https://reurl.cc/pvx2Kl Dan Wolken, USA TODAY
He came out in shoes as shiny and golden as the medal he would put around his
neck Saturday night for the third, and perhaps final, time in his career.
他穿著一雙閃閃發亮的金色球鞋出場，就像他週六晚上將掛在脖子上的金牌一樣耀眼
For LeBron James, the color choice seemed like a statement: About his intent
in the Olympics, about his mission for Team USA, about everything in his
basketball life leading to another gold medal.
對LeBron來說，這個顏色選擇似乎是個宣言：表達他在奧運場上的決心、對美國隊的使命
，以及他籃球生涯中一切努力的目標——另一枚金牌。
Even with all he’s done at age 39, James didn’t come here just to help his
country win a tournament. He proved a point. As long as he’s playing this
sport, nobody is going to shine brighter.
即使已經39歲，LeBron來這裡不僅僅是為了幫助國家贏得冠軍，他還想證明自己。
只要他還在打球，就沒有人能比他更耀眼
LeBron, in fact, has still got it. He was the best player at the Olympics,
winning the tournament's MVP award. He’s still so clearly capable of
dominating a basketball game at a level hardly anyone in the world can match.
LeBron寶刀未老，他是奧運上最好的球員，並贏得MVP，依然主宰比賽，幾乎無人能抗衡
And it leads to one question more important than what he did over this last
month: How are the Los Angeles Lakers screwing up this chapter of his career
so badly?
這讓人不得不問一個問題，比LeBron這個月所做的一切還要重要：
洛杉磯湖人隊到底怎麼了？怎麼會把他的職業生涯搞得這麼糟糕？
I’ll admit, despite being named All-NBA third team, I thought it finally
looked like James lost a step last season. And I thought because of how much
investment they had tied up in James and Anthony Davis that it didn’t really
matter what else they did: The Lakers were going to be stuck with an old team
that would continue to be in play-in purgatory as James continued declining
until his inevitable retirement.
我得承認，儘管LeBron被選入NBA第三隊，我認為上賽季他似乎終於開始下滑了。而且，
，由於他們在 LeBron和AD身上的巨額投資，我不認為他們還能做什麼：
湖人將被困在一個老化的隊伍中，繼續在附加賽掙扎，直到LeBron不可避免的退休。
Maybe the Lakers thought so, too. Maybe that explains why Rob Pelinka has sat
on his hands this offseason, failing to make a single roster move to improve
a team that went 47-35 last season and finished seventh in the Western
Conference.
或許湖人也是這麼想的。這或許可以解釋為什麼Pelinka在這個休賽期無所作為，
未能進行任何隊伍調整來改善一支上賽季取得47勝35負、西區第七的球隊。
But after watching James plow through everyone at the Olympics, I’m actually
now enraged at the Lakers’ front office for fiddling around on the fringes
the last few years while time runs short on this once-in-a-lifetime career.
但在看LeBron在奧運上橫掃所有對手後，我現在對湖人的管理層感到憤怒，
他們在過去幾年裡一直在浪費時間，而LeBron這位千載難逢的黃金時期正在縮短。
OK, so he’s not quite the defender he once was, and you can’t play him 82
games the way he used to. But those are the only concessions to time James
has made as he has reached his late 30s.
他不再是以前的防守悍將，不能打滿82場，但這些30多歲後的他唯一需要讓步的地方
His physical capability is still elite. His passing is still otherworldly.
His ability to read the game and make decisions may be better than ever. When
he’s determined to just put his head down and be a freight train to the rim,
nobody in the world can stop him.
他的身體能力仍然是頂級的。他的傳球仍然超凡脫俗。他閱讀比賽和做出決定的能力可能
比以往任何時候都好。當他決定低頭衝向籃筐時，世界上沒有人能阻止他。
Can James still lead a team to the NBA title? How could you watch these
Olympics and think anything else?
LeBron還能帶領一支球隊奪得NBA冠軍嗎？看了這些奧運比賽後，你還會怎麼想呢？
Even on a team full of superstars, he elevated above everyone. When it’s
America’s best versus the world’s best, there’s still no doubt who gets
the job done.
即使在超巨的球隊中，他仍然高人一等。當美國最強vs世界最強 毫無疑問誰能完成任務
In this tournament, nobody else was going to do it.
在這場比賽，沒有人能做到
Anthony Edwards didn’t have the gravitas. Jayson Tatum was just along for
the ride. The guys who are supposed to eventually replace James as the
American face of the league weren’t ready for this.
AE還沒有足夠的影響力。JT只是隨波逐流。那些被看好能取代 LeBron成為美國籃壇新面孔
，還沒有準備好迎接這個挑戰。
In the end, this team was conceived by and for James to have one last Olympic
run, with his few true peers in the NBA pantheon alongside.
最終，這支球隊是為LBJ打造的，讓他最後1次征戰奧運，與NBA少數的真正同儕並肩作戰
But from training camp to exhibitions and all the way to the final game,
everyone else on this team rode the roller coaster. Steph Curry went from
being uncomfortable early to making a barrage of 3-pointers that held off
France in the gold medal game. Kevin Durant had to work his way back from
injury. Joel Embiid was useful in some moments, out of place in others.
但從訓練營到熱身賽，一直到最後一場比賽，這支球隊的其他人都經歷了起伏。
Curry一開始有些不適，但後來連續投進三分球，幫助美國隊在金牌戰中擊敗法國。
KD必須從傷病中恢復過來。Embidd在某些情況有用，但在其他時間則顯得格格不入。
James, though, was always there. He erased potential humiliating moments
against South Sudan and Germany. He was the Americans’ energy source in the
preliminary rounds. When everything was on the line against Serbia, James
willed Team USA across the finish line. And in the gold medal game against
France, everything ran through him: 14 points, six rebounds, 10 assists in
nearly 33 minutes on the floor.
然而，LeBron一直都在。他化解了對南蘇丹和德國的潛在羞辱時刻。他是美國隊預賽階段
的能量來源。當一切攤在賽場上vs塞爾維亞時，LeBron帶領美國隊衝過終點線。
在金牌戰vs法國時，一切都由他來主導：33分鐘內得到14分、6個籃板和10次助攻
Even on a team full of superstars, this gold medal was only possible because
James wore red, white and blue one more time. Nearing his 40th birthday, we’
ve never seen anything like it.
即使在一支全明星球隊中，這枚金牌只有在 LeBron再次穿上紅、白、藍球衣的情況下才有
可能獲得。在他接近40歲生日之際，我們從未見過這樣的景象。
And what are the Lakers doing with this national treasure? Selling tickets
and running out the clock.
而湖人隊正在用這個國寶做什麼？賣票和虛度光陰。
There probably aren’t many more great years left, but these Olympics showed
that it’s still worth it for the Lakers to make the most of them – trading
draft picks, mortgaging the future, whatever it takes.
LeBron可能沒有太多黃金賽季了，但這次奧運表面，湖人還是值得為他全力以赴——
交易選秀權、抵押未來，不惜一切代價。
He’s still one of the best players on the planet, and there’s no time to
waste. What are they waiting for?
他仍然是世界上最好的球員之一，沒有時間可以浪費。湖人隊還在等什麼？
James will be 43 years old when the next Summer Olympics come to Los Angeles,
and it’s impossible to believe he’ll still be this kind of player four
years from now. But with LeBron James, you don’t just have to allow for the
impossible. You have to imagine it.
下一次夏季奧運在洛杉磯舉行時，LeBron將43歲，很難相信四年後他還能保持這樣的實力
但是對於LeBron James，你不僅要考慮不可能的事，還要想像它。
Team USA did and was rewarded with a gold medal. Now it’s the Lakers' turn.
美國隊做到了，並因此獲得了金牌。現在輪到湖人隊了。
備註
https://i.imgur.com/Xu527or.png
奧運沒有薪資上限
https://i.imgur.com/xSZOgOb.jpg
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