[外電] SLAM Top 50 NBA player:No.25 Vince C …
翻譯的品質不夠好請見諒，謹獻給沒時間查字典或閱讀不夠快的版友
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原文:http://tinyurl.com/yd5v9t8
Top 50: Vince Carter, no. 25
The definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players.
by Adam Fleischer
Vince Carter plays with no heart.
Vince Carter沒有用心打球。
Seriously, it’s true. You think Vince Carter so, don’t you?
「嚴格來說，這是真的。」你是這麼想的吧，不是嗎？
You hear it a lot. You might believe it, and you’ve probably said it. In the
very least, the thought has crossed your mind during the man’s twelve NBA
seasons. And who can blame you. We’ve been fed such a theory so often that it
’s become widely accepted.
But it’s not true. Really, it’s not.
你常聽到這種評論，你也許相信它，甚至你可能還說過。最少，這種想法曾經在過去的12
個球季閃過你的心中。但誰能責怪你呢？我們太常聽到這種說法，導致這說法被廣泛接受。
但是，這並非事實。
What’s true is that we just wanted a reason to justify why Vince let us
down. Because that’s what he did. Let us down. Fall short of our hopes. Fail
to meet the goals we set for him. Whatever you wanna call it.
事實是我們想要找出一個理由，去解釋為何Vince沒有達到我們的期望，沒能完成我們為
他設定的目標。 你想怎麼說都行。
He came out of North Carolina with boatloads of potential, poised to be one
of the game’s next megastars. So we opened out hearts to him. His hops took
him beyond the Milky Way—where our expectations similarly soared—and his
smile won over channel surfers across the country otherwise disenchanted with
the sport. And the Jordan comparisons—in the wake of MJ’s retirement and at
the height of the search for an Air Apparent—only served to further
illuminate his growing star.
他懷著無窮的潛力走出北卡，準備成為下一個超級巨星。他的彈跳超越了隨著我們的期待
而攀升的銀河，他用他的笑容贏得了原本已不對籃球抱有任何期待的觀眾。這有資格被拿
來跟比擬喬丹的男人，在MJ退役之時，在眾人尋找飛人接班人之時，照亮了他冉冉上升的
明星之路。
At first, we were anything but disappointed. Nah, matter of fact, VC gave us
what we asked for and then some. Rookie of the Year in the shortened lockout
season. All-Star, Third Team All-NBA and the architect of the greatest Slam
Dunk Contest performance of my lifetime (and probably ever) the next year.
Plus, he took Toronto to their first playoff appearance in franchise history.
Year three, more of the same. Forty-seven wins for the Raps. Top five in the
L in scoring for Vince. It was his time.
最開始，他沒有讓我們失望，事實上，VC給了我們想要的、甚至更多：那個縮水賽季的最
佳新秀，全明星賽，NBA第三陣容，還有第二個賽季我畢生所見的（也許是史上）最偉大
的灌籃大賽冠軍。另外，他帶領多倫多人歷史上第一次闖入季後賽。第三個賽季，例行賽
四十七勝，得分榜排名第五。 這是他的時代。
Simultaneously as we were taking him for granted, he was being taken away
from us in his mid-twenties like he was a rap legend or some shit. But Vince
didn’t get capped (although when he put one on for graduation and heard the
hate ring out. Hey, let’s criticize one of the few guys in the League that
values education and actually finishes his degree! That’s a great message
for kids! Basketball over books!). Instead of some quick bullets, though, he
was taken away slowly, injury by injury, loss by loss, season by season.
當我們識這些成就為理所當然時，二十多歲的他卻抽離了我們的視線。像是只存在於虛幻
中的傳說，或者只是一推狗屎。但是Vince並沒有被掩蓋住，
(雖然因為他去了畢業典禮而引來軒然大波，並罵聲四起；嘿，盡量罵吧，罵一個在聯盟
中少數肯正視教育並完成其學業的球員。這就是你們想要傳達給孩子們的訊息吧!只要乖乖
打球就好，讀書？那是啥？能吃嗎？)
他並非突然消失在NBA的舞台，但是翱翔於天際的華麗身影卻隨著時間慢慢的褪色，
隨著一次又一次的受傷，一再的輸球，渾渾噩噩的度過了那些悲慘的球季。
The final days in Toronto weren’t pretty and there’s no two ways about
that. But Vince made the Raptors relevant. You didn’t watch them on national
TV before, and haven’t since. Those few years of playoff runs were Vince at
his most awe inducing and us at our most willing to consume his game, his
style, his persona.
在多倫多的最後日子並不美妙，劇本裡寫下了令人遺憾的結局。VC成就了暴龍，之前你從
未看過暴龍隊比賽在全國直播，自那以後可能也不會有。VC帶領暴龍連年殺入季後賽，在
他最輝煌的那些歲月、也是我們狂戀於他的比賽，他的球風，他的性格的時候。
His final year(s) above the border truly turned many people off. But New
Jersey was supposed to be a new beginning, another shot at doing what we knew
he could. In some ways, it was. Teaming with Jason Kidd and Richard
Jefferson, he helped lead them to a playoff birth his first year in New
Jersey and an Atlantic Division title during his first full year in 2005-06.
他在暴龍的最後一年的確令很多人失望，但新澤西又是新的開始，另一個讓我們再次知道
“他可以做得到！”的場景。在某種程度上它是的。和Jason Kidd、Richard Jefferson
並肩作戰，他在新澤西獲得了新生，帶領籃網殺進季後賽，並在他第一個完整球季並拿下
大西洋組第一。
The years that followed were more of the same: the Nets as an above average
team, but never one surfacing as a true threat for a title. Maybe it was
because Vince wasn’t able to bring them to that elite status, even when he
had legitimate talent around him. It’s also possible that the talent was
never elite enough to claim that status. It’s most likely some combination
of the two.
接下來的幾年情況又變回了令人厭煩的迴圈，籃網始終處在聯盟中游，而非一隻能衝擊總
冠軍的勁旅。這有可能是VC能力不足以帶領還算可用之兵的戰力，也可能是隊友的天賦還
是遠不足以成為強隊，或者跟兩個原因都有關。
Yet, his play has been a constant during that time. Not looking anything like
we had once hoped it would, but still, in many ways, performing like we had
always imagined. He usually scores in the mid-twenties. He rebounds and
dishes out assists at a better rate than he did in T Dot. He logs serious
minutes and hits it respectably from the stripe and the field.
然而，他的表演仍始終如一，如果不抱著以前對他的高標準期待的話。但即使如此，在很
多方面，他還是能表現的像是我們初相遇時料想的那般華麗。他還是能在20呎跳投得分，
他用更棒的效率搶下更多的籃板、送出更多的助攻。他還是能在場上任何一角進球得分，
他還是能一次次的在關鍵時刻寫下紀錄。
The hate, animosity, and relative irrelevancy of the Nets have each helped to
often mask this. No longer.
但是，討厭VC的人、憎恨VC的人、不關心籃網的人卻彷彿是串通好般，掩蓋這些事跡。
彷彿它不曾存在。
As he prepares to suit up for the Eastern Conference Champs and an actual
contender in Orlando, there’s a chance for another life. A third one, a
second one, a fifth one. I don’t know. But there’s another shot for us to
accept him and for him to give us the right to.
當他已經準備好成為東部冠軍和總冠軍競爭者的一員，接下來將是生涯新的篇章。我不知
道下賽季魔術會達到怎樣的高度。但這讓我們有了新的機會重新認同VC，而VC也將會給我
們這個機會去見證它。
Stan Van Gundy has already admitted that the ball will be in Vince’s hands
down the stretch, and that’s something to look forward to. The question isn’
t whether or not he’s still got it. Cause he does. It’s not even to what
level he’s still got it. The question is how often he’ll show us. What will
happen when he’s faced with his first meaningful playoff game in nearly a
decade?
Stan Van Gundy已經證實將會把球權交給Vince去發揮，而這也是我們所期待的。問題不在
於他是否仍擁有他所有的，而在於他的作為；也不在於他還能達到什麼樣的高度，在於他
多久後他將秀給我們看的。在十年後，他將會如何面對生涯第一個能為榮耀而戰的季後賽？
I’ll bet that heart’s still got some pitter-patter left in it.
我敢打賭在他的血液裡仍然沸騰著這樣的雄心壯志。
--
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