丁玎 卢青亮

2016年4月14日，随着哨声响起，科比结束了职业生涯的最后一战，在“告别战”之中科比上场42分钟，50投22中（三分球21投6中），罚球12罚10中，砍下了60分4个篮板4次助攻，为自己传奇的职业生涯画上了完美的句号。对于很多80、90后而言，科比的退役不仅代表了一个时代的结束，也代表了他们青春的散场。本文选自2007年采访科比的一篇文章。

Four miles east of Las Vegas Boulevard， well beyond the glitter of the Strip， the Valley High School gym is cool and humid， redolent of floor wax and old socks.1 The ball pounds on the polished hardwood， the sound echoes off the familiar glazed concrete blocks that form the inner walls. Sneakers squeak. Voices rise and fall， curses and laughter. There is high tragedy and low comedy， often displayed on the same face split seconds apart. There are no fans， no sportswriters. There is no trash talk， no ego， no dispute. There is nothing but this court， this play， these men， this ball—this peculiar ball， the usual orangey brown， only this one dressed up with the two white rings of international play—as it traces a high arcing parabola through the air， meanwhile rotating sweetly backward， a shot born of the countless other shots that have preceded it， hundreds of thousands of shots， perhaps millions taken and made over years and years of solitary practice in gyms and driveways and playgrounds from Italy to Philadelphia...2

Kobe Bryant bobs in place on the balls of his feet， holding his pose， frozen for a split second in his red-white-and-blue Zoom Kobe IIs， his impossibly long and Pilates-sculpted arm， bark brown and moist and smelling of complimentary hotel lotion，3 still extended overhead like a kid raising his hand in class. The names of his daughters are tattooed on the meat of his forearm， which is now facing the basket， his wrist still holding its perfect gooseneck follow-through， a gesture at once delicate and strong， like something from ballet， and so essential， adding as it does the balls backward rotation， the so-called shooters touch， which acts as a damper around the rim， helping to ensure that the 9.5-inch-diameter ball will fall with greater frequency into the 18-inch-diameter hole.4

A few years ago， Kobe fractured the fourth metacarpal bone in his right hand.5 He missed the first fifteen games of the season； he used the opportunity to learn to shoot jump shots with his left， which he has been known to do in games. While it was healing， the ring finger， the one just adjacent to the break， spent a lot of time taped to his pinkie. In the end， Kobe discovered， his four fingers were no longer evenly spaced； now they were separated， two and two. As a result， his touch on the ball was different， his shooting percentage went down. Studying the film， he noticed that his shots were rotating slightly to the right.

To correct the flaw， Kobe went to the gym over the summer and made one hundred thousand shots. Thats one hundred thousand made， not taken. He doesnt practice taking shots， he explains. He practices making them. If youre clear on the difference between the two ideas， you can start drawing a bead on6 Kobe Bryant， who may well be one of the most misunderstood figures in sports today. It is a tragic misunderstanding， for his sake and for ours. You can blame it on the press. You can blame it on the way the world revolves around fame and money. You can blame it on Kobe himself.

Having just celebrated his 29th birthday， Kobe is about to begin his 12th season in the NBA. Lately， somewhat grudgingly， people are beginning to acknowledge him as the greatest all-around player still active in the game， mentioned as a peer of Wilt Chamberlain， Larry Bird， and Michael Jordan.7 This year， Kobe will make upwards of $45 million from salary， endorsements， and business ventures. He is constantly in the news， usually on the wrong side of public favor as he continues to play for a once glorious team， the Los Angeles Lakers， that simply doesnt have the manpower right now to will itself into contention. Spending five days with Kobe—a dozen hours， really， spread over five days—is to glimpse the life of a highly skilled craftsman. He sees his work as his art， his calling. Like Jason Bourne and James Bond， two of his cinematic heroes， Kobe sees himself as an über-practitioner：8 a modern warrior able to solve any problem， able to train his way into dominance. He is the self-styled black mamba， known for its striking ability， aggression， and speed. All those sweaty commercials for Sprite and Nike？ Those were his idea. “Film my workout，” he suggested. “That is the essence of me： the guy who guts it out on every rep.9” Kobes logo， which you will hear more about in the coming years， is called the Sheath10. It is drawn to resemble the sheath of a samurais11 sword. “The sword is the raw talent，” Kobe explains. “The sheath is the package its kept in—everything you go through， your calluses12 and your baggage， what you learn.”

“Scito hoc super omnia... Tempusneminem non manet... Carpe diem，” he proclaims in Latin （which he learned in elementary school in Italy） on the home page of his Website， KB24.com. He wakes at 5：30 in the morning to work out. He eats five times a day， a special diet， stressing not just the ingredients but the way theyre cooked. He studies tape of past， present， and world players with the curiosity of a scientist in the lab. （As a kid， he used to study bubble-gum basketball cards in order to see which moves the players were showcasing and “which of their muscles were firing to make the move happen.”） He can look at a random still photo of himself making a particular shot from a game and tell you exactly when and where and what happened. He has spent hours at a time chasing tennis balls along the floor， running the same patterns again and again on an empty court to get his cuts right for the triangle offense， running steps， running suicides13， running distance.

According to his specifications， Kobes shoes have been designed with a special alloy band inside the arch to cut， he believes， hundredths of a second off his reaction time. For the same reason， hes asked Nike to design a sock-and-shoe system， maybe something like pro14 soccer players have. That fraction of a second he loses when his foot slides inside the shoe is the time it takes him to blow by a defender， he says. When he ices his knees， he ices the backs as well as the fronts， something that is usually overlooked because it takes longer. He has also asked Nike to design a new kind of warm-up that will wick heat away15 from his knees and thus enhance recovery time； recovery time， he says with conviction， is the most important element of working out.

With one ball and one rebounder， shooting his usual 80 to 90 percent in practice （with no defender）， Kobe can make 500 shots in about 60 minutes. Last year， as a result of all that practice， all those hundreds of thousands of makes， Kobe scored at least 50 points in four consecutive games and led the league in scoring. Two years ago， he turned in an electrifying 81-point performance at home against Toronto， the second highest total on record， after seven-footer Wilt Chamberlains hundred-point game， all of which came from within 15 feet of the basket. The reaction to Kobe and his achievements has been puzzling， as it has been since the beginning of his career， when he was voted into the All-Star game as a second-year player （he was the sixth man on the Lakers at the time）， and then criticized for inciting an electric duel with the reigning king，16 Michael Jordan. Perhaps no figure in NBA history has been at once more loved and more reviled17 than Kobe Bryant.

Now， in the gym， the ball arcs perfectly through the rim and ripples the bottom of the net with a distinctive， thrilling swish18. The moment is unfrozen； time moves on. Kobe nods his head once， almost imperceptibly， as if to say， Thats what Im talkin about， an expression he uses with exuberance when hes in private， when something catches his fancy， when something he believes is borne out.19 A picture of Kobe seldom seen： his perfect white teeth bared in the large carefree smile of a young man who loves watermelon and those yummy ice cream Kahlúa drinks he and his wife had the other night for dessert at the restaurant in Las Vegas before seeing the show Kà， and who is lately in love with the Harry Potter series， which he read at a breakneck pace， trying to beat out his wife， the first books hes read since 12th grade， when he became obsessed with the sci-fi thriller Enders Game，20 about a boy who suffers greatly from isolation and rivalry but ultimately saves the planet.

拉斯维加斯大道往东四英里外，早已过了灯红酒绿的繁华街区，山谷高中体育馆里阴冷潮湿，弥漫着地板蜡和旧袜子的气味。篮球打在抛过光的硬木地板上，回音从常见的施釉混凝土内壁反射回来。球鞋吱吱作响。人声高低起伏，夹杂着咒骂声和欢笑声。大喜和大悲常常于刹那之间在同一张脸上上演。没有粉丝，没有体育新闻记者。没有废话，没有自我，没有争吵。什么都没有，只有这个球场、这场比赛、这些人，和这个球—— 一个特别的球，普通的橙棕色，只是球上还画着两道白圈以示国际比赛用球。它在高空中划出一道弧形抛物线，同时精准地后旋。这次进球的背后是曾经无数次的投篮，数十万次甚至可能数百万次命中或是没命中的投篮，年复一年，从意大利到费城，他独自一人在体育馆里、车道上、运动场上一遍遍地练习着……

科比·布莱恩特穿着红白蓝三色的科比二代球鞋，前脚掌着地准备就绪，他保持姿势，停顿了一瞬；他手臂长得惊人，通过普拉提课程完美塑形，肤色深棕，有点湿润，带着酒店免费乳液的气味，他仍将手臂高举过头顶，仿佛小孩在课堂上高举着手。他前臂上文着女儿的名字，此刻正面向篮筐，手腕仍然保持完美的鹅颈形随球动作，这个姿势无比优美却又充满力量，如同芭蕾舞姿一般，而且这一动作必不可少，因为它的的确确加大了球的后旋，即所谓的“投篮手的击球”，能在球入篮筐时起到减震作用，让直径9.5英寸的篮球有更大几率落入直径18英寸的篮筐。

几年前，科比右手第四掌骨骨折，为此缺席赛季的前15场比赛。他利用这个机会学习用左手跳投，后来他在比赛中以此著称。在骨伤愈合的过程中，靠近骨折处的无名指长时间和小拇指绑在一起，结果科比发现他四根手指的间隔不再均等，而是两两分开。这使得他对篮球的触感发生变化，投篮命中率走低。通过研究录像，他注意到自己投篮时球稍稍右旋。

为了纠正这个问题，科比整个夏天都待在体育馆里，投进了十万次篮。这十万次不仅仅是投篮，而是命中的投篮。他不是练习投篮，他解释道，而是练习投进。如果你能弄清楚这两个概念的区别，那么你就可以开始抨击科比·布莱恩特，或许他是当今体坛受误解最深的人物之一。这种误解令人悲哀，无论是对于他还是对于我们。你可以怪罪媒体；你可以怪罪这个围绕名利运转的世界；你也可以怪罪科比他自己。

29岁生日刚过，科比即将开启在NBA的第12个赛季。近来，尽管有些不情愿，人们开始承认他是仍然活跃在赛场上的最伟大的全能球员，足以跻身威尔特·张伯伦、拉里·伯德以及迈克尔·乔丹一列。今年，科比将从薪资、广告、商业投资中获得超过4，500万美元的收入。他一直是新闻关注的焦点，且通常站在公众喜好的对立面，因为他继续为那支曾经辉煌的球队——洛杉矶湖人队效力，而眼下湖人队人手不足、无力争锋。与科比共度五天——准确来说，是十几个小时分摊到五天的时间里——让我们对这位“能工巧匠”的生活有了初步了解。他把工作视为艺术和天职。像他喜爱的银幕英雄杰森·伯恩和詹姆斯·邦德那样，科比也把自己视为超级英雄：一个能解决任何问题，通过锻炼自身达到巅峰地位的现代武士。他自称黑曼巴，这种蛇以其惊人的捕食能力、攻击性和移动速度而著称。雪碧和耐克广告片里他大汗淋漓刻苦训练的镜头？那都是他本人的主意。“就拍我的训练吧，”他建议道，“这是我的本质：一个把每次重复动作都坚持到底的家伙。”往后几年你会更频繁地听到，科比的标志是剑鞘。这个标志画得像是日本武士所用的剑鞘。“剑只是未经打磨的才能，”科比解释道，“剑鞘把剑包裹其中——也就是你所有的经历、你的老茧和你的行囊，还有你学到的知识。”

“你必须时刻谨记，充分利用你所拥有的每一分每一秒，时不我待，只争朝夕。”这是他个人网站KB24.com主页上的拉丁文（他在意大利上小学时学过）宣言。他清晨5：30分起床训练，一日进餐五次，他的饮食都是特别制作，不仅讲究原料，对烹调方法也十分讲究。他会研究过去、现在以及全世界球员的录像带，就像科学家在实验室里做实验那样充满了好奇心。（小时候，他曾经研究泡泡糖篮球卡片来弄清楚球员正在展示哪个动作，以及“要完成某个动作需要动用哪块肌肉”。）他看到随便一张自己在比赛中投篮的照片，都能准确地告诉你那场比赛的时间、地点以及赛况。他可以一次花几个小时顺着地板追着网球跑，为了能在三角进攻时正确切入而在空荡荡的球场上一遍遍地练习以同样的姿势奔跑，还练习台阶跑、自杀式折返跑以及远距离跑。

按照他的特别要求，科比的球鞋在足弓部分设计有一个特别的合金带，他认为这可以减少他百分之一秒的反应时间。同样，他还要求耐克设计了一套“鞋袜系统”，大概就像职业足球运动员使用的那套东西。在他看来，他的脚在鞋内滑动所浪费的不到一秒的时间，正是他输给对手所需的时间。在他冰敷膝盖时，他既敷前面也敷后面，由于这样用时较长，一般常被人忽略。于是他也要求耐克设计一种吸走膝盖热量的新式热身短裤，从而缩短恢复时间；他信心满满地说，恢复时间是训练中最关键的要素。

只要一个篮球、一个篮板，训练中保持80%—90%的命中率（在没有对手的情况下），科比在大约60分钟内可以投进500个球。所有艰苦训练，所有投进的数十万个球，使得科比去年连续在四场比赛中至少得到50分，并且在联赛中得分领先。两年前，在主场对抗多伦多猛龙队时，他表现惊人，一人拿下81分，这是史上第二高分，仅次于身高2.13米的威尔特·张伯伦所创造的单场赢百分的纪录，且所有分都是在距篮筐4.57米内赢得的。人们对科比及其成就的反应令人困惑，从他职业生涯开始就一直这样。他进入NBA第二年时，经由票选入围了全明星赛（当时他在湖人队排行第六），就因叫板当时的篮球之王迈克尔·乔丹而遭到人们指责。或许NBA历史上没有哪个人物像科比·布莱恩特那样让人又爱又恨。

如今，在体育馆，篮球划过弧线完美地穿过了篮筐，在球网底部掀起震颤，发出清晰可辨、扣人心弦的嗖嗖声。那个瞬间不再凝固；时间继续流淌。科比点了一下头，几乎没人察觉得到，仿佛在说“这就是我所说的。”在私底下，要是有什么东西引起了他的兴趣，或是他相信的事情得以证实，他就会这样欣喜地点一下头。这是你很少见的科比的样子：他露出洁白无瑕的牙齿，正在开怀大笑；这个年轻人喜欢吃西瓜，也喜欢吃美味的可可利口酒冰淇淋，有天晚上他和妻子在观看卡秀之前，在拉斯维加斯的饭店里享用的就是这种甜点；他最近迷上了《哈利·波特》系列，而且读起来飞快，想要超过他妻子。这是他12年级以后看过的第一套系列书，当时他对科幻小说《安德的游戏》十分着迷，这本书讲述的是一个遭受排挤和敌视的男孩最终拯救了地球的故事。