詹皇之逆戰,是時候重新定義職業生涯了

Athletically speaking, LeBron James has never been the underdog, or if he ever was, it was long, long before the world began paying attention to him when he was about 15.

從運動能力方面講，勒布朗-詹姆斯從來沒被看衰過。如果有的話也是很久很久——大概在他15歲——之前，那時候世界還沒開始注意到他。

Bigger, stronger, faster... blessed with the best training and the backing of corporate America... hailed and hyped by the media as a teen... expected to dominate and then proving dominant.

塊頭大、體格強、速度快……接受最好的訓練，擁有美國公司的支持……十幾歲就被媒體大肆宣傳炒作……希望支配聯盟，而最終得償所願。

The Chosen One, "Sports Illustrated" dubbed him when he was a high school junior; it sure got that correct.

《體育畫報》在他高一的時候就稱他爲“被選定的那個人”，結果證明《體育畫報》很有先見之明。

He elicits few sympathies and even fewer warm feelings. He lacks the smile of Magic, the humor of Shaq. He wasn't introduced to the world in the engaging, welcoming way of Michael... come fly with me.

他很少表露同情，溫情甚至更少；他沒有魔術師的微笑，沒有鯊魚的幽默；他沒有喬丹“來吧帶你飛”那樣熱情迷人的方式昭告天下自己的到來。

And he hasn't always helped himself. When he couldn't win in Cleveland, he bolted to Miami. When he won, twice in Miami, it was perceived to be because he had a stacked deck.

他也不總是能做出對自己有益的選擇。在騎士沒能奪冠時，他選擇了投奔邁阿密。當他在邁阿密拿下總冠軍——兩次冠軍時，人們認爲這是因爲他有強大的隊友後援。

Now that he's back in Cleveland, maybe some feelings have thawed but only so much. He's still the physically imposing one.

鑑於他重回騎士，或許某些情緒會有所緩解，但也僅限於此。他依然只有身體素質方面讓人印象深刻。

When he does things like go for 41 points, 16 rebounds and seven assistants – as he did in an otherworldly performance in Game 5 of the NBA Finals – he hears analysts say it's about time.

當他拿下諸如41分16板7助攻的成績——他曾在NBA總決賽G5有過類似不俗的表現時，他聽到分析員說這只是因爲他上場時間長而已。

Maybe though, just maybe, this is the four-day stretch in which some of that changes. Monday was the first step in an audacious effort to push the Cavs to become the first team in Finals history to come back from a 3-1 deficit.

儘管可能，只是“可能”，4天后，某些事情就會發生變化。週一是騎士向NBA決賽史上首支以1-3落後然後成功逆襲的球隊邁出的第一步。

In this case, it would occur with one games on the road against the defending champions, who won the most regular-season games in history, to deliver a professional sports title to a city that hasn't won squat since 1964.

這樣，距離打敗常規賽73勝改寫了NBA歷史紀錄的前冠軍對手，從而爲這座1964年至今還未有一座冠軍盃的城市帶來一個職業運動冠軍的頭銜還有1場比賽。

This would be an unforgettable, impossible-to-dismiss performance. This would be the signature accomplishment of his career.

這將是名垂千史的豐功偉績。這將成爲他職業生涯的代表作。

This would be LeBron James... underdog (sort of).

這就是勒布朗-詹姆斯需要證明給這個世界看的。

There is no need to feel bad for LeBron. Save that emotion for just about everyone else in the world who wasn't born with such advantages.

沒必要爲詹姆斯感到遺憾，把它留給沒有詹姆斯這樣身體天賦的人吧。

Still, it's worth noting the complicated nature of his public persona.

儘管如此，還是有必要爲他公共形象的複雜屬性做個註釋。

There should be no denying his brilliance, although plenty do.

不應該因爲這些否定他的成就，儘管很多人的確這麼做了。

Some of the things he pulls off should inspire awe and excitement – yet for some it's just what a 6-foot-8, 260-pounder should routinely manage.

他獲得的某些成就應該引起敬畏與激情——特別是當高6尺8重260磅的人這樣舉重若輕地得到時。

His stumbles – namely a PR disaster known as "The Decision" – shouldn't turn so many against him, considering this is a guy who's never been in any legal trouble, handles himself with relative grace and seems a heck of a lot better adjusted and more relatable than the average superstar.

鑑於他之前從未在聯盟惹過麻煩，一直努力打造自己較之多數超巨更仁慈親和可靠的形象，他的錯誤——被稱爲“那個決定”的公關災難——不應該招徠如此多的敵對。

Yet with such natural advantages, the wonder was in his ability, not the journey. LeBron is enjoyable to watch the way an excavator digging a trench is – the power is impressive, but entirely predictable.

因爲有這些先天優勢，奇蹟的發生是因爲他的個人能力，而與他換隊與否沒有關係。欣賞勒布朗要採用欣賞挖掘機挖溝的姿勢才正確——這力量讓人印象深刻，然而這是一種完全可以預測的力量。

When people consider his career, it's often not centered on the championships won, but on why he didn't win more, sooner and without the need for so much help.

當人們討論他的職業生涯時，人們不太關注他的冠軍數，而是關注於他的失敗，他的不擇手段以及過多的被協助。

He's one of the two or three or four best players of all time, yet seemingly everyone takes shots at him. He isn't as good as Michael Jordan, they say. OK, but who is?

他是NBA歷史上數二數三的球員，然而看起來每個人都在與他爲敵。他們說他不如邁克爾-喬丹優秀。沒錯，但誰能比肩喬丹？

He isn't as tough or fear-inspiring as other stars. OK, but does that mean Mo Speights should feel comfortable tweeting a baby-bottle emoji at him?

他們說他不像別的明星那樣強硬或帶來恐懼。OK，但這難道意味着莫-斯貝茨（Mo Speights）就得得意洋洋地在推特上發一條奶瓶的表情給他纔算嗎？

(Mo Speights? Really?) He's easy and fun – and fair game – to root against, but he's hardly some terrible guy or selfish player.

（莫-斯貝茨？真假？）黑他很簡單又有趣——而且還可以打着爲比賽公正着想的大旗，但他絕不會成爲可怕的人或自私的球員。

He plays hard. Every night.

他打球很努力，每晚都如此。

"The game of basketball has given me everything, and I would never cheat the game, no matter how many games I win, no matter how many games I lose, that really doesn't matter to me because I really just give it my all," James said.

“籃球比賽給了我一切，我永遠都不會在比賽裏作弊。不管我贏了多少比賽輸了多少比賽，對我來說都不重要，因爲我真的全力以赴了。”詹姆斯說。

He really hasn't cheated the game. He's been the focal point of every single game he's played.

他真的沒有在比賽中做過弊。每一場有他參加的比賽，他都是衆人關注的焦點。

Add in 65 games for USA Basketball, including three Olympics, and he's played the equivalent of 15.25 NBA regular seasons over the last 13 years.

再加上65場美國籃球賽——包括三場奧林匹克賽，他在過去的13年裏出場了平均15.25個常規賽季才能達到的出場次數。

He's logged major minutes in nearly all of them – he's 39th all-time in minutes played in the regular season and fourth all-time in the playoffs.

他幾乎把所有重要的上場時間數據都收入囊中：常規賽總出場時間排第39，季後賽排第四。

He's only 31 years old.

他才31歲。

Yet is this, finally, when America begins rooting for him? Who doesn't love the improbable comeback?

那麼，最終美國開始支持他了嗎？誰不熱愛雖然可能性不大但畢竟有可能的逆襲？

Who doesn't like a guy willing his hometown to a title? Who doesn't appreciate someone putting a team on his back in the loneliest moments of the game?

誰不喜歡一個希望自己家鄉奪冠的傢伙？誰不欽佩在最孤獨的時刻把整支球隊扛在肩上的球員？

Even if that guy is LeBron James.

即便這個人是詹姆斯。

The road remains long and steep. That's the point though. For a career of unquestioned production, LeBron has lacked many legacy games – his most famous is a 45-15-5 performance in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference finals against Boston.

前路依然長且險。雖然這纔是重點。對一個碩果累累的職業生涯，勒布朗缺少許多傳奇單場賽——他最著名的一役是2012年東決打波士頓，G6裏砍下45-15-5。

Then came Monday in Oakland.

然後就是奧克蘭的週一了。

For LeBron James, who's seen it all and done it all, and been cheered and booed doing it all on the basketball court, here's something new, here's a chance, maybe, all these years later, to rewrite the story of his career.

對已經經歷過這一切面對過這一切，場上被贊過也被噓過的勒布朗-詹姆斯來說，有些新的事情發生了。或許這是個機會，在這麼多年後，來重新書寫他的職業生涯。

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