NCAA?海外聯賽?不 你還有第三條出路

It was a little more than a year ago when Bazley decided to forgo a scholarship at Syracuse for a potential path to the NBA via the G League. He then opted to skip the G League as well to instead focus on preparing for the draft. After his brief flirtation with joining the G League, Bazley signed an endorsement deal with New Balance that included a one-year internship with the Boston-based sneaker company.

一年多前，貝茲利決定放棄雪城大學的獎學金而選擇一條通往NBA的潛在道路——發展聯盟。接着他又跳出了發展聯盟，專注於爲選秀做準備。在短暫地加入發展聯盟之後，貝茲利和新百倫公司簽了一年代言協議，協議包括在這家總部在波士頓的運動鞋公司進行一年的實習。

During that year, when he wasn't working out at the company's facility in preparation for his eventual jump into the draft, he was immersing himself in the business side of basketball. He spent time working directly with multiple divisions at New Balance, ranging from marketing to apparel to product testing. He was involved in the design process, and got an up-close look at the manufacturing process at New Balance's factory.

在那一年中，他不是爲了最終進入NBA新秀榜而在公司球館訓練，就是沉浸在商業籃球中。他和新百倫公司的各個部門一起工作，從市場推廣到服裝到產品測試。他親自參與產品的設計過程，近距離觀看新百倫工廠的生產過程。

While some endorsers get a taste of that with their sneaker companies, Bazley got far more up-close experience, not just getting a tour on a quick visit, but having the opportunity to spend days sitting in meetings, doing product testing and contributing in meaningful ways beyond just picking a sneaker he liked. In true 21st century NBA fashion, Bazley also got to learn about building a personal brand from New Balance's digital and social teams, even using his Instagram account to provide insight into what his internship was like.

儘管一些代言人也會在他們的運動鞋公司體驗到這一點，但貝茲利得到的是更加近距離的體驗，不是旅遊式地快速觀光。他可以整日參與會議，做產品測試，用更加有意義的方式作出貢獻，而不僅僅是挑選自己喜歡的運動鞋。身處21世紀NBA時尚潮流中，貝茲利也從新百倫的數字社交團隊那兒學習打造自身品牌，甚至在他的ins賬戶上展示他的實習感悟。

Now that Bazley has transitioned fully from "intern" to "endorser," Cassidy's goal is for his former intern to be "the most knowledgeable, insightful athlete in the game about the shoe industry and how things are made and developed and get on the feet of elite athletes and what the industry is like." But for Bazley, the internship went far beyond just basketball and shoes.

現在貝茲利已經完全從“實習生”過渡爲“代言人”，卡西迪的目標就是讓他的前實習生成爲“這項運動裏對運動鞋行業最有見識和最富洞察力的球員，清楚地瞭解鞋子的製作、改良，以及穿到精英球員腳上的過程。”但對於貝茲利來說，這份實習工作的意義遠不止於籃球和鞋子。

Bazley is now moving on to his second job ever, forward for the Thunder. It's a job that has already seen its description change, thanks to Oklahoma City's offseason trades of Paul George and Russell Westbrook.

貝茲利現在迎來了生涯的第二份工作——爲雷霆隊打球。歸因於休賽季期間俄城關於保羅·喬治和拉塞爾·威斯布魯克的交易，這份工作（和上一份工作相比）已經明顯不同。

"His ability to handle the ball at his size is really, really unique, and defensively he's got great range for a young player at that size, as well," Thunder GM Sam Presti said. "It's going to be a process with him. We'll have to be patient. We understand that. But at that range of the draft, to be able to get a player that has those ballhandling skills at 6-foot-9 is pretty unique."

“以他的身高，能有這樣的處理球能力真得非常非常罕見，在防守端，對於他這樣身高的年輕球員來說，他的防守範圍也已經很大了，”雷霆總經理Sam Presti說。“對他來說這是一個過程。我們都必須有耐心。我們理解。但在這樣一個順位，還能得到一個有出色控球能力的6尺9寸（約2.5米）球員真得很罕見。”

Bazley was able to show off some of those skills in Las Vegas, but the initial steps of his transition to the NBA game were not without difficulties. Having not played in a formal setting since the 2018 McDonald's All-American Game, Bazley looked rusty in his Thunder debut, going scoreless and attempting just two shots. However, he showed steady improvement in his four summer league outings, eventually putting up 11 points and making 3 of 5 3-point attempts in OKC's final game of the summer.

貝茲利在拉斯維加斯展示了自己的技術，但他向NBA過渡初試階段並非毫無波折。自從2018全美高中麥當勞賽後他就沒打過正式比賽，貝茲利在雷霆隊的試訓中看起來有點生疏，一分未得且只有兩次出手。然而，在隨後的四場夏季聯賽中他表現出持續的進步，在最後一場比賽中拿下11分，並且三分球五中三。

Because of the Thunder's roster turnover, Bazley has a unique opportunity to contribute in OKC as a rookie. Bazley might not hit that 20-minute-per-night milestone, but he's excited for the opportunity to prove himself.

由於雷霆的整容名單變動較大，貝茲利有望以菜鳥的身份爲球隊做出貢獻。巴茲利可能不會得到每晚上場20分鐘的機會，但他很興奮有機會證明自己。

As Bazley begins to adjust to the NBA game, he does so with no regrets on how he got there. While his path took him away from organized basketball for a year, it also gave him an early start on the off-court transition to being a professional. He learned much-needed skills like money management and communication, and said he feels better prepared for the adversity that every NBA rookie faces.

貝茲利開始適應NBA的比賽，他並不後悔選擇的這條路。儘管他的路讓他一整年無法進行有組織的訓練，但卻給了他一個提前過渡成籃球之外專家的嘗試機會。他學習了更加急需的技能，像金錢管理和溝通，並且他說他感到自己能更好地面對所有NBA新秀們會遇到的問題。

"There's going to be times where you hit a roadblock in the league where you're not getting the minutes you wanted or say you're injured and you're not able to play and you don't know how to handle that," he said. "I do."

“在這個聯盟裏，你會遇到很多困難，很多時候你得不到自己想要的成績，或者你會遭遇傷病，無法上場，而且你都不知道怎麼去處理，”他說道，“但我知道（怎麼處理）。”

Rich Paul said players looking to take this path can't be doing it solely for the money. Just like it was for Bazley, it has to be with a bigger goal in mind. "For those chosen few that decide to take another route, there's an alternate route, but the steps are very, very strategic and you have to embrace the process," he said. "It can't be about anything besides, 'I'm willing to do the work and position myself to take on the challenge that I have ahead.' And if you do that, you tend to reside on the side of success."

裏奇·保羅說運動員選擇道路不能僅僅爲了金錢。就像對於貝茲利，他的心中一定有更大的目標。“對於那些少數選擇另一條路的人來說，也有一條備選的道路，但是每一步都得非常非常有戰略意義，並且你必須享受這個過程，”他說，“你只能這樣想‘我很樂意做這份工作並且願意接受自己面對的挑戰。’如果你能做到這樣，那你就能成功。”

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