楊瀾專欄談姚明

Over the past eight years, I have had the pleasure of interviewing basketball star Yao Ming three times. I first sat down with him in 2002, just before he was scheduled to leave for the United States to play in the NBA. Although he had been the first round draft pick that year, he still felt a sense of ambivalence about how his new life in the US would turn out.

在過去的八年間，我有幸三次采訪姚明。2002年我第一次采訪他是在他赴美之前。他已經(jīng)進入當年NBA選秀的第一輪，仍然對自己在美國的新生活即憧憬又擔憂。

The second time I interviewed him was during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He had returned as a hero, but knew he and his teammates needed to step up if the nation was to get a medal in the competition.

第二次采訪他是在08年北京奧運會。作為籃壇英雄歸來的姚明，仍然清醒地知道，中國要想笑傲獎壇，自己和隊友們仍需努力。

The last time we met, Yao was unable to walk without crutches.

最后一次見到他時，他只能依靠拐杖走路。

I have watched the wide arc of Yao's career and wondered what it means for the development of Chinese basketball. It boils down to these five major points.

我已經(jīng)目睹過了姚明寬泛的職業(yè)生涯，同時也在思考其對中國籃球的意義。概括說來，主要有以下五點：

Firstly, Yao's physical growth. Back in 2002 Yao was a shy, lanky 22 year old. Over the years his body has filled out to match his position as center. Now that he is out of action, it is even bigger.

第一，姚明的體力。2002年時他還是一個害羞、瘦長的22歲年輕人。然而幾年來他已經(jīng)鍛煉成一個真正的中鋒巨人。他不打籃球后，體格更加健壯了。

Second, is Yao's transformation from first round draft pick to team owner of the Shanghai Sharks, where he started his career.

第二，他的成功轉型。從NBA第一輪選秀中嶄露頭角，到回到自己剛起步的地方，上海鯊魚隊，并且當上老板。

Third, as a young player he earned little, now he earns over $52 million a year. He knows that all too often his fellow NBA players go broke just 3.5 years after retiring. Yao told me these young players suddenly start to earn enormous salaries, but have no training in how to manage their fortunes. I asked him what he had done to avoid such a situation.

第三，他之前賺錢不多，然而現(xiàn)在每年收入超過五千兩百萬。他知道很多NBA球員都在退役3.5年后宣告破產(chǎn)。他曾經(jīng)告訴我，這些年輕的球員突然間就賺到大錢，卻沒有及時學會如何理財。我也問過他是如何試圖避免這個局面的。

"When I first started out I was only earning about 10 yuan ($1.46) a week, with an occasional 700 yuan bonus for winning a game I quickly spent that whole bonus."

“一開始我每星期只賺10塊錢（1.46美元），有時候打贏比賽會有700塊獎金，我總是很快就花光這些錢。”

But Yao's parents taught him how to save his money, in the traditional Chinese way. They insisted he put his earnings in the bank, and to use his savings cautiously. He followed his parents' advice closely until last year when he decided to spend big and invest in the Shanghai Sharks.

但他父母教會他積蓄，這也是中國的傳統(tǒng)理財方法。他們堅持讓姚明把工資存進銀行，并謹慎用錢。他一直很聽父母的話，除了去年他決定花大手筆投資鯊魚隊。

Fourth, is the emotional journey Yao has experienced, from being a struggling basketball player to being an icon and father of a baby girl, in a few months' time.

第四，是他的情感歷程。從默默無聞的小球員到國民偶像，隨后又在幾個月的時間中體會到了作為一個女嬰的父親的欣喜若狂。

Thirty years ago journalists predicted the day when the son of two local basketball stars would become the bright hope of Shanghai basketball. Today, the media is pinning the same hopes on the daughter of Yao and his wife, also a former basketball player.

30年前記者們預計上海一對籃球運動員夫婦的兒子會成為上海籃球運動的希望。而今，媒體也開始將同樣的希望寄予姚明和葉莉的女兒
。

Yao told me about his excitement of becoming a father; especially when he first heard his daughter's heartbeat on the monitor.

姚明對我談過他的激動心情，尤其是他第一次通過儀器聽到自己女兒的心跳時。

This is a much-needed positive experience for Yao, who has been battling injuries for the past two years.

對于在過去的兩年一直與病痛做斗爭的姚明，這是一次必需而積極的情感體驗。

This endless surgery is taking its toll on Yao. He even thought about giving it all up and retiring, so he asked his doctor if he did not have surgery would he be able to play basketball with his child? The doctor answered, he would not even be able to walk. Hence he decided to go forward with surgery.

多次手術給姚明帶來了很大創(chuàng)傷。他甚至想過就此放棄，然后退役，所以他曾問自己的醫(yī)生，如果他不接受手術，以后還能不能和自己的孩子打籃球。醫(yī)生說他會連走路都成問題。于是他最終決定堅持手術。