（译者注：本文是日本篮球运动员渡边雄太自述，他目前效力于NBA布鲁克林篮网队，NBA生涯总得分达到610分，超越王治郅（604分），升至亚洲球员NBA生涯得分榜第四位。）

原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


My fifth season in the NBA has finally begun.

我在NBA的第五个赛季终于开始了。

I’d like to share my thoughts today about Brooklyn, where I’ll be playing this season, and Toronto, where I played my last two seasons.

今天我想分享一下我对布鲁克林的看法，这个赛季将在布鲁克林打球，当然还有多伦多，我上两个赛季都在多伦多打球。

I feel that I have some kind of deep connection with Brooklyn. I came to the USA, the home of basketball, nine years ago — and so many milestones in my life have happened in this city. Walking along the streets of Brooklyn now, with fall in the air, special memories come rushing back to me.

我觉得我和布鲁克林有某种很深的联系。9年前，我来到了篮球之乡美国，我生命中的许多里程碑都发生在这座城市。现在走在布鲁克林的街道上，空中飘着雪花，特别的回忆涌上心头。

Four years ago, after graduating from George Washington University, I was brought in for workouts by various NBA teams. I was hopeful that one of them would be pick me in the NBA draft. The first place I worked out was here in Brooklyn.

四年前，从乔治华盛顿大学毕业后，我在多支NBA球队试训。我希望有球队会在NBA选秀大会上选中我。我第一站试训的地方就在布鲁克林。

I continued workouts with seven different teams, including the Washington Wizards and the Atlanta Hawks, but I really clicked with the Nets and was approached to join the team for the 2018 Summer League. That was the start of my NBA career.

继而在七支不同的球队试训，包括华盛顿奇才队和亚特兰大老鹰队，但我真的和篮网很搭，并被邀请加入球队参加2018年夏季联赛。那就是我NBA生涯的开始。

If you look at the two photos below, you'll see that I was pretty skinny back then, lol.

如果你看看下面的两张照片，你会发现我当时很瘦，哈哈


I remembered recently that I had a previous connection with this city, even before the Summer League.

我最近想起我以前和这座城市有过的联系，甚至在那次夏季联赛之前。

In March 2015, when I was a freshman, I played in the Atlantic 10 conference tournament. The venue that year was the Barclays Center. That was the first time I’d ever stepped out onto an NBA court. The following year I played in the same tournament, also in Brooklyn. It’s a cutthroat competition that’s over as soon as you lose. I still remember how frustrating it was to exit two years in a row from a tournament where only the champion can advance to the NCAA tournament.

2015年3月，当我还是大一新生的时候，我参加了大西洋10区锦标赛（译者注：N美国大学生体育协会NCAA大西洋分区赛）。那年的地点是巴克莱中心。那是我第一次踏上NBA的球场。第二年，我参加了同样的比赛，也是在布鲁克林。这是一场残酷的竞争，你一输就结束了。我仍然记得，连续两年从只有冠军才能晋级NCAA锦标赛（译者注：俗称“疯狂三月”的NCAA全国锦标赛）的比赛中出局是多么令人沮丧。
现在我又要在这座城市打球了。


And now I'll be playing in the city again.

现在我又要在这座城市打球了。

In late August I’d already signed a contract with the team, but it was only a camp contract, not a full contract. With players being cut one by one, there was no guarantee that I’d survive until the start of the season.

8月下旬，我已经和球队签了一份合同，但那只是一份训练营合同，而不是一份正式合同。随着球员一个接一个被裁掉，没有人能保证我能活到赛季开始。

I’ve played in the NBA for four seasons, but only ever on a camp contract. I honestly thought, Oh, is this all I'm capable of? I was frustrated with myself, not with the team.

我在NBA打了四个赛季，但只是签了一份训练营合同。我真的想，哦，这就是我所能做的一切吗?我对自己感到沮丧，而不是对团队。

Having never been on an opening day roster through five seasons, I’ve always felt like I’ve been hanging on the edge of a cliff. And I had to survive the camp first, otherwise there was no next step.

在过去的五个赛季里，我从来没有出现在揭幕战的名单上，我总觉得自己悬在悬崖边上。我必须先在训练营里活下来，否则就没有下一步了。

I thought, I’ll have to start all over again ... I’ll have to climb back up from the bottom.

我想，我得从头再来……我得从底部爬上来。

I was pretty worried because I’d had a string of injuries. From June to September I would go days without practicing. I can say this now, but there were times when I lost confidence that I would even make the opening day roster. And I thought about how there are so many players who never even get invited to camp, but I had that chance again this year. I had to be grateful for that.

我很担心，因为我受了一连串的伤。从6月到9月，我经常几天无法训练。我现在可以这么说了，但有几次我甚至对进入揭幕战名单失去了信心。我想，有那么多球员甚至都没有被邀请参加夏令营，但今年我又有了这样的机会。我得为此心存感激。

Players were leaving one after another, but I fought my way through to the final preseason game, chasing my dream of becoming a key player on one of the NBA’s best teams.

球员们一个接一个地离开，但我坚持到了最后一场季前赛，追逐着我成为NBA最好球队之一的关键球员的梦想。


Then, just before the season opener, I was officially told by general manager Sean Marks that I’d been sexted as one of the 15 players on the opening day roster. I thanked him for the opportunity.

然后，就在赛季揭幕战之前，总经理肖恩·马克斯正式告诉我，我被选为揭幕战名单上的15名球员之一。我感谢他给我这个机会。

He told me, “Yuta, you earned it.”

他对我说，Yuta（译者注：雄太），这是你应得的。

The roster does not necessarily have to be 15 players. With a star-studded team like the Nets it could be as few as 14 — but the reason they kept me on was because they knew I would have a role to play this season. The GM’s words had convinced me of this, and I felt both relief at having survived training camp and joy at having my abilities recognized.

名单上不是必须要有15名球员。对于像篮网这样明星云集的球队来说，可能只有14人，但他们留下我的原因是他们知道我在这个赛季会发挥作用。总经理的话让我相信了这一点，我既为能从训练营中幸存下来而感到宽慰，也为自己的能力得到认可而感到高兴。

But I had to switch off this way of thinking.

但我不得不转变这种思维方式。

With the season already started and my contract not guaranteed, I'm still hanging on the edge — even though I’m on the roster. So I’m determined not to waste a single second and keep fighting my way through this season.

赛季已经开始，我的合同没有保障，我仍然悬在边缘——即使我在常规球员名单上。所以我决定不浪费任何一秒钟，在这个赛季继续奋斗。

The day after this article is published, the 21st of October, there is a game that has a special meaning for me. It’s the second game of the season and is at home against the Toronto Raptors, the team I played for last two seasons.

在这篇文章发表的第二天，也就是10月21日，有一场比赛对我来说有着特殊的意义。这是本赛季的第二场比赛，是在主场对阵多伦多猛龙队，这是我过去两个赛季效力的球队。

I loved Toronto. It was a big city, but also had a peacefulness. It was wonderful, there were lakes and lots of natural beauty, with a real sense of calm. The most surprising thing to me was that I made friends in Toronto who had no connection to basketball, whereas before I’d never really made friends outside of the sport.

我喜欢多伦多。这是一个大城市，但也有一种宁静。那里很棒，有湖泊和许多自然美景，有一种真正的平静感。最令我惊讶的是，我在多伦多结识了许多和篮球无关的朋友，而在此之前，我从未在篮球之外交到真正的朋友。

I was with the team for two seasons, but I was based in Florida for the first year because of Covid. So I only lived in Toronto for a single season. I’ll never forget my first visit to Toronto in my second year. When I was walking around the city I was surprised to hear so many people calling, “Yuta!” I was happy that so many people had seen me play and were supporting me.

我在球队待了两个赛季，但由于新冠疫情，第一年我在佛罗里达州比赛（译者注：由于新冠疫情，2020赛季NBA比赛在佛罗里达的奥兰多迪士尼乐园中以赛会形式举行）。我只在多伦多住了一个赛季。我永远不会忘记在NBA的第二年第一次去多伦多的情景。当我在城里走着的时候，我很惊讶地听到这么多人在叫:“Yuta!”我很高兴有这么多人看了我的比赛，支持我。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


The fans in Toronto are very passionate, and even after I left the team, many people still sent me kind messages through social media. Toronto has become unforgettable for me, both the people and the city. I am sure I’ll continue to visit every year, and I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you.

多伦多的球迷非常热情，即使在我离开球队之后，仍然有很多人通过社交媒体给我发了友好的信息。多伦多已经让我难以忘怀，无论是这里的人还是这座城市。我相信我每年都会来看看，我想借此机会表示感谢。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


Thank you so much to the people of Toronto.

非常感谢多伦多人民。

But ... from now on the Raptors are our opponents. Even though they’re my former teammates and they know me, when it comes to the game I can’t hold back and will play to win. The Nets have some of the best scorers in the NBA, including Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and I am guessing that the Raptors will play a special defense against them. I can’t say for sure, but when I played against the Nets last season, I played a special defense against them too. The Raptors change their tactics a lot during a game, so I’m looking forward to seeing what they’ll try and I’ll do my best to beat them.

但是…从现在起猛龙就是我们的对手。即使他们是我以前的队友，他们也了解我，但在比赛中，我不能退缩，我会为了胜利而比赛。篮网拥有NBA最好的得分手，包括凯文·杜兰特和凯里·欧文，我猜猛龙会对他们进行特殊的防守。我不能确定，但当我上赛季对阵篮网时，我也对他们进行了特殊的防守。猛龙在一场比赛中会改变很多战术，所以我很期待看到他们会怎么做，我会尽我最大的努力击败他们。


There's something I always try and remember on my journey:

在我的职业历程中，有一件事我一直在努力记住:

Only 450 people in the whole entire world play in the NBA, the pinnacle of basketball.

全世界只有450人在NBA这个篮球的巅峰赛事打球。

With a global pool of 450 million basketball players, 450 people is only 0.0001% of that.

全球有4.5亿篮球运动员，450人只是其中的0.0001%。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


It is by far the most difficult league to get into, and some say it’s even more difficult to survive in: Most NBA careers are said to last just two to three years. I have been on the edge of the cliff every season and have been near the bottom of the roster, but the fact that I’ve been one of the sext 450 for five years … I’m very proud of that.

这是迄今为止最难进入的联盟，有些人说在其中生存更困难:据说大多数球员的NBA职业生涯只能持续两到三年。我每个赛季都处于悬崖边缘，几乎是名单的底部，但事实上，我已经连续五年入选450强了……我为此感到非常自豪。

Regardless of whether I am a Japanese player or not, I am proud that the dream of a little kid who once watched the NBA on TV and thought, I wish I could play on that stage, too, has been coming true for five years.

不管我是不是日本球员，我很自豪，因为我小时候在电视上看NBA比赛时想，“我也希望能在那个舞台上打球”的梦想已经实现了5年。

As a member of the Nets, the most important thing for me now is to show the team what I can do. It’s important for me to find my role. The Nets are a team of superstars. But I’m sure that there is a role on this team that I can succeed in and help win us games. I want to pursue that during the season — just like I did in the preseason — and be the player they need me to be.

作为篮网的一员，现在对我来说最重要的事情就是向球队展示我能做什么。对我来说，找到自己的角色很重要。篮网是一支由超级巨星组成的球队。但我确信在这支球队中有一个我可以成功的角色，并帮助我们赢得比赛。我想在赛季中追求这些——就像我在季前赛中做的那样——成为他们需要我成为的球员。


I’m back in Brooklyn after 4 years.

四年后我又回到了布鲁克林。

It’s been about a month and a half since I signed the camp contract and moved to this city. It’s a great place to live, and when I come back after being away, I think, Ah, I’m home.

自从我签了夏季训练营合同搬到这个城市已经有一个半月了。这是一个非常适合居住的地方，当我离开后又回来，我想，啊，我到家了。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


I particularly love the DUMBO neighborhood in Brooklyn. I go there to eat or just walk around when I need a break. It’s sandwiched between two beautiful bridges, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge, with a view of Manhattan just across the river. The redeveloped cobblestone and red-brick buildings give the area a great vibe. I haven’t been able to get out and walk around much yet, but once I get to know Brooklyn better, I’m sure I'll fall in love with the city even more.

我特别喜欢布鲁克林的DUMBO社区。当我需要休息的时候，我会去那里吃饭或四处走走。它夹在两座美丽的桥之间，布鲁克林大桥和曼哈顿大桥，隔河就能看到曼哈顿的景色。重新翻修的鹅卵石路和红砖建筑给这个地区带来了很好的氛围。我还没办法经常出门散步，但一旦我更好地了解布鲁克林，我相信我会更加爱上这座城市。

I want to make the most of every day I have in the NBA so that I can continue to work hard right until the end of the season. And when people pass by me, I hope they will call, “Yuta!”

隔河就能看到曼哈顿的景色。重新翻修的鹅卵石路和红砖建筑给这个地区带来了很好的氛围。我还没办法经常出门散步，但一旦我更好地了解布鲁克林，我相信我会更加爱上这座城市。
我想充分利用我在NBA的每一天，这样我就可以继续努力，直到赛季结束。当人们从我身边经过时，我希望他们会叫一声:“Yuta!”