'I remember the first time I watched (an) NBA game, randomly saw a shot the cameras gave on those retired jerseys,' Yao said. 'After I read stories, I know that (is) the highest honor a player can reach for himself and an accomplishment for the team. Today I think I'll always ask myself what is the story behind it.'
姚明说：“我记得，第一次看NBA比赛时，无意间看到镜头给到了那些退役的球衣。我读了相关故事以后，明白了对于球员而言，那是个人可以得到的最高荣耀，也是球队的成就。今天，我想我会一直问自己，我的球衣背后的故事又是什么。”
'I hope people see the jersey there and remember the story, not only about myself, but also my teammates, my opponents. We created the story together, just like the other jerseys created the story for (us.)'
“我希望人们看到挂在那儿的球衣，想起的不光是关于我个人的故事，更是关于我的队友和对手的故事。我们一起书写了这些，就像其他球衣为我们创造的故事一样。”
He explained that the Rockets surprised him for Chinese New Year when he was a rookie. It was his first Chinese New Year spent overseas. Yao said they even gave him a red envelope with money in it — a traditional Chinese New Year gift — but, as the crowd laughed, he said when he opened it up, he saw that there was only $2 inside.
他说到自己在海外度过的一个中国新年，那时他还是个菜鸟，火箭队集体给了他一个惊喜。他们按照中国传统习俗每人给了他一个红包。观众们都笑起来。姚明说，可是当他打开红包，发现里面只有2美元。
'I talked to CD, 'Usually we put 10 dollars in it, instead of 2.' And CD said, 'You know we have a salary cap, right?''
“于是我就跟时任总经理的道森说，‘通常我们至少放10块钱，不是2块钱。’然后道森说，‘你知道球队有工资帽的对吧（工资帽：NBA的工资限制条款）。’”
“I still have one of those two dollar bills inside my pocket, and I've carried it since then, because I know no matter where I go or how far I go, as long as that bill’s in my pocket, home is with me.”
“时至今日，我的钱包中还放着当时的一张两美元，因为我知道无论我走到哪儿，走多远，只要有它陪伴，我的家就在那里。”
姚明在火箭队的教练杰夫·范甘迪（Jeff Van Gundy）2日发表了一篇感人至深的文章，表达了他对昔日弟子的赞美，文章名为《执教你是我一生的荣幸》（The Coaching Honor of a Lifetime）。
范甘迪说姚明是他执教过的最刻苦的球员之一（one of the hardest working guys I ever coached）。他向大家描述了姚明的训练日常：
First, he would work one-on-one in the weight room with Anthony Falsone, the strength and conditioning coach, to make his body as light and lean as possible.
首先，他会在力量房里跟力量和体能教练安东尼·法尔松进行一对一的力量训练，让他的身体尽可能地轻松灵活。
Then he’d come upstairs to watch film with Tom Thibodeau, who was my top assistant at the time. Following their film sessions, Yao and Tom would take the court for an individual workout.
接下来他会到楼上的录像室里跟汤姆·锡伯杜一起观看比赛录像，那时汤姆还是我的首席助教。看完录像之后，姚明和汤姆会上场进行单人演练。
By the time practice rolled around, Yao had already been at the facility for a couple of hours. The everydayness of his routine is what made his work ethic one of the best I have ever seen.
等训练开始的时候，姚明已经在体育馆里待了好几个小时了。正是这样日复一日的努力，才塑造出了我执教生涯中最令人钦佩的职业态度。
但是，范甘迪认为，真正定义姚明伟大的（what truly defined Yao’s greatness），是他坐在场下或者赛场之外的行为，是他无私的体育精神。
I loved the way Tracy McGrady and Yao treated each other as teammates. One thing they showed everyone was that basketball shouldn’t be a selfish endeavor. Yao and Tracy were kindred spirits in this way. They never fought over the silly notion of whose team it was. Instead, they understood what everyone should remember from kindergarten: to share — the credit, the blame and the responsibility.
我喜欢麦迪与姚明的组合。一方面，他们向世人展示了篮球不是单靠一己之力就能成功的运动。在这一点上，他们二人一拍即合。他们从来没有为谁是球队老大这种愚蠢的问题而怒目相对过。相反，他们秉持着一种每个人从孩提时代就应牢记的美德：要学会分享——不管是功劳、批评还是责任。
Much like Tim Duncan and Steve Nash, Yao was a unifying leader. I believe that if a great player is also a compassionate, caring, unselfish teammate, then his team’s chemistry is going to be exceptional. That’s what Yao did every day, in every way.
和蒂姆·邓肯还有史蒂夫·纳什一样，姚明是个当之无愧的领袖。我相信，如果一位伟大的球员拥有怜悯之心，关爱之心，同时他又是一名无私的队友，那么他的球队化学反应一定非同小可，而姚明就这样日复一日地重复这些事情。
队友表现好，他为之喝彩；输球了，他从不抱怨，默默回去努力。
On every good play, he was standing up and cheering as loud as any fan. Whenever a timeout was called, Yao's the first man off the bench to greet his teammates. As a coach, you always want people to be happy for the success of others, but in reality, that's pretty rare in sports. From Day One, Yao was always as happy for his teammate's successes as he was for his own.
每打出一个好球，他都会站起来为队友们打气，兴奋得就像是个球迷。每次叫暂停，他都会第一个站起来跟队友们击掌鼓劲儿。作为一名教练，你总是喜欢这种愿意为其他人的成功喝彩的球员，但实际上这样的人在体育界真的非常少见。从第一天开始，姚明就为自己队友的成功而感到开心，仿佛就像是他自己获得了成功似的。
And when we didn't succeed, Yao took it just as hard as anyone else. What really impressed me was how he responded to those disappointments. Whether it was losing a regular-season game or blowing a lead in the playoffs, Yao never took defeat easy. But he never made excuses either. He didn't blame his injuries. He just went back to work.
当我们没能取胜的时候，姚明会像其他人一样失落，不过真正让我印象深刻的则是他对待这些失望的方式。不管是在常规赛中失利还是在季后赛中被逆转，他都不会随便处理。而且他也从来不为失败找借口，也不为伤病抱怨，他只是回去继续努力。
范甘迪给予姚明极高的评价：
It was a great honor to coach Yao Ming. He was the real deal — a great man, a great player, a great teammate and a great humanitarian.
能够执教姚明真的是我莫大的荣幸。他真的是一位了不起的人——一位伟大的人，一位伟大的篮球运动员，一位伟大的队友，一位伟大的人道主义者。
（翻译参考：虎扑篮球）
2016年9月，姚明入驻NBA名人堂（being enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame）。作为他的前队友兼好兄弟，麦迪撰写长文回忆了他与姚明的过往，字里行间流露出的都是真情，而姚明为什么深受大家喜欢也可见一斑。
麦迪回忆初次见到姚明时，既兴奋又担心，因为害怕姚明不会说英语，两人的沟通会有问题。但是当他见到姚明时，他的担心烟消云散：
When I finally met him, I realized two things: he does speak English and not only does he speak it, he has an amazing sense of humor.
当我最终见到他的时候，我意识到两件事：他不但会说英语，而且他的幽默感同样令人惊诧。
在麦迪眼中，姚明是一个人非常有魅力的人：
I loved seeing his personality come out more and more over the years as he got more comfortable in Houston. That's how I really learned what an amazing person he is. He will sometimes just pretend he doesn't speak English -- he does that even to this day!
随着这些年他在休斯敦越来越如鱼得水，他的性格也得到了充分释放，我很高兴看到这一点。这时候我才慢慢意识到，他是一个多么无与伦比的人。他有时候还会假装他不会说英语——到现在他都会这样（跟人们开玩笑）！
麦迪盛赞了姚明的球技：
His skills for a man his size were just unbelievable. He could do everything. He could post up, score with either hand, shoot a jumper, he had an array of moves. He could block shots. He passed so well and that's so rare for a guy his size.
以他的体型却拥有如此高超的技艺，这真的令人难以置信。他无所不能。他可以打低位，他两只手都能得分，他可以跳投，他的一系列脚步十分灵活。他还能封盖，他传球也很到位——对于一个这样体型的家伙这太稀罕。
I'd never played with a big man of his caliber. I didn't know he was that skilled before I came to the Rockets, but then I saw it every day in practice, every day before games, after games. He really put in the work to perfect his craft -- he even took our technical foul shots because he was that great of a free throw shooter.
我从未跟他这个级别的内线合作过。在我去休斯敦之前，我甚至不知道他的技术能如此精妙，但是随后，我能日复一日地在训练中、在赛前、在赛后看到这种技术。他会在实战中完善自己的技能——他几乎包揽了我们的技术犯规罚球，因为他是一位出色的罚球手。
他感激姚明把NBA介绍给中国，说这样一份馈赠无与伦比：
Now, there's over 300 million people in China playing basketball because of Yao Ming.
现在，中国有超过3亿人打篮球，这一切皆因姚明。
I saw it. I felt it. That is his legacy. He brought NBA basketball to China and I will forever be thankful that I was able to be a part of it. He introduced the country to Tracy McGrady.
我看到这个现象，我也感受这个现象。这就是姚明留给世人的馈赠。他把NBA篮球带到了中国，而我也顺便成了这其中的一份子，我对此将永怀感激之情。他同样把自己的祖国带给了我。
We were their heroes. They didn't see Michael Jordan play, they saw us. They saw Yao.
我们是他们（中国球迷）的英雄。他们没有看过乔丹的巅峰，但是他们看过我们打球。他们看过姚明打球。
Yao is truly a great and humble person. You just can't recognize his accomplishments on the court without seeing his kindness and humbleness off it. I am proud to call Yao my friend.
姚明是一个非常伟大而且幽默的人。如果你看不到他场下的善良和谦逊，你就无法理解他在场上的成就。能和姚明做朋友，这让我很骄傲。
He opened so many doors. He personally put me in position to have a life after basketball. I'm so lucky to have had a chance to know him, play with him and to work with him. He has a legacy very few have, and he has been and will continue to be a great influence.
他打开了太多扇交流的门。他以一己之力让我的退役生活依旧有声有色。能与他结识、一起打球、一起共事，我真的三生有幸。他留下的“遗产”无与伦比，这“遗产”已经并将持续发挥巨大的影响力。
这就是他做到的，这就是姚明。
It's what he does, it's who he is.
（翻译参考：网易体育）
再见火箭队11号，再见一代人的青春。
编辑：唐晓敏 左卓 祝兴媛
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