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https://reurl.cc/WkddEx



"I used to drink two or three liters of Coca-cola every day and I had my last
can on the flight to the United States, Jokic told Serbia's Arenasport
television in an interview aired on Saturday.


Jokic：

「我曾經每天都喝兩、三公升的可口可樂，
  而在飛往美國的航班上我喝下了最後一罐。」



"The first week in practice was tough. All my team mates were more physical
and athletic, they could slam-dunk any way you like and I kind of wanted to
go home.


「投入訓練的第一周是非常艱難的。我所有的隊友都擁有更強的體能和運動能力，
  他們幾乎都能隨心所欲地灌籃扣籃，而看到此情此景我就在想我乾脆打包回家得了。」



"I am now in my seventh NBA season, having warmed the bench in the beginning
and then I was given some 'garbage time' before I broke into the starting
five. It was a process, though I suppose I took the road less traveled."


「而現在我已經進入了我在NBA的第七個賽季，在我真正能打進先發五人之前，
  我從一開始只是熱板凳的替補球員，到後來在一些『垃圾時間』得以有上場機會，」

「這是一個過程，雖然我想我走的是較少有人走過的路。」



Jokic said he only joined the NBA thanks to being shunned by European giants
Barcelona during his first season at Mega Basket, who compete in a regional
league incorporating teams from the former Yugoslavia.


Jokic 說他會加入NBA，一開始也是多虧在 Mega Basket －
由前南斯拉夫球隊組成的地區聯賽時 － 從歐洲豪門球隊巴塞隆納球隊那裡失去機會。



"They turned up at our home game with Cedevita Zagreb to offer me a move but
they put it on hold after I put in a very poor performance," he said. "Then
the Nuggets came and the rest is history."


「他們出現在我們 Cedevita Zagreb 的主場比賽，然後提供我一個轉隊的機會，
  但是在我後來繳出了很糟糕的個人表現之後，他們踩了煞車。」

「然後金塊隊出現，給了我一個機會，接下來你們都知道了。」



Having singled out Golden State Warriors' triple NBA champion Stephen Curry
and Brooklyn Nets power forward Kevin Durant as the league's most impressive
players, Jokic said he never looked up to any of his peers.


在將勇士隊的三屆冠軍後衛 Stephen Curry ，
和籃網隊的大前鋒 Kevin Durant 稱為聯盟中最讓人印象深刻的球員之後，

Jokic 說他自己不會對同一個年齡層的球員產生類似景仰的情感。



"Any of the top 20 players in the league can nail 50 points on you but if you
start admiring them and accept that they are better players, you lose your
competitive edge.


「任何聯盟前20的球員都有能力可以在你頭上轟50分。」

「但是如果你開始欣賞他們，並且在心底接受他們是更優秀的球員，
  你就會失去和他們同場競爭的優勢。」



"I keep saying to everyone, though, if you don't like Curry you don't like
basketball. Durant, in turn, is the best offensive player in the league. He
is unguardable."


「然而我也一直和其他人表示，如果你不愛 Curry 那你應該不喜歡籃球。
  而 Durant 是聯盟中最厲害的進攻端球員，他根本無法防守。」




---

Michael Porter Jr. 闡述他初見 Jokic 的感覺：


"So, Jokic when I first met him, he was fat. When I first met him, he came to
the gym when I first got to Denver. He came to rebound for me for a little
bit and I was like 'oh, he's a good guy.' But I didn't really know too much
about him cause I didn't even watch the Nuggets and he wasn't as good as he
is now.


「所以當我第一次看到 Jokic，他好肥。」

「第一次看到他，是我剛到丹佛時就遇到他去健身房。當我練球時他替我撿籃板，
  那時我就想『喔，這大傢伙人不錯啊』，但那時候我還不是真的太了解他，
  因為那時候我甚至還沒看過金塊隊的比賽內容，而他也還沒有現在那麼強。」



And then we went to training camp, and I'm watching him play and he's doing
alright but Mason Plumlee was doing just as good as The Joker. And I was like
'wait, why does Joker start over Mason Plumlee?


「然後我們進入訓練營，而我開始看到他上場比賽，而他打得算還可以，」

「但其實那時候 Mason Plumlee 打得和 Joker 差不多好，

  我就忍不住疑問，
  『怪了，那為什麼球隊是讓 Joker 先發而不是 Mason Plumlee 呢？』」



And then I remember my teammates saying 'no, when he wants to, he can score
40 a night. Wait until the season starts."


「然後我記得隊友告訴我：

  『別傻了，如果他真的想幹，他可以每晚都幹40分給你看。賽季開始後你等著看。』」



"And so I waited, and I've never seen anything like him. Just the way he --
he's just a weird dude. Before the game, he's on his phone playing games. I
think he started taking his health more seriously, but like before that, I
heard that before the season, he just goes back, drinks beer, rides horses,
and then tries to get in shape a couple of weeks before the season starts.
He's just naturally amazing."


「所以我就等著看，然後我就看到一個我從未見過的球員。
  就像他一樣的怪咖 － 在比賽前在手機上打遊戲。

  而我想他也更加重視自己身體上的健康，但是在他調整成這樣之前，
  我耳聞他總是在賽季開始之前肥回去，大啖啤酒，騎騎馬，
  然後在球季開始前的前幾周努力瘦回來，他生來就十分驚奇。」



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