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Milwaukee — Over an hour before the Dallas Mavericks took on the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night, a jovial Dirk Nowitzki took a break from his comprehensive pre-game routine to joke with fellow big man Salah Mejri. "Stop shooting before you take all the paint off the rim," Nowitzki cracked, before telling all the rebounders they should cover their heads when he shoots.
密尔沃基当地——在达拉斯小牛队和密尔沃基雄鹿队周五晚比赛开始前的一小时前，快乐的德克-诺维茨基在赛前训练的间歇休息期跟球队里的另一个大个子萨拉赫-梅杰里开起了玩笑。“在你完全占据油漆区之前别投篮。”德克笑着说道，在这之前他告诉抢篮板的人要保护好自己的头在他投篮的时候。
In an alternate universe, right there in the Bradley Center is where Nowitzki would have spent his 20-year career. But, of course, instead of keeping Dirk after selecting him ninth 9 overall back in the 1998 NBA Draft, the Bucks dealt him to the Mavs for Robert "Tractor" Traylor — a move that obviously did not age well.
在另一个平行宇宙中，作为雄鹿队球员的诺维茨基正在布拉德利中心球馆经历他的第20个赛季。但是，这只是一种幻想罢了。雄鹿队在1998年选秀第9顺位选择德克之后，并没有把他留在队中，反而把他交易到了小牛队换来了罗伯特-“拖拉机”-特雷勒——一个回头来看十分不成熟的交易。
Regardless, that he was on the floor warming up to play a game in his 20th season is not something the Bucks nor the Mavericks could have foreseen back in 1998. But there he was, going through his pre-game drills with the same enthusiasm as if it was Day One, smiling and joking with his teammates in between his awkward-looking jumpers.
不管怎么样，无论是雄鹿队还是小牛队在1998年都想象不到德克现在能做着赛前热身——准备着他的第20个赛季的比赛。但是德克就在这片球场上，就像他生涯第一场比赛前那样积极地做着赛前训练，一边笑着一边和队友们打趣着如今自己笨拙的弹跳。
It was, as Nowitzki's long-time teammate J.J. Barea pointed out, a testament to how much he loves the game. "I've known him for a while now, so I'm used to seeing him work. It's crazy," Barea told CBS Sports after the Mavericks' 109-102 loss. "It's crazy what he's gotta do to be out here with us, so you gotta give him a lot of credit. That's how much he loves the game."
作为德克的老队友，何塞-巴里亚谈起了他眼里的德克对篮球、对比赛的热忱。“跟德克在一起这么久了，我们经常一起训练，所以我很了解他。德克对篮球真的很疯狂，”在小牛队以102-109输给雄鹿队的赛后巴里亚告诉CBS体育，“德克能够和我们在一起比赛这真的是太疯狂了，他应该享受足够的赞誉，他对比赛无比的热忱。”
But more than that, it was just a joy to watch. It's a rare and beautiful sight to watch someone who has been at the top of their craft for so long still put in the necessary work to get out there and compete — and to do it with a smile on their face. Nowitzki is no longer the player he once was, but you could never tell it from his attitude.
但更重要的是，看德克的比赛简直是一种乐趣和享受。作为一名成名已久的高顺位球员，德克为了在球场上有足够的竞争力依然做着那些必不可少的训练——同时它的脸上也浮现着微笑。虽然德克不再处于巅峰期了，但是从他对比赛的态度上你肯定看不出来这一点。
Of course, you can tell it when the game begins. Always awkward, Nowitzki's movements are much more methodical now. But even as he nears 40 years old, Nowitzki is still helping his team, both on and off the floor.
当然了，在比赛中你还是看得出来的。即使如今在球场上显得有些笨拙，但德克的动作更加有条理了。在40岁的年龄，德克依然尽其所能在帮助着球队，无论是在场上还是场下。
"Even though he's not the Dirk of when he was younger, he's still a great shooter, he still draws attention," Devin Harris, another of Nowitzki's long-time teammates, told CBS Sports after the game. "You know people still pay attention to him when he's out there, so it helps us offensively with spacing."
“即便他不再年轻了，但德克仍然是一位伟大的投手并在防守端吸引对方的注意，”德克的另一位老队友德文-哈里斯在比赛后告诉CBS体育，“当德克在场上的时候，对手仍然会对他进行严防，所以他为我们的进攻拉开了足够的空间。”
And there's good reason for opponents to still pay attention to Nowitzki. Through the first 26 games of the season, he's knocking down a career-high 42.1 percent of his 3-point attempts. Plus, as the Bucks' Thon Makerexplained, he's still teaching people lessons.
还有很好的理由让对手仍然注意着德克。在赛季的前26场比赛中，德克的三分球命中率是职业生涯新高的42.1%。不仅如此，雄鹿队的索恩-梅克说德克仍然是他们的导师。
Recounting a story from last season — when he was a rookie — Maker told about the time he got burned by the legend the first time he faced him. Knowing Nowitzki isn't as mobile as he once was, Maker said he kept straying too far from the big man on help defense, thinking he could recover in time. Unfortunately for him, he said Nowitzki made him pay by knocking down a bunch of jumpers. "He couldn't miss," Maker said. "And everybody was like, 'because that's Dirk!' After that, I learned my lesson."
梅克说起了一个在上赛季他只是一个新秀时的故事，在第一次面对德克时他简直要疯了。梅克认为德克已经不像年轻时那么移动敏捷了，所以为了能够更好地保护内线在防守时就离德克很远。不幸的是，德克用一连串的跳投得分让他为自己的防守付出了代价。“他根本不会投丢球，”梅克说道，“每个人都好像说‘那可是德克啊！’，在那之后，我从他身上学会了很多。”
Maker isn't the first youngster to learn a lesson from Nowitzki, and he won't be the last — no matter how much longer Nowitzki plays, which hopefully will be beyond this season. Few players have been as fun to watch as Nowitzki throughout his career, and even if he isn't who he once was, the NBA is better place with the big German around.
梅克并不是第一个从德克身上学到些东西的年轻人，当然也不会是最后一个——不论德克会接着打多久，但很有希望在下一个赛季依然能看到他。很少有球员的整个职业生涯的比赛能够让我们如此享受，但德克是其中一位。即使德克不再年轻了，但他的存在的确为整个NBA增色不少。
"He's great. He's a total pro. He loves the game, loves to compete, loves to play with his teammates. He makes everybody better," Barea reflected. "So as long as he has all those qualities, he can keep playing."
“他太伟大了，他就是一个全面的超级明星，他热爱比赛，热爱竞争，热爱和队友们一起打球，他让每个人都变得更好，”巴里亚说道，“只要德克一直身上拥有这些优良的的品质，他的职业生涯能一直延续下去。”
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