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: 在他的球衣退休仪式上，疑惑还是在每个观众的心中，不过 Vlade再次澄清： I'm over it. 我已对此释怀。 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. 不管是那个搧到 Horry手上造成最後一击的篮板、第六战第四节给湖人的二十七颗罚 球、在主场第七战失手的那十四颗罚球，都是过去了。 Divac发誓说他还是能活在拥有以 上的回忆中。 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. 在他替国王出赛的时刻，他的家乡战火连天，他的第一个沙城球季就碰上了北约轰炸 南斯拉夫。那些篮球场上的胜负，与担心远方的家人相较，并不是那麽地重要。 But the Kings' steady slide from relevance ever since seemingly makes the memories even more painful. 不过国王的状况在那之後不停下滑，才是比较不好的回忆。 "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. 「当时会很困扰。不过到了这个时刻，那已经无所谓了，我知道我们没有赢得冠军， 但我想我们是只冠军球队。」 "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." 「这儿的人们很在意手上的戒指。我记得一次我和湖人对上的时候，一位观众对我吼 说：『你拿过几个戒指？』我告诉他我有一个戒指，他以为我在搞笑。我接着说：『从我 89年结婚後，我和我老婆就各有一只戒指。』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." 在随後的交谈中， Divac补充说：「这一点也不会困扰我，我想我们带给了沙加缅度 些很美好的时光。世界上的人们，不只是这个城市的居民，都喜欢我们。这是我们最大的 成就。在我的心里我们就是冠军，我知道我们没有赢球，但我们打得就像个冠军。」 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与Horry以及Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 曾一起出访， Horry说因为那颗篮板及 三分球，每到一个地方，都会有人问起相关的问题。 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与Divac的回答是「这让我们连结在一起，成为见证NBA伟大时刻的一员。」 Not that Vlade's take is anywhere near unanimous among his ex-teammates. 不过并不是每个前队友都这麽想。 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. 上个球季，我们询问重回国王并准备执教的後卫 Bobby Jackson是不是已经不在乎那 麽多了。 "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." 「只要没有人提起来就好。那是一生中难以触及的体验，我们到了西区冠军战，也只 差一线就能拿下总冠军。可惜我们在场上对抗的是八名对手。」 The greatest teammate If you can't win an NBA championship, snagging the title of "Greatest Teammate" isn't a shabby consolation prize. 如果不能拿下冠军，成为一位最伟大的队友也是值得赞颂的一点。 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，并认为这个头衔没有官方认证，让我告诉你： 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.我们只是借用了 Vlade的国王球衣退休夜那晚的影片标题，这部影片就是称他为最 伟大的队友。 B) No less an authority than West makes pretty much the same claim. 2.一个像West这样的权威有权力颁发这个头衔。 "He might have been the best teammate anyone has ever had," West said. 「他是每个人有过的最好的队友。」West说。 "That was his gift." 「这是他的天赋。」 A born diplomat This isn't baseball. 这并不是棒球。 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. 所以如果他有幸被选入名人堂（我想这可能性相当高，因为他是个成功的国际篮球员 ，球场上的成绩不俗，场外的大使工作也是他的优点）， Vlade不用担心戴哪一顶球帽进 场。 Which is good news for him, since Divac has made a career of dancing around such prickly decisions. 这是一个好消息，因为他的球员生涯分属两个对抗的球队。 He's been asked a lot lately about how he sees himself today. As a Laker? Or as a King? 最近常有人问他如何看待今日的自已，是湖人呢？还是国王？ "I'm in between," Vlade says. "I'm around Bakersfield and Fresno." 「我在两者的中间，大概是Bakersfield或Frenso吧。」 （译注：Bakersfield、Frenso为加州地名，两者都介於洛杉矶与沙加缅度之间） 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. 接着他开始讲起七年在湖人的时光，以及那六年身为国王的球季。 And then he insists that he's a Laker when he's in Southern California and a King when he's in Northern California. 他说如果在南加州，他是一个湖人，到了北加州，他就是国王。 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. 不过他说事实上他曾经扮演过比起在 NBA更为对立的角色。他很长一段时间都是支持 并喜欢Partizan的人，不过他也替Partizan的世仇 Red Star Belgrade在1998封馆球季时 出赛过两场。 "I'm kind of [a] split personality," he jokes. 「我想我大概有点人格分裂。」 待续.... --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 59.105.31.130