A Basketball Fairy Tale in Middle America By SAM ANDERSON Published: November 8, 2012 http://ppt.cc/S1BX N.B.A. scoring champions are, as a rule, weirdos and reprobates and in some cases diagnosable sociopaths. Something about dominating your opponent, publicly, more or less every day of your life, in the most visible aspect of your sport, tends to either warp your spirit or to be possible only to those whose spirits are already warped. Michael Jordan, when he wasn’t busy scoring, was busy punching a teammate in the face and gambling away small fortunes. Allen Iverson, in his spare time, recorded an aesthetically and morally terrible rap album and gave an iconic speech denigrating the very notion of practice. Kobe Bryant is and shall forever be Kobe Bryant. Wilt, Shaq, Pistol Pete, Dominique, McGrady, McAdoo, Rick Barry — it’s a near-solid roster of dysfunction: sadists, narcissists, malcontents, knuckleheads, misanthropes, womanizers, addicts and villains. While it’s true that plain old N.B.A. superstars do occasionally manage to be model citizens (cf. Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, Steve Nash), there is something irredeemable about a scoring champion. Kevin Durant, the star of the Oklahoma City Thunder, is the youngest scoring champion in N.B.A. history. At 24, he has led the league in scoring for three consecutive seasons, and all signs point to him keeping that up for the foreseeable future. It follows, then, that Durant should also be a prodigy of a head case. He should have been arrested for reckless driving at around age 9, broken his hand in a strip-club brawl at age 12 and accidentally shot his chauffeur no later than age 15. Instead, Durant has a reputation roughly on par with Gandhi. He seems to be — not just for a scoring champion, but for anyone — almost inhumanly humble. His motto, which he intones constantly, is “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” His pregame ritual involves kissing his mother, as does his postgame ritual. Once, in college, during probably the greatest freshman season of all time, a reporter asked Durant if he realized that he had just single-handedly outscored the entire opposing team in the second half of a game. Durant answered, with absolute sincerity, “Who, me?” When I asked the Thunder coach, Scott Brooks, to tell me about his superstar, he laughed. “Whatever you say nice, you can print it out and I’ll just say I said it,” he said. “Because it’s true.” Durant could be forgiven for wanting to brag a little. He is currently the second-best basketball player in the world — a category in which he trails only LeBron James, who is four years older, and whose Miami Heat beat the Thunder last year in the finals. The budding rivalry between KD and LBJ (off the court they’re friends, Olympic teammates and sometimes, controversially, workout partners) is the kind of thing the N.B.A. has been fantasizing about for decades, a yin and yang as tightly balanced as any since Magic and Bird. LeBron and Durant are, conveniently for storytelling purposes, opposites. LeBron looks like something out of a Marvel comic: a sentient pile of muscles. Durant looks like something from a Pixar movie — a humanoid praying mantis. He is 6 feet 9 inches tall and almost disturbingly skinny, with disproportionately long arms. Sportswriters, struggling to describe him, have compared him to capellini and a pterodactyl. His body looks almost like an engineering mistake, and early in his career it seemed as if it might actually be one: before the 2007 draft, there was a minor kerfuffle when it was discovered that Durant couldn’t bench-press 185 pounds, the standard predraft litmus test, even a single time. (The next pick in the draft, Al Horford, lifted it 20 times.) LeBron entered the league as a teenager and promptly knocked around all of the grown men who tried to guard him. As a 19-year-old rookie, Durant drifted around, shooting jumpers and trying to avoid contact, and still spent much of his time picking himself up off the floor. Although he won Rookie of the Year, he wasn’t particularly efficient in doing so, and his team was horrible. Despite their discrepancy in visible muscle tone, Durant has strengths that LeBron will probably never have. LeBron’s jump shot, for instance, is funky-looking, jerky, angular and streaky. Durant’s is natural, pure, quick and stunningly accurate — somehow, his ridiculous arms manage not to get in the way but to amplify his power, so it looks as if he’s shooting with zero effort even from 30 feet away. Durant’s real advantage over LeBron, however, is civic. LeBron infamously held a prime-time TV special in the summer of 2010 to announce that he was abandoning Cleveland for the glamour of Miami — a P.R. debacle known as the Decision. When he arrived in Miami, he took part in a histrionic rally at which he promised, on a stage surrounded by a W.W.E. -style light show and smoke machines, that his new team was so good it was going to dominate the rest of the league without even trying. It’s impossible to imagine that kind of behavior from Durant. In the middle of the overheated summer of 2010, the day before LeBron’s Decision, Durant announced quietly, on Twitter, that he had just signed a contract to stay in Oklahoma — the third-smallest market in the league, a place devoid of beaches and celebrities and night life — for another five years. You got the feeling he would have committed to the Thunder for the rest of his life if only the Players’ Union would have allowed it. Durant, in other words, seems to have been invented in a laboratory beneath the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce to serve as the international face of Oklahoma — a state known for its citizens’ kindness, levelheadedness, work ethic, community spirit and, above all, humility. (The mayor of Oklahoma City told me that he thinks Oklahomans are humble because of their proximity to Texans, who will never stop bragging about anything.) Led by Durant, the Thunder has become one of the N.B.A.’s best and youngest and most popular teams, an international icon of brotherhood and good will that has helped to usher in golden ages in both Oklahoma City and the N.B.A., an electric blue Trojan horse inside of which Oklahoma has managed to smuggle its ethos to the rest of the world: good folksy folks humbly helping other folksy folks stay humble and helpful. Oklahoma sits right in the middle of the country: it’s not the cultured East or the wild West or the frigid North or the humid South but exactly where all those things meet. The mountains touch the prairies, which touch the plains. This has created, over the millenniums, crazy animals and crazy weather and crazy 25-car pileups of culture. In 1889, the almost unbelievable land run sent tens of thousands of ragtag settlers from all over the country literally racing to claim tracts of practically uninhabitable land. Oklahoma, in other words, is the Hadron supercollider of states: it slams disparate things together, over and over, producing endless crises of cohesion. Even tornadoes, the region’s defining devil winds, are a result of a meteorological collision: a convergence of three different weather systems that happens with freakish regularity in Oklahoma and its immediate environs. Meteorologists in Oklahoma are basically rock stars. Professional athletes, on the other hand, have rarely had much of a presence here. That began to change in 2006, when a consortium of wealthy Oklahomans, led by the financier Clay Bennett, bought the Seattle SuperSonics — a once-proud franchise that had been stuck for years in the drain-swirl of mediocrity. Most people assumed, cynically, that Bennett was buying the team in order to move it, as quickly as possible, to Oklahoma City, his hometown. He had pledged to make a good-faith effort to keep the team in Seattle — an effort that came into suspicion shortly after the sale, when the new owner demanded that Seattle come up with nearly $300 million to build a new arena. Seattle refused, at which point the ownership group announced, regretfully, that it was going to have to move the Sonics to a city with a suitable arena — a city that also happened to be Oklahoma City. The fallout was intense: lawsuits, protests, scandal. Even Oklahomans who love the team admit that they were uncomfortable with the way it was acquired. The sportswriter Bill Simmons, in solidarity with the people of Seattle, referred to the Thunder exclusively in his columns as the Zombie Sonics. 雷霆——诞生在美国中部的篮球童话 （《纽约时报杂志》的封面故事，part 1） 这文是今年11月份一期纽约时报杂志（《Newyork Times Magazine》的封面故事。 通常来说，NBA的得分王们大都是一群个性偏执古怪，放荡不羁，在某种意义上具有反叛 社会倾向的人。那些每天在赛场上或多或少统治着对手的球星们，意志易於受到消磨，或 者说，有些人的精神原本已经被扭曲。 Michael Jordan忙於得分之余，在场下曾对队友的脸挥拳相向（译注1，见文後），并且 因喜好赌博而损失了不少银子。 Allen Iverson,，闲暇时录制过一张从美学角度和道德 层面上说，都十分糟糕的rap专辑；他还在一次标志性演说中，把“训练”的定义抹黑到 面目全非。 Kobe Bryant，他 是且永远将会是那个“ Kobe Bryant”。张伯伦，Shaq， Pistol Pete，Dominique，McGrady，McAdoo，Rick Barry等（:注：以上提及的球星均为 历届得分王），几乎都是一帮异於常人的家伙：虐待狂，自恋狂，不满现状者，头脑鲁钝 者，愤世嫉俗者，风流好色者，（嗑药）成瘾者，甚至还有流氓恶棍。尽管那些朴实无华 的老派NBA巨星中，也不乏“模范公民型”的人物（比如Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, Steve Nash等等）；但说起历任得分王们，则确实有些无可救药的意味在里头。 Kevin Durant，这位俄克拉荷马雷霆队的当家球星，是联盟历史上最为年轻的得分王。虽 然他年仅24岁，却已经连续三个赛季拿到这一殊荣，并且在新赛季里大有继续蝉联的希望 。由此而推的话，Durant同样该是一位特立独行的天才。他应该9岁就因危险驾驶而被拘 捕，12岁就在脱衣舞俱乐部因打架闹事而折伤手，并在不满15岁时就对自家司机开枪走火 。 然而与之相反的是，Durant的名誉都差不多可以和圣雄甘地相提并论了（夸张修辞，大家 理解就好→→ ）。他看起来——不说以得分王的身份而论，就算从普通人的角度来说— —都可谓超乎寻常的谦逊。他常常挂在嘴边的一句座右铭，就是——“ Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.”（ 勤奋苦练胜过怠惰天才）。无论 是比赛的开场前还是结束後，亲吻母亲都是Durant的习惯举止。大学一年级期间，Durant 打出了可能是NCAA 有史以来，大一新生发挥最为出色的赛季。一位记者询问Durant，他 是否意识到自己以一己之力，在下半场所得分就超过对手全队。Durant对此万分恳挚地回 应：“您是在说谁，我吗？” 当我采访雷霆主教练Brooks，请他为我描述下队中这位超级球星时，Brooks教练报以一笑 ：“无论你对他有多少溢美之辞，都可以刊印出来。我会承认自己说过这些话，”他表态 道：“因为它们都是事实。” 即使对Durant意图带点夸耀的成分，也是情有可原的。现在的Durant，堪称是当今篮球 界的第二人。而他唯一正追赶着的身影，就是比其年长四岁、上赛季率领迈 阿密热火队 击败了雷霆的——LeBron Jasmes。 KD和LBJ之间所萌生的强强对抗（赛场之外，他俩是好朋友，一起参加奥运会的梦之队队 友；有时还会搭档训练，尽管这点颇引争议），是联盟数十年来梦寐以求的场景。这是自 魔术师和大鸟上演经典的“黑白双雄”对决後，NBA 又涌现出的一组刚柔相济的球星。 LBJ和Durant，出於我们行文便利，把两个人放在了对立面。LBJ看起来非常像从惊奇漫画 （译注2 ）中走出来的角色，肌肉线条清晰分明；而Durant却神似皮克斯电影里的类人螳 螂。他身高达到6 英尺9 英寸（即官方选秀身高所公布的206 厘米，诸位相信麽= = ）， 削瘦得令人近乎不安，还拥有一双和身体不成比例的长臂。体育新闻记者都为了如何描述 Durant而伤透脑筋，他们将其类比为天使细面（这是意大利面的一种），和（古生）翼手 龙。 Durant的身体构造彷佛是工程学上的一个错误。这话在KD 职业生涯的早期似乎也得到验 证：2007 年参与NBA 选秀之前，Durant在体能测试中甚至举不起一次185 磅重的卧推（ 而紧接其後探花顺位的Al Horford，卧推成绩可是高达20 次之多）。在当时，此事还引 发了一场小小的混乱。 当初，年少风发的LBJ进入联盟，面对一干企图防守自己的壮实球员，很快就能在其间犹 如闲庭漫步般打球。反观Durant，作为一位年方19 的新秀，他却在球场上四处游走，偏 於跳投，力求避免对抗。赛场之外，Durant也花费了大量时间加以练习，促使自己进步。 尽管Durant荣膺年度最佳新秀的头衔，整体表现却不够高效，而（那一年）雷霆战绩也同 样惨淡。 不过，尽管两者间那种强健的肌肉力量差别显着，Durant却拥有LBJ也许从来不曾拥有的 优势。例如，LBJ的跳投看着有些古怪，稳定性不够，动作也生硬易变。Durant的跳投却 显得那麽自然纯粹，灵动敏捷，而且极其的精准——不知何故，Durant那双长得离谱的手 臂，非但没有成为他的投篮阻碍，反而加强了自身力量。因此，即便离地30 英尺的投篮 ，Durant完成起来似乎也易如反掌。 Durant真正胜过LBJ地方，在於他那种好好公民的思想意识。2010 的夏天，LBJ在黄金时 段举行了一次不光彩的全国电视直播，宣布他要舍弃克利夫兰骑士，转投入迈阿密热火的 迷人怀抱——从而引发了一场灾难性的，以“决定”着称的公关危机。当LBJ抵达迈阿密 ，他还参加了一场戏剧色彩浓厚的集合。舞台整个刮起最炫WWE 风被，被摇滚乐演出般的 声色灯光和烟雾制造机所环绕。LBJ站在台上向世人承诺，自己所加盟的新球队是如此出 类拔萃，他们甚至无需尝试就足可跻身联盟霸主的地位。 而上述种种言行，我们很难想像会发生在Durant身上。就在2010 那个酷夏中旬， LBJ的“决定”前夕，Durant悄无声息地通过推特宣布和雷霆达成续约——俄克拉荷马是 联盟排名倒数第三的小球市，在这里缺少明媚醉人的海滩，不见衣香鬓影的名流，也没有 五光十色的夜生活——Durant需要在这里再待五年。而给人的感觉是，只要球员工会允许 ，Durant将有意在这里待上一辈子。 Durant，换句话说，就像从俄克拉荷马商会的下属实验室里走出来的人物，成为一 张向世人展示俄州形象的名片——这个州的公民，以其心地善良，头脑冷静，富於职业道 德和团体精神而闻名於世，还有，最最重要的一项品性，谦逊。（俄城市长告诉我，俄克 拉荷马人的谦逊气质得益於毗邻德克萨斯州的缘故，德州人民自来惯於大吹大擂。囧） 在Durant的带领下，雷霆成长为NBA 里面最出色，最年轻又最受欢迎的球队之一。雷霆是 兄弟情深和善意良愿的典范，帮助俄城和联盟双方开辟着黄金时代。与此同时，雷霆还是 一匹铁青色的“特洛伊木马”（译注3 ），俄克拉荷马那些内在的精神气质，通过它而被 传递到世界其他地区：一群友好和气的人们，谦逊地帮助其他的友好人士保持谦逊不骄和 助人为乐的品格。 俄克拉荷马坐落在美国中部：不同於文化底蕴深厚的东部地区，野性犹存的西部地 区，天寒地冻的北部地区，或者温暖湿润的南部地区，而是东南西北所有一切的交汇地带 。连绵群山挨着大平原，草原又和平原紧紧相连。数千年间，这里诞生了疯狂的动物，极 端的气候，和那种狂热的25 车连环相撞似的文化- - 。 1889 年，在那场令人几乎难以置信的西进运动中，成千上万的乌合之众，从全国各地 涌入俄克拉荷马这片看似幅员辽阔，但实际上并不适宜定居的土地（译注4 ）。换句话讲 ，俄克拉荷马就是这个国家的强子超级对撞机：将各种迥然相异的事物聚合到一起，一而 再再而三地产生出无穷无尽的内聚危机。甚至於龙卷风这种在当地被定义为“恶魔之风” 的天气现象（译注5 ），也是气象学上碰撞的结果：三种不同的天气系统在此汇合，对於 俄克拉荷马及其周边地区而言，龙卷风堪称是司空见惯的现象了了。在俄州，气象学家的 地位基本等同於摇滚明星。 从另一方面来讲，职业运动员在俄克拉荷马的存在感并不强。随着以资本家克莱. Bennett为首的俄克拉荷马联合财团，买下西雅图超音速队——一支曾经辉煌一时，如今 沉浮数年苦苦在谷底挣扎的球队，这个状况（运动员的微弱存在感）得以改善。 当时大多数人对西雅图队的易主冷嘲热讽。因为他们确信，Bennett买下球队的意图，就 是要把它尽快搬回自己的故乡——俄克拉荷马城。尽管Bennett曾经做出承诺，会竭尽全 力把球队留在西雅图——不过这个承诺，在他买下球队不久就饱受质疑。因为这位球队的 新东家，请求西雅图投入近3 亿美元兴建一座新球馆。西雅图市拒绝了。 监於此，球队的新管理层宣布，将不得不把它搬迁到一座拥有合适球馆的城市——这座城 市正是俄克拉荷马城。迁队一事掀起了轩然大波：繁琐的法律诉讼，纷扰的球迷抗议，漫 天的流言蜚语。甚至连喜爱球队的俄克拉荷马人民，也承认以这种方式获得球队（迁入） ，是一件令人不太舒坦的事情。 着名的体育专栏作家Bill Simmons，坚定地与西雅图人站在同一战线。在其专栏中，西蒙 斯冠以雷霆独一无二的称呼——超音速殭屍队。 本文译注 注1： 95 — 96赛季，在公牛的赛季前训练营里，帮主和队友科尔发生了一点争执，还击打了後 者的面部- -。 不过後来Kerr回忆时谈到：“ 当时就是竞争嘛，那可能是发生在我身上最棒的一件事之 一了，真的。” Kerr说道，“我需要站到乔丹面前讨回来，我觉得我的举动赢得了他的 尊重。虽然我们两个打了一架，但之後我们两人建立了非常好的关系。你必须得证明自己 ，一旦你证明了自己足够强硬，那你就会没事。” 注2 ： 惊奇漫画（marvel ），美国漫画中的超级英雄主要来自於两个巨头的漫画公司。一个是 DC，一个就是Marvel。 Marvel 漫画公司旗下有5000多名漫画英雄，始建於1939年。2009年12月31日，迪士尼公 司(DIS)以42.4亿美元的价格完成了对Marvel Entertainment Inc的收购，从而获得了蜘 蛛人、钢铁人以及其它5000多个漫画角色的所有权。 注3： 特洛伊木马的故事源於古希腊的神话传说。 特洛伊的王子帕里斯拐走了希腊斯巴达的王后——绝色美女海伦，引发了长 达十年的特洛伊战争。 希腊联军围困特洛伊久攻不下，於是假装撤退，留下一具巨大的中空木马。特洛伊守军不 知是计，把木马运进城中作为战利品。夜深人静之际，木马腹中躲藏的希腊士兵打开城门 ，里应外合，特洛伊最终沦陷。 注4 ： 俄克拉何马州(Oklahoma )是美国中南部的一个州。东接密苏里州和阿肯色州，西 邻新墨西哥州和得克萨斯州，南隔雷德河与得克萨斯州相望，北接科罗拉多州和堪萨斯州 。面积181089平方公里，在50州内列第20位。人口3，579，212（2006年数据）。首府名 为俄克拉何马城。州名来源於印第安乔克托语，意为为“红种人的土地” 此地原为印第安人的聚居地，1800年归法国所有。1803年根据购买路易斯安那协 议，该地区归美国所有。1880年住在这一地区的印第安部族有60多个。 1889年4月22日，美国联邦ZF决定把俄克拉何马州向白人移民开放，许多白人 纷纷涌入，抢先争夺大片肥沃土地，故该州又称“抢先州”。1907年正式成为美国第46州 。 注5 ：: 美国中部多为草原地貌，被称为中部平原区，少有崎岖险阻扰乱大气活动。由於墨西哥暖 流带来的暖空气形成大量雨云，使得来自北部加拿大的寒流迅速退却，在美国境内低气压 不断发展，最终形成龙卷风。 俄克拉荷马州属於龙卷风的多发地带，时常受到风灾侵袭 翻译:http://bbs.hupu.com/4696320.html --

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