百花齊放 NBA的國際勢力競相崛起

Go back to the 1999-2000 NBA season, and there were only two foreign-born players in the NBA who averaged 15 points per game: Dirk Nowitzki and Tim Duncan.

追溯到NBA的1999-2000賽季，聯盟裏非美國本土球員中，只有兩位場均能得到15分以上，一位是德克-諾維茨基，一位是蒂姆-鄧肯。

This season, there are 24 names on that list -- by far the most in league history.

這個賽季，有24位外國球員得分到了15+——是聯盟歷史上最多的。

The NBA international imprint just keeps getting bigger, providing the sort of transformative impact the likes of which the league probably hasn't seen since the ABA merger.

NBA的國際印記越來越大，自從與ABA合併以來，我們可能從未見過具有如此變革性的影響。

These aren't just some guys taking up roster spots, either.

這些國際球員，不只是簡簡單單佔一個球隊名額而已。

These are franchise players. At least one-third of the league's teams have a foreign-born player who would classify as its best, or at least its most important.

這些人都是基石球員。聯盟中至少三分之一的球隊將外國球員作爲頭牌，或者至少在隊內發揮最重要的作用。

One of the MVP front-runners at this point is Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo. Dallas' Luka Doncic looks like an overwhelming favorite to become the first Slovenian rookie of the year.

比如，希臘的揚尼斯-阿德託昆博現在正是MVP熱門之一；達拉斯的盧卡-東契奇則人氣爆棚，將要成爲斯洛文尼亞出產的第一位最佳新秀。

Cameroon's Joel Embiid might be the dominant big man in the league, and keeps getting better for Philadelphia.

喀麥隆的喬爾-恩比德可能算是聯盟最具統治力的內線，在費城打得也是越來越好。

"It's been fun to watch over the last two decades, where the game started internationally and where it is now," said Dirk Nowitzki, the German who became the biggest star in Dallas Mavericks' history.

德克-諾維斯基，這位德國人成爲了達拉斯獨行俠歷史上最耀眼的明星，他說道：“在過去的二十年裏，看着NBA一點一點國際化，直到今天的程度，也是個頗爲有趣的現象。。”

"I think the game has grown globally, China, Australia, Africa, Europe, South America. I think we've got 150 international players in the league or more. It's been fun to watch."

他說：“我認爲比賽已經已經在全球有了發展，中國，澳大利亞，非洲，歐洲，南美。在聯盟中我們已經擁有了150名國際球員，甚至更多。觀看比賽變得很有趣。”

There's a myriad of theories on why this is happening.

有很多理論可以解釋爲什麼會發生這種事。

The one that makes the most sense is that the game is basically beamed in real time right now to every phone in the world.

最有意義的一點是，比賽現在基本上是實時傳送到世界範圍的每一部手機上。

Young players like Doncic can see fellow Europeans succeed in the NBA while oohing and aahing over their basketball heroes,and for the Mavericks rookie, it was LeBron.

像東契奇這樣的年輕球員可以看到他們的歐洲同胞在NBA中取得成功，同時他們也爲自己的籃球英雄們歡呼；對於這位獨行俠的新秀來說，他的英雄是勒布朗。

Embiid went slightly more old school, saying his favorite all-timer is former MVP Hakeem Olajuwon.

恩比德可能有點老派，他說過，縱觀籃球史，他最喜歡的是前MVP哈基姆-奧拉朱旺。

Antetokounmpo modeled some of his game after Scottie Pippen.

阿德託昆博模仿過斯科特·皮蓬的球風。

The seeds have been planted over these last 20 years.

這些種子是在過去20年埋下的。

It was only a matter of time before they bore this sort of fruit.

它們結出這些果實，僅僅是時間的問題。

"We just know what this game is about," Doncic said of the young foreign cluster of stars. "I don't know if people think international players aren't that good, but I think we showed up."

“我們知道該怎麼打球，”東契奇在談到年輕的外國球星時說，"我不知道人們是否認爲國際球員其實沒有那麼好，但我想我們已經展現出自己的實力了。"

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