The phenomenon known as #NBArank did not exist back in the fall of 1992， so Dominique Wilkins was spared from the sensation of seeing his phone and Twitter account flooded with messages about how an evil website just dunked his name， without warning， from No. 6 to No. 25 in the game’s most prominent player rating system.

NBA排名這回事，直到1992年秋天前都是不存在的。所以那時(shí)候多米尼克·威爾金斯的手機(jī)和推特賬號(hào)也不會(huì)塞滿(mǎn)各種短信和私信，他也不會(huì)為某些事感到煩心，比方說(shuō)在毫無(wú)預(yù)警的情況下，自己在球員實(shí)力榜排名上被某個(gè)邪惡網(wǎng)站從第6降到了第25。

“I’d have been livid，” Wilkins tells ESPN. com.

“我一定會(huì)發(fā)飆的?！蓖柦鹚箤?duì)ESPN這樣說(shuō)道。

“They must be out of their minds. What are you judging him on？ Judge him after he comes back from his injury. It’s a little premature for them to start judging him already.”

“他們一定腦子進(jìn)水了。他們現(xiàn)在按照什么標(biāo)準(zhǔn)評(píng)價(jià)他？必須按照他傷愈復(fù)出后的表現(xiàn)去評(píng)價(jià)。而現(xiàn)在就做出評(píng)價(jià)結(jié)果，實(shí)在有些莽撞了?！?/p>

Now a broadcaster and executive with the Atlanta Hawks after his Hall of Fame career as the the inimitable Human Highlight Film， Wilkins knows better than anyone on the NBA map what awaits Bryant in his forthcoming return from a torn left Achilles. Which is why Nique also surely knows deep down that not even Bryant -- widely considered one of the 10 greatest players in history no matter how he fared in #NBArank 2013 -- would be granted that sort of courtesy.

以“人類(lèi)電影精華”這個(gè)后人無(wú)法復(fù)制的身份結(jié)束自己的名人堂級(jí)職業(yè)生涯后，威爾金斯如今成了解說(shuō)，他還在亞特蘭大老鷹隊(duì)管理層擔(dān)任職務(wù)。威爾金斯比NBA里的任何人都要了解，當(dāng)科比從左腳跟腱撕裂的傷病中恢復(fù)后，擺在他面前的會(huì)是什么。也正是因?yàn)檫@個(gè)原因，在威爾金斯的內(nèi)心深處，他清楚地明白，即便是科比——即便是這個(gè)被普遍認(rèn)為位列歷史最偉大球星前十的球員，姑且不論他在2013年的NBA排名——也不會(huì)在評(píng)論界得到太多支持。

Wilkins knows because he certainly wasn’t， either. Few thought he could recover to the standard he did 20-odd years ago when， more than two years younger than Bryant is now， he shredded his right Achilles on Jan. 28， 1992.

威爾金斯之所以明白，是因?yàn)樗?dāng)時(shí)遭遇了同樣的處境。20多年前，當(dāng)他在1992年1月28日出現(xiàn)了右腳跟腱撕裂后，幾乎沒(méi)有人認(rèn)為他能恢復(fù)到過(guò)去的狀態(tài)。而那時(shí)，他比現(xiàn)在的科比還要小兩歲。

“I was carried off the floor； I couldn’t walk off，” Wilkins recalls. “That’s how bad mine was. I never felt that kind of pain. I’ve had broken bones， torn knee and all that stuff， but an Achilles tendon tear is horrific.

“我是被人抬下樓的，我自己都沒(méi)法走路?！蓖柦鹚够貞浀?，“我的傷那時(shí)候就是那么糟。我從來(lái)沒(méi)有經(jīng)歷過(guò)那樣的劇痛。我從未骨折過(guò)，沒(méi)有出現(xiàn)過(guò)膝蓋韌帶撕裂之類(lèi)的傷病，但跟腱撕裂，實(shí)在是太可怕了?！?/p>

“Everybody said my career was done.‘He’s done， stick a fork in him.’ I heard everything. They either said I wouldn’t come back， or if I did come back， there was no way I would ever be the same.”

“每個(gè)人都說(shuō)，我的職業(yè)生涯完蛋了?！炅?，給他的棺材上釘釘子吧?！麄冋f(shuō)的我都聽(tīng)到了。他們要么說(shuō)我不會(huì)再?gòu)?fù)出了，要么說(shuō)，即便我復(fù)出，我也不會(huì)再和從前一樣了?！?/p>

The doomsday talk， to be fair， was not without justification， because Achilles tendon tears have historically been harder to bounce back from for NBA players than any knee injury you wish to nominate. Research by ESPN’s Kevin Pelton， in a piece he wrote for Basketball Prospectus after Chauncey Billups tore his left Achilles in February 2012， confirmed that Wilkins’ feat in making two more All-Star teams and playing until age 39 after suffering his Achilles rupture at 32 is an extreme rarity.

平心而論，這種末日論并非沒(méi)有合理根據(jù)。從歷史上看，對(duì)于NBA球員來(lái)說(shuō)，比起任何膝蓋傷病，跟腱撕裂都更難恢復(fù)。當(dāng)昌西·比盧普斯在2012年2月出現(xiàn)左腳跟腱撕裂后，在ESPN的凱文·佩爾頓寫(xiě)給《籃球說(shuō)明》的一篇文章中證實(shí)，像威爾金斯這種在32歲出現(xiàn)跟腱撕裂的傷病后，還能再入選兩次全明星、并且打到39歲的情況，實(shí)屬個(gè)案。

Yet there’s nothing you can say to convince Wilkins that Bryant， whenever we see him this season， isn’t about to make his own history-defying grand return. Ditto for another all-time great we consulted who has first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to feel that unspeakable pop when one’s heel completely collapses： Isiah Thomas.

但不管我們?cè)趺凑f(shuō)，威爾金斯都相信，無(wú)論本賽季何時(shí)才能看到科比回歸，他都認(rèn)為后者能打出史詩(shī)級(jí)別的復(fù)出表演。我們咨詢(xún)的另一個(gè)傳奇球星也給出了同樣的答案——伊賽亞·托馬斯，對(duì)于腳踝中跟腱斷裂那下無(wú)法言說(shuō)的感覺(jué)，他也有過(guò)切身感受。

Neither Nique nor Zeke② are doctors ... and only one of those two continued to play at a high level after Achilles surgery. But both Wilkins and Thomas believe that sheer will --something Bryant obviously has in abundance-- is the biggest factor in determining whether an NBA player can carry on after such a devastating setback.

尼克和奇克都不是醫(yī)生，而且兩人中只有一人在跟腱撕裂后還能保持高水平的狀態(tài)。但威爾金斯和托馬斯都相信，頑強(qiáng)的意志力，才是決定一名NBA球員在遭受災(zāi)難性的傷病后能否繼續(xù)前進(jìn)的最重要因素——顯然，科比在這方面是佼佼者。

“If anybody can come back， Kobe can，”Wilkins says. “And I’ll tell you why I say that： He’s one of the most competitive guys that I’ve ever met. He’s one of those guys that competes on a level like Jordan， Bird and Magic. He has that type of tenacity， that type of attitude， where he’s not going to let anybody tell him what he can’t do. It all depends on the person， how determined and how dedicated you are on working and training to get it back the way it was.

“如果有人能重回賽場(chǎng)，科比肯定也可以?！蓖柦鹚贡硎?，“我會(huì)告訴你為什么我要這么說(shuō)：他是我見(jiàn)過(guò)的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)意識(shí)最強(qiáng)的人。他和喬丹、伯德、魔術(shù)師是一個(gè)等級(jí)的球員。他擁有那種人的頑強(qiáng)和態(tài)度，他不會(huì)讓任何人對(duì)他說(shuō)，他做不到什么。這一切都取決于個(gè)人，他的決心到底有多強(qiáng)，為了恢復(fù)到過(guò)去的狀態(tài)，他到底愿意在訓(xùn)練中付出多少?！?/p>

“It’s a hard injury. It’s a time-consuming injury. But that’s how I was； I’m just a determined and competitive guy. I’m not going to let anybody tell me what I can’t do. I looked at the critics as another opponent that I had to compete with. And I’m one of those guys who loves to accept the challenge. Maybe that’s the difference.”

“這是一個(gè)非常痛苦的傷病，是一個(gè)很耗時(shí)的傷病。但我那時(shí)就是這樣的：我是個(gè)意志堅(jiān)定而又好勝的人。我不會(huì)讓任何人對(duì)我說(shuō)我不行的話(huà)。我把批評(píng)看作另一個(gè)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手，而我是那種喜歡接受挑戰(zhàn)的人。也許這就是不同?！?/p>

Said Thomas： “Devastating is the correct word. It is a devastating injury. Had I come back and played， I’m sure it would have affected my speed， jumping ability， quickness and so forth and so on. I was older， so I had lost some of that anyway.

托馬斯說(shuō)：“毀滅性是正確的形容詞。這是毀滅性的傷病。如果我當(dāng)初選擇復(fù)出打球，我確定那會(huì)影響到我的速度、彈跳能力、敏捷度這些方面。我變老了，有些已經(jīng)失去了?！?/p>

“But I would never bet against Kobe. Because what Kobe still has that I didn’t have at the end of my career is that hunger. When you listen to Kobe talk ... you still hear and see a hunger that， frankly， I just didn’t have at that point.”

“但我永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)賭科比不行。因?yàn)榭票扔幸粯訓(xùn)|西，是我在職業(yè)生涯末期沒(méi)有的，那就是饑渴感。當(dāng)科比說(shuō)話(huà)時(shí)，你仍然能聽(tīng)到和看到他的饑渴感。坦白說(shuō)，我那時(shí)沒(méi)有?！?/p>

Wilkins is resolute in his stance even after brother Gerald was felled by the same injury at 31 and reduced to playing parts of four more seasons after missing all of the 1994-95 schedule. He remains undaunted even when informed that Bryant， who turned 35 in August， has already played more games and logged more minutes pre-injury than Wilkins did in his entire NBA career.

即便當(dāng)?shù)艿芙芾隆ね柦鹚乖?1歲時(shí)遭遇到同樣的傷病，不僅缺席了94-95賽季的全部比賽、并且在接下來(lái)四個(gè)賽季都受到傷病影響時(shí)，多米尼克·威爾金斯的信心仍沒(méi)有動(dòng)搖。就算他得知今年已滿(mǎn)35歲的科比在受傷前參加過(guò)的比賽場(chǎng)次和上場(chǎng)時(shí)間已經(jīng)超過(guò)了自己職業(yè)生涯的數(shù)據(jù)，他依舊信心十足。

The additional mileage on Kobe’s legs， as covered in this accompanying story here， is staggering. But Nique was back on the floor 283 days after his tear and doesn’t sound as though he’ll be surprised if Kobe makes it back quicker. That’s even though NBA medical experts say that， while Achilles rehab practices are faster and more efficient than they were in Wilkins’ day， surgical procedures to repair such tears really haven’t changed much.

通過(guò)其他文章我們知道，科比身體經(jīng)歷的超于常人的磨損相當(dāng)令人震驚。對(duì)于跟腱撕裂后283天才重返賽場(chǎng)的多米尼克來(lái)說(shuō)，如果科比能更快復(fù)出的話(huà)，他并不會(huì)感到太驚訝。NBA的醫(yī)療專(zhuān)家表示，盡管相比威爾金斯那個(gè)年代，如今跟腱的復(fù)健過(guò)程會(huì)更快且更有效，但修補(bǔ)撕裂跟腱的手術(shù)本身，卻沒(méi)有太大的變化。

“I don’t care how advanced the medicine gets，” Wilkins said. “It depends on the person and how determined they are to be the same.\"

“我不關(guān)心醫(yī)學(xué)到底有了多少進(jìn)步。”威爾金斯表示，“這取決于個(gè)人，以及他們想恢復(fù)到過(guò)去狀態(tài)的決心到底有多強(qiáng)。”

Wilkins， though， does acknowledge that Bryant is going to have to work through some initial fears of re-injury （“I was nervous at first”） in terms of trusting that heel again. Wilkins says he’ll also have to “develop some patience，” more than he’s ever had before， because Nique remembers needing “close to a year before you feel you can play on a level you once played.”

不過(guò)威爾金斯也承認(rèn)，科比首先要克服擔(dān)心再次受傷的恐懼（“起初我就非常緊張”），也就是說(shuō)，要重新相信自己的腳踝。威爾金斯還說(shuō)，科比得先“培養(yǎng)出比過(guò)去更多的耐心”，因?yàn)樗€記得自己“需要大概一年時(shí)間，才能感覺(jué)到自己能用過(guò)去的那種狀態(tài)打球”。

The only concern coming from Thomas， meanwhile， is likewise on the mental side. The reason he didn’t attempt a comeback from his own Achilles tear is because Isiah had already announced his retirement before suffering the injury， revealing his plans to move into the Toronto Raptors’ front office instead of trying to play on at age 33 and at a couple notches below his 1990 NBA Finals MVP peak. So he’s naturally curious to see how Kobe will cope if “this injury makes him drop down to where he’s not a superior athlete.”

與此同時(shí)，托馬斯唯一擔(dān)心的，同樣也在精神層面。之所以當(dāng)初跟腱撕裂后沒(méi)有試著復(fù)出，是因?yàn)橐临悂啞ね旭R斯在受傷前已經(jīng)宣布了自己的退役決定，他沒(méi)有選擇在33歲高齡、而且已經(jīng)不復(fù)1990年拿到總決賽MVP那時(shí)的巔峰狀態(tài)下重回賽場(chǎng)，而是計(jì)劃好加入多倫多猛龍隊(duì)的管理層。所以他很自然地對(duì)科比的狀態(tài)充滿(mǎn)好奇，他想看看科比如何面對(duì)“這種使他不再是頂級(jí)運(yùn)動(dòng)員的傷病”。

“The game wasn’t much fun for me when I couldn’t dominate my opponent，” Thomas says. “If I was getting 14 points and like seven or eight assists， that wasn’t fun. And if I couldn’t dominate the opponent and dominate the game， I didn’t enjoy it. And I sure as hell didn’t enjoy being dominated. So it’s going to be interesting to see if Kobe can accept some nights， with this injury， not being dominant against players he normally dominates.

“當(dāng)我無(wú)法再征服對(duì)手時(shí)，比賽對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)已經(jīng)沒(méi)有多少樂(lè)趣了?！蓖旭R斯說(shuō)道，“如果我只得14分，只有7到8個(gè)助攻，那就無(wú)聊了。如果我無(wú)法征服對(duì)手，無(wú)法統(tǒng)治比賽，我就不會(huì)享受比賽。而且我很肯定，被人征服的感覺(jué)很不好。所以要看科比能否接受在某些比賽里，因?yàn)檫@個(gè)傷病，使得他無(wú)法統(tǒng)治平時(shí)他可以征服的對(duì)手，這是很有意思的?！?/p>

“I don’t think he can ever be satisfied with being a 17， 18-point scorer in this league. It’s crazy to say， but unfortunately that’s how the great ones think. When they drop down from 26 to 17 or 16 [points per game]， those guys are devastated. And people look at you differently. So if he’s not dominating， he may have physically come back from the injury， but mentally can he come back from the injury？”

“我不覺(jué)得他會(huì)滿(mǎn)足于在這個(gè)聯(lián)盟成為一個(gè)場(chǎng)均得到17或18分的球員。這么說(shuō)很瘋狂，但不幸的是，這正是偉大球員的心態(tài)。當(dāng)他們從場(chǎng)均25分下滑到場(chǎng)均17或16分，這些人就會(huì)倍受打擊。人們對(duì)你的態(tài)度也會(huì)發(fā)生變化。所以說(shuō)，如果他無(wú)法統(tǒng)治比賽，即便身體上他能從傷病中恢復(fù)，但從精神上來(lái)說(shuō)，他會(huì)恢復(fù)嗎？”

Yet when you press Thomas for a prediction， there is no hesitation.

如果你非要強(qiáng)迫托馬斯做出預(yù)測(cè)，他還是沒(méi)有任何遲疑。

“Yes，” Isiah says.

“沒(méi)問(wèn)題的?！币临悂喺f(shuō)。

As in： Thomas， too， thinks Kobe will rebound strongly and gradually look Kobeesque again regardless of the overwhelming anecdotal and numerical evidence stacked against him.

此外，盡管歷史和無(wú)數(shù)的證據(jù)都對(duì)科比極為不利，但托馬斯還是認(rèn)為，科比會(huì)有一個(gè)強(qiáng)勢(shì)反彈，他也會(huì)逐漸找回科比式的狀態(tài)。

“I went through that same exact crap，”Wilkins added， referring to all the doubters.“And then when I came back and saw the same critics， they said， ‘We knew you could do it.’ Yeah， sure.

“我也聽(tīng)過(guò)同樣的廢話(huà)。”威爾金斯補(bǔ)充道，他說(shuō)的就是那些質(zhì)疑，“等我復(fù)出后又看到那些質(zhì)疑者時(shí)，他們說(shuō)：‘我們知道你能做到的?！?dāng)然，毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)?！?/p>

“It’s just amazing to me [to see Bryant at No. 25 in #NBArank] just out of respect for who he is and what he’s done. I think he can and will come back from this.

“出于對(duì)他本人和他取得成就的尊敬，（看到科比排在第25名）真讓我吃驚。我想他能，他也會(huì)從這個(gè)傷病中強(qiáng)勢(shì)回歸的?！?/p>

“I don’t know if I’d put my house on anybody； I kind of like my house，” Wilkins said with a laugh. “But I would bet that he’ll come back and be Kobe. He’ll be The Mamba.”

“我不會(huì)拿自己的房子跟別人打賭，我還挺喜歡我的房子?！蓖柦鹚剐χf(shuō)，“但我敢打賭，他會(huì)回歸，他會(huì)成為那個(gè)科比。他仍會(huì)是那個(gè)曼巴。”