。 And if you're going to be a stickler and point out that Divac doesn't officially possess that title, be advised that: 若你要求很高，並認為這個頭銜沒有官方認證，讓我告訴你： A) We're merely passing on the theme from the Kings' video tributes on Vlade's jersey night, which proclaimed him to be "The Greatest Teammate." 1.我們只是借用了 Vlade的國王球衣退休夜那晚的影片標題，這部影片就是稱他為最偉大的隊友。 B) No less an authority than West makes pretty much the same claim. 2.一個像West這樣的權威有權力頒發這個頭銜。 "He might have been the best teammate anyone has ever had," West said. 「他是每個人有過的最好的隊友。」West說。 "That was his gift." 「這是他的天賦。」 A born diplomat This isn't baseball. 這並不是棒球。 So if he is fortunate enough to be elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame -- which rates as a strong possibility because of the separate wing for international players and coaches and given Divac's on-court achievements along with his ambassadorial work -- Vlade doesn't have to worry about which hat is going to end up on his plaque. 所以如果他有幸被選入名人堂（我想這可能性相當高，因為他是個成功的國際籃球員，球場上的成績不俗，場外的大使工作也是他的優點）， Vlade不用擔心戴哪一頂球帽進場。 Which is good news for him, since Divac has made a career of dancing around such prickly decisions. 這是一個好消息，因為他的球員生涯分屬兩個對抗的球隊。 He's been asked a lot lately about how he sees himself today. As a Laker? Or as a King? 最近常有人問他如何看待今日的自已，是湖人呢？還是國王？ "I'm in between," Vlade says. "I'm around Bakersfield and Fresno." 「我在兩者的中間，大概是Bakersfield或Frenso吧。」（譯註：Bakersfield、Frenso為加州地名，兩者都介於洛杉磯與沙加緬度之間） Then he launches into his stock speech about how he spent seven beautiful, formative seasons with the Lakers before posting the six most productive seasons of his career in Sacramento. 接著他開始講起七年在湖人的時光，以及那六年身為國王的球季。 And then he insists that he's a Laker when he's in Southern California and a King when he's in Northern California. 他說如果在南加州，他是一個湖人，到了北加州，他就是國王。 And then in a quiet aside, he reminds you that he's actually played for two teams that arguably share a more contentious history than any two teams in NBA history. Partizan Belgrade is the team he grew up loving and supports to this day … but Divac actually played in two games for Partizan's hated rivals, Red Star Belgrade, during the 1998 lockout. 不過他說事實上他曾經扮演過比起在 NBA更為對立的角色。他很長一段時間都是支持並喜歡Partizan的人，不過他也替Partizan的世仇 Red Star Belgrade在1998封館球季時出賽過兩場。 "I'm kind of [a] split personality," he jokes. 「我想我大概有點人格分裂。」待續.... -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 59.105.31.130