[專欄] How Hawks rookie Trae Young found a c

來源：The Athletic
作者：Chris Kirschner Feb 27, 2019
網址：
https://theathletic.com/837429/2019/02/26/how-hawks-rookie-trae-young-found-a-connection-with-superstar-chris-paul/?access_token=7409245

Title:
How Hawks rookie Trae Young found a connection with superstar Chris Paul?

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HOUSTON — Trae Young’s perspective on basketball changed in one night in November 2016. As with almost every Oklahoma City Thunder home game since the team’s relocation from Seattle, Young and his father, Ray, were sitting in Section 121, Row X, Seats 3-4. Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers had come to town, which meant another opportunity for Trae to meet one of his favorite players in the league.

在 2016 年 11 月的一個晚上，Trae Young對籃球的看法發生了變化。自從球隊從西雅圖搬遷以來，幾乎每一場俄克拉荷馬城雷霆主場比賽，Young和他的父親都坐在第 121 區，X 排，座位 3- 4. 等待著Chris Paul與快艇隊的來到，這意味著Trae又有機會見到他在聯盟中最喜歡的球員之一。

Young was a senior at Norman North High School and one of the top recruits in the country. He had first met Paul when he was 7 years old during Paul’s rookie year, 2005-06, when the New Orleans Hornets had temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City because of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation.

Young是諾曼北高中的一名四年級學生，也是該地區最優秀的新生之一。他第一次見到Paul是在他的新秀賽季，2005-06 賽季，當時新奧爾良黃蜂隊因卡崔納颶風的破壞而暫時搬遷到俄克拉荷馬城。

But it was that night during Young’s senior year of high school, as the two talked inside the tunnel of Chesapeake Energy Arena, that Paul made his biggest impression on the young player.

就是在他高三的那個晚上，當兩人在切薩皮克能源球場的走廊交談時，Paul給這位年輕球員留下了深刻的印象。

Paul challenged Young to discover his intrinsic motivation for playing the game. Was it because he wanted fame or fortune? Was it because he wanted to provide for his family? Paul told Young that once he found the reason, his sense of motivation would transform.

Paul要Trae去尋找他打球的初衷為何。是為名利嗎？還是為了養家糊口？他告訴Trae，一旦找到了自己的目的，他的打球的動力就會完全不同了。

For Young, the answer rested with his grandfather, to whom he was close before the older man passed away. His grandfather always told Trae that he was going tomake it to the NBA one day. Shortly after that conversation with Paul, Trae went to his grandfather’s grave and placed a bracelet on the tombstone. Engraved on the bracelet was this phrase: “What is your why?”

對於Young來說，這個答案無庸置疑是他最親密的祖父。祖父生前總是告訴Trae，他總有一天會進入 NBA。在不久後，他去了祖父墳前，在墓碑上放了一個手鐲，而那只手鐲上刻著一句話：”你將為何而戰？”

“Ever since then, I started carrying myself differently and started thinking about the game differently,” Young said. “I realized that night that I don’t play for myself. I play for others.”

“從那之後，我更加真誠的對待自己，並開始以不同的方式看待比賽，”Young說。 “那天晚上我意識到了我不只是為自己打球。”

The relationship between Young and Paul has grown so strong over the years thatthe Hawks rookie point guard still turns to the Rockets superstar for advice. In high school, he would text and call Paul for tips on how he should handle his recruitment. During his year at Oklahoma, he would ask Paul how he should handlethe overwhelming fame brought his way and the constant dissection of every playby fans and media around the country. Now that Young is in the NBA, it’s Paul who has told him that the fandom he held for Paul, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook had to stop. It’s fine to recognize and respect their games, but it shouldn’t go further than that, Paul told him.

多年來，Trae和Paul的關係早已根深柢固，如今這位老鷹隊的新秀控球仍然會從那個火箭隊的超級巨星尋求建議。在高中時，他會發短信並打電話給Paul，詢問他應該如何處理大學的招聘。在俄克拉荷馬大學那一年，他會問保羅怎麼面對那鋪天蓋地而來的名聲以及各路球迷、媒體對他的評論。如今他已是個NBA球員，Paul提醒他，他不能再把自己當作一個Paul、James、Durant、Westbrook的粉絲，尊敬他們的比賽很好，但也僅此就好。

That hasn’t been an issue for Young during his rookie season. He’s always hadthat mindset, and it’s something he’s picked up from Paul and Westbrook when he was growing up in Oklahoma and going to Hornets and Thunder games.

而在他的新秀賽季，這對Young來說顯然並不是個問題。他一直保持著競爭的心態，這是他在家鄉俄克拉荷馬州從黃蜂隊和雷霆隊的Paul和Westbrook身上學到的。

“Whenever I play against you, we’re not friends anymore. We’re enemies,” You
ng said. “We’re competing against each other, and that’s how I look at it. We could be friends and talk afterwards, but once we’re on the court, none of that matters to me. I only care about winning and taking care of business.”

“每當我們站上戰場時，我們就是敵人了”Young這樣說。 “我們是競爭對手，我是這麼想的”我們可以在賽後像朋友一樣談笑風生，但是一旦站上了戰場，我腦中只有贏球。”

Young dropped a career-high 36 points and eight 3-pointers Monday night againstPaul and the Rockets. A few hours before the game, his father reminded him not to get caught up in the moment of playing against one of his mentors, that Paul is the type of player who might throw an elbow in your chest and try to get intoyour head. The only time Young lets the realization of going up against his idols get to him is during warm-ups. Young said he looks across the court before games and soaks up the moment. After introductions, however, the feelings of awe are over.

週一晚上對陣Paul和火箭隊的比賽中，Young得到生涯新高的 36 分和 8 個三分球。比賽前幾個小時，父親提醒他不要在與其心靈導師比賽時陷入困境，Paul可是那種可能會暗拐並試圖惹惱你的球員。Young則說，他唯一一次意識到他可是要對抗他的偶像是在熱身期間，他在比賽前環顧球場並享受著這一刻。然而，在比賽開始之後，那份敬畏之情也結束了。

After the Rockets beat the Hawks on Monday night, Houston head coach Mike D’Antoni went up to Paul and said, “Man, he can play.” Paul laughed and said, “Yeah, I already knew that.” Young has been to several of Paul’s camps through the years, and the Houston guard knew Young was going to be a problem when he got to the league.

在周一晚上火箭隊擊敗老鷹隊後，休斯頓主教練Mike D’Antoni 走到Paul面前說：“伙計，他很能打。”Paul笑著回應：“當然，我早就知道了。”多年來，Trae去過他的幾個訓練營，而他知道Young在進入聯盟之後會是一個大麻煩。

“I knew that right away because he’s ultra-competitive,” Paul told The Athletic. “He’s fun to watch because he’s so skilled. I think that’s what people m
ay miss when watching him. His handles, man. He can come off a ball screen, andhe can stop and whip it to the other side of the court with his left hand.

“我馬上就知道了，因為他總是非常有競爭力，”他告訴 The Athletic。 “我非常享受他的比賽，因為他的技術無可挑剔。我想人們在看他的比賽時很容易忽略他的持球有多高明。他非常能利用掩護、急停、變向換手等技術。

“It ain’t maybe four or five guys in the entire NBA that can do that, and he does it efficiently. He’s only going to get better and better.”

“整個NBA可能不到四五個人能做到這一點，而他可以，而且他只會越來越好。”

Paul watches games around the league every night. He has watched several Hawks games because of his relationship with Young, as well as with John Collins, who shares a bond because both went to Wake Forest, and head coach Lloyd Pierce. Before the game, Paul went over to the Hawks’ bench and dapped Pierce up. After the game, Paul hugged Young and told him to keep going and stay patient.

Paul每晚都會看比賽。由於他倆的關係，他也觀看了幾場老鷹的比賽，那裡還有Collins ,Lloyd，他們則是同樣來自維克森林大學的學弟和主教練。賽前，Paul會走到老鷹隊的替補席上，給Lloyd寒暄幾句。比賽結束後，他擁抱了Young，並告訴他繼續前進並保持耐心。

Paul said the reason he takes pride in mentoring Young is because of the rookie’s desire to continually get better and because Young makes it a point to stayin touch. Paul said some players ask for advice, and that’s it. Even now, whenYoung sees Paul have a good night on the floor, he’ll send quick “good game, bro” texts. Even for someone of Paul’s stature, that means something.

Paul說道，他為指導Young而感到自豪的原因是因為他隨時渴望變得更好，並且他知道Young對此有多珍惜、多重視。他提到有些球員也會徵求意見，但僅此而已。即使是現在，當Young看到Paul有好表現時，他也會快速發送訊息 “幹得好，兄弟” 。即使對於Paul如此地位的人來說，這也意義重大。

“Even now, when I’m watching games, I keep in touch with him,” Paul said. “I
f someone keeps in touch with you, you’re going to want to keep in touch with them. I’m always willing to help someone who wants the help.”

“即使是現在，當我看比賽時，我也會和他保持聯繫，”Paul 說。 “如果有人時時與你保持聯繫，你也會與他們有所連結。我一直願意幫助那些想要尋求幫助的人。”

Paul has heard the criticism about Young’s game since the rookie was in high school and playing AAU basketball, which Paul is heavily involved in. Young has always felt like he had something to prove because of his height. Watching Paul in person during his rookie year gave Young the confidence that a small point guard could make it in the NBA. Paul still counsels Young to use those doubts as fuel.

Paul從Young高中和打AAU開始就聽到了關於Young的批評，而他也很在意這些。就好像是因為Young的身高問題，他總是需要向世人證明些什麼，即使他已經驗證過了。而在親眼目睹Paul的新秀賽季後，Young開始相信一個小個子控球後衛可以在 NBA 取得成功。至今Paul仍然建議他將這些質疑作為自己的燃料。

“You hear some of the visiting commentators talk about the deep threes he takes when they don’t go in, and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, who does he think he is? Why is he pulling up from that deep?'” Paul said. “He’s been doing that since he’s been playing AAU. He’s more than capable of making those shots. When he was in college, I told him that the NBA is going to be easier than college because the court is so open. When he can handle the ball like that, he’s a handful.

“當他的大號三分沒投進時，你會聽到一些客座評論員對此品頭論足，他們會說，‘哦，他以為他是誰？他為什麼要從那麼遠的地方拔起來？'”Paul說。 “自從他打 AAU 以來，他就一直在這樣做，所以我敢說他絕對有能力投進這些球。當在大學時，我告訴他NBA將會比大學更容易，因為球場是如此開放(三分線更遠？）當他能那樣控球時，他會變得很難對付。

“I couldn’t shoot it like that when I came into the league — hell, I still can’t shoot like that right now. I used to talk to him all of the time about defense because when you’re a young guy in this league, one of the biggest things you have to do is learn how to defend. Once he keeps working on that, he’s going to be fine.”

“當我進入聯盟時，我不能像他那樣投籃——唉別說了，既使現在仍然不能。我一直和他談論防守，當你還年輕時，你最重要的事情之一就是學習如何防守。一旦你持續為此努力，一切都會水到渠成。”

Seven hours before Young’s stellar night against Paul and the Rockets, he sat on one of the courtside chairs inside the Toyota Center and talked about his bond with Paul and what he has learned from the Houston guard through the years. Hetalked about the alpha mentality the two share, the belief that he is better than the point guard he’s going up against that night.

在Young對陣Paul的七個小時前，他坐在豐田中心的一張場邊椅子上，談論了他與Paul的關係以及多年來從他那裡學到的東西。他談到了兩人共有的領袖心態，總是相信自己比當晚所對抗的對手更好。

He also talked about the Rookie of the Year race with Luka Doncic, the player he’ll forever be linked to because of the draft-night trade between Atlanta and Dallas. Young smiled when asked about the consensus from the media that the raceis already over and the award is essentially waiting for Doncic. Young proceeded to have his best game of the season on the same night Doncic finished with a triple-double against Paul’s former team, the Clippers.

他還談到了與Doncic競爭年度最佳新秀，由於亞特蘭大和達拉斯選秀夜的交易，他倆將永遠被聯繫在一起做比較。當被問及媒體一致認為獎項基本上在等待Doncic時，他笑了。而在Doncic對陣Paul老東家快艇的比賽中拿到了大三元的夜晚，Trae也打出了他本賽季最好的一場比賽。

“I don’t think the race is over,” Young said. “At the same time, that’s not
really my main focus. But I don’t think the Rookie of the Year race is over just yet. You see guys come out all of the time super hot and get all of the hypeand deservedly so. Luka has had a terrific year so far. But there’s been multiple times where there’s been co-winners, or it’s been flipped at the end just like last year with Donovan (Mitchell) and Ben (Simmons).”

“我認為比賽還沒有結束，”Young說。 “雖然這並不是我的重心，但我認為年度最佳新秀的競爭還沒有結束。你會看到人們火熱的炒作而且這是當之無愧的，Doncic有著非常棒的賽季。但也有時會有兩位以上球員共享殊榮，或者像去年Mitchell與Simmons一樣在最後被翻轉。”

Even if Young doesn’t win the award, Paul believes he is going to have a long career in the league because of his work ethic and his success in the pick-and-roll game. Paul said the pick-and-roll is “what the NBA is about, for the most part,” and Young’s court vision and the ability to make something happen every time he’s on the offensive end of the floor separate him from many players around the league. The court is just more open for guards who can handle the ball the way Young does.

即使Young沒有獲獎，Paul仍相信由於他的職業精神以及他在擋拆戰術的成功，他將在聯盟中擁有很長的職業生涯。Paul說到，在大多數情況下，是擋拆戰術即NBA比賽的核心，而Young的球場視野以及他在進攻端的創造性將他提升到與許多球員不同的檔次。如今對於能像Young那樣控球的後衛來說，球場更加的開放。

As for Young, he’s going to continue to ask Paul for advice whenever he can because he’s reminded every time they talk that an undersized point guard can excel in the league.

至於Young，他在任何時候仍會繼續向Paul徵求意見，因為每次Paul持續證明著矮個子球員也能在聯盟中出類拔萃。

“He saw this short point guard from Wake Forest out on the floor doing work,”said Young’s father, Ray. “You have to be able to believe that you can do it,too. I can preach to him until I’m blue in the face that he’s good enough andcan make it, but until you see it like Trae saw it with Chris, that’s when he really believed it could happen for him, too.”

“他看到這個來自維克森林的矮個控衛在場上競爭，”Young的父親說道。 “也許我能持續說服他要相信自己也能做到，也許我能一直講到他能做到為止。

但是，當我看到Young目不轉睛的盯著Paul在場上所做到的一切，我能肯定，在那當下，他才真正相信這也會降臨在他身上。”

Said Young: “The way Chris carries himself, the way he gives back and the way he is with younger players is the same way I want to be when I get older.”

Young提到：“像Chris這樣證明自己、回饋後輩以及與年輕球員相處的方式，就是我以後想要成為的樣子。”

心得：師傅跟徒弟有機會對決嗎？

作者：

Chris Kirschner is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Atlanta Hawks. He previously covered Alabama recruiting for SEC Country, where he covered the Crimson Tide's past two national championship game appearances. Follow Chris on Twitter @chriskirschner.

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