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McGrady: Yao Ming's impact reaches far beyond the NBA court

McGrady: 姚明的影響力遠大於NBA賽場上

When I got traded to the Houston Rockets in 2004 I really didn't know Yao Ming.
He'd been in the league a few years, we'd both been to the All-Star Game
and we played against each other a few times, but I had never talked to him.
I didn't think he could speak any English and I was worried about that.
I thought: "How is this going to work?"

2004年我被交易到休士敦火箭隊前，我對姚明一無所知。我知道他在聯盟打滾了幾年、
我們也在全明星賽場上交手過幾次，但我沒跟他講過話。
我以為也很擔心他不會講英文，我滿腦子只有：「這該怎麼溝通啊？」

I had just won the last two scoring titles with the Orlando Magic, but I was so
excited to be playing with a great big man that I knew I was going to have to
work with him and feed him the ball. But to do that, we needed communication.

當時我在奧蘭多魔術隊剛拿下兩座得分王，我也很高興可以跟一個這麼棒的大個子合作，
而且我相信我可以跟他配合的很好。但是在這之前我們得要先能溝通啊。

How would I talk to him on the court? Would I have to look over at an
interpreter on the bench every time we needed to say something to each other?
I was thinking maybe we'd have earpieces or something.

在場上我要怎麼跟他溝通？我該不會要帶個翻譯吧?!我們倆需要戴個耳機嗎？

When I finally met him, I realized two things: he does speak English and not
only does he speak it, he has an amazing sense of humor.

一直到我們碰面後，我才認清了兩件事：他很會講英文，而且他超幽默的。

I loved seeing his personality come out more and more over the years as he
got more comfortable in Houston. That's how I really learned what an amazing
person he is. He will sometimes just pretend he doesn't speak English -- he
does that even to this day!

伴隨著長時間在休士敦的相處，我越來越愛他的個性。而且他真的是個超棒的人。
他有時候還會假裝自已不會講英文，就算是現在他還是會這樣。

I remember when he came to my wedding reception in 2006. My family and friends
were so excited and they all wanted to take pictures and get autographs,
and he pretended he couldn't understand them. I just had to sit back and laugh.

我永遠記得2006年我結婚那天，我的親友們看到他超興奮的要跟他搭話、合照，
他居然假裝聽不懂。害我整個笑慘。

Man, you never really get over his size, a guy who is 7-foot-6 and that big.
Even now when we stand next to each other, I can't get over it.

還有，你永遠不會習慣旁邊有一位7呎6吋的大個子的壓迫感，直到現在我依然會不自在。

That's why Yao getting into the Hall of Fame is so deserved. His skills for a
man his size were just unbelievable. He could do everything. He could post up,
score with either hand, shoot a jumper, he had an array of moves. He could
block shots. He passed so well and that's so rare for a guy his size.

也因此姚明得名人堂是實至名歸的，他身材這麼高大且擁有令人不可置信的技巧。他什麼
都會，他可以打低位、左右手都很靈活、會跳投，還擁有刁鑽的步伐；他會賞你火鍋、
也有很棒的傳球視野。

I'd never played with a big man of his caliber. I didn't know he was that
skilled before I came to the Rockets, but then I saw it every day in practice,
every day before games, after games. He really put in the work to perfect his
craft -- he even took our technical foul shots because he was that great of a
free throw shooter.

我從未跟這麼棒的大個子一起打過球。在來到火箭隊之前我不清楚他技巧這麼全面，
但到了之後，我每天都能看到他賽前、賽後努力的練球。他真的很拼命在磨練自己的技術
，你們都知道的，我們球隊得到技術犯規加罰都是由他來罰的。

He had a mean streak, too. You'd see it come out whenever he'd get dunked on.

他也很會記仇，你只要看有人在他頭上灌籃就知道了。

Then there was Yao's impact on the global game. You have to understand,
before him, basketball wasn't popular in China. I had made trips there before
he came into the league, and there was basketball, but it wasn't a part of the
Chinese culture.

另外姚明對世界籃球的發展也有影響。在他進入NBA之前，其實中國的籃球並沒有很流行，
在那之前我曾經到中國幾次，他們有在打籃球，只是沒有很流行。

Now, there's over 300 million people in China playing because of Yao Ming.

現在因為姚明，中國有超過3億人口在打籃球。

I saw it. I felt it. That is his legacy. He brought NBA basketball to China
and I will forever be thankful that I was able to be a part of it. He
introduced the country to Tracy McGrady.

我深有體會。他將NBA帶進中國，我身在那洪流之中，他把中國介紹給Tracy McGrady。

We were their heroes. They didn't see Michael Jordan play, they saw us.
They saw Yao.

我們倆就是他們的英雄，他們不看Michael Jordan打球、但他們看我們打、看姚明打。

In 2007, there was a game we played in Houston against the Milwaukee Bucks
when they had former No. 6 overall pick and fellow Chinese star, Yi Jianlian.
It was just a regular-season game, but 200 million people watched in China.

2007年，我們在休士敦迎戰密爾瓦基公鹿隊－他們當年用第六順位選進易建聯。
當天中國有2億的人口在收視，你能想像那只是一場例行賽嗎？

That's Yao's impact. I was in awe.

那就是姚明的影響力。

When I think of the six seasons we played together, it hurts. It's tough
for me to speak about even now. We never got a fair chance because of injuries.

我們一同奮戰的六季裡，很遺憾、提到這我也很難過，我們從未在傷病上獲得機會。

We could've had a championship team, Yao and me. We had several great
opportunities. There were times when we were thriving. But we could never be
healthy; it's so unfortunate. The one year we had the team -- we'd gotten
Luis Scola, Shane Battier, Kyle Lowry, Carl Landry, Ron Artest -- I was
thinking that was the year.

我認為MM連線有機會衝擊總冠軍。我們一度非常的強大，但是我們卻沒有健康；
我們有一年擁有Luis Scola、Shane Battier、Kyle Lowry、Carl Landry、Ron Artest。
我心想就是今年了！

Then I blew out my knee. I was devastated. That team was so good.
The guys beat the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round and we were
in a battle with the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round when Yao broke
his foot. That was our year.

接著我膝蓋中了一箭(誤)。我們球隊還是非常強悍、他們第一輪幹掉波特蘭拓荒者隊，
緊接著第二輪對上洛杉機湖人隊時，姚明的腳受傷了，我們這年就這樣結束。
(其實第一輪也賠上木桶伯)

What if. So many what ifs.

如果、如果，太多如果了。

We still had some great memories. We hosted the All-Star Game in Houston
together and we both addressed the crowd before the game and he spoke in
English, I'll always remember that. It was awesome.

我們仍然有些很美好的回憶。我們一起在休士敦辦全明星賽，他在賽前用英文向觀眾們
致意，我永遠會記住這一幕、那帥呆了。

We had a 22-game winning streak in 2007-08, the fourth-longest run in NBA
history. Even then, Yao got hurt after the 12th win. If we had something to
hold onto, that's it. When we were both healthy, we really were great together.

我們曾經在2007-08賽季締造NBA史上第四長的連勝記錄(當時為第二長)－22連勝。而姚明
在第12場勝利入手後傷退，我們都健康的時候真的很強。

Yao is truly a great and humble person. You just can't recognize his
accomplishments on the court without seeing his kindness and humbleness off it.
I am proud to call Yao my friend.

姚明謙虛而真誠。光看賽場上留下的記錄而不看球場外他的友善與謙遜對他並不公平。
我以身為姚明的朋友為榮。

He opened so many doors. He personally put me in position to have a life after
basketball. I'm so lucky to have had a chance to know him, play with him and
to work with him. He has a legacy very few have, and he has been and will
continue to be a great influence.

他為我開了很多門路。因為他即便我退休後仍有很多選擇，我很幸運可以認識他、與他共
事。他的傳奇很少有人能做到，而他也會持續的將影響力擴大下去。

It's what he does, it's who he is.

這就是他的成就，他就是－姚明。

原文：http://goo.gl/qIMH12

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見證mm連線組成到解散的妹迷已哭QQ

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A：「我們說喔…」「就像我們剛剛聊到的……」 象
B：「嘿…這一球有點走步的嫌疑喔！」「嘿嘿……這有沒有犯規我不敢講，哈！」勇
C：「現在球傳給xx了…WOWW~這球真是太漂亮了！」 仁
D：「這球xx打得真是太強了」「xx如果這樣打就沒得玩了」 蔚
E：「這一次的進攻(防守)展現出老將們的經驗」「這就是xx的價值」伸

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