[外絮] Klay Thompson 將「認真考慮」加入巴哈馬國家隊
原標題：Klay Thompson to ‘seriously consider’ joining Bahamian hoops squad, honor father’s dream
(Klay Thompson 將「認真考慮」加入巴哈馬國家隊，以示兌現父親的夢想)
作者：Andrei de Guzman
原文＋翻譯：
Klay Thompson already foresaw that when The Bahamas made headlines this
August for toppling this year’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in the American region, his close connection to them would be brought out.
Klay Thompson 已經知道，正當巴哈馬國家隊因為在八月的奧運資格賽美洲預選賽中出線而成為全球頭條時，他和該國的密切連結也會隨之浮現。
And on Thursday, Aug. 31, as his name got even more binded with the Caribbean country upon the commencement of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the Golden State Warriors star hotshot finally announced it: He’ll seriously contemplate
joining the emerging hoops nation once the opportunity presents itself.
在他的名字隨著籃球世界盃的開打而與這個加勒比海國家變得更加緊密時，該位勇士隊球員於星期四（八月卅一日）終於宣佈：如果有機會，他將會鄭重考慮加入這個新興的籃球國度。
“When that time comes, I will give it serious consideration just because of what The Bahamas meant to the Thompson family, especially my father,”
Thompson said as he and Kevon Looney landed in the Philippines for the final stop of the ANTA World Tour.
Thompson在和魯尼於菲律賓參加安踏世界巡迴展的最後一站時，說道：「在時機成熟時，我會認真考慮的，這只是出於巴哈馬國家隊對我的家族，尤其是我的父親的意義。」
Thompson notably played under the United States flag in the past, helping the Stars and Stripes to clinch global basketball supremacy by winning the gold medal in both the 2014 FIBA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.
Thompson過去曾代表美國出賽，並帶領美國隊奪得2014年籃球世界盃和2016年里約奧運會男籃賽項的金牌。
But considering that it’s been years since he hasn’t played on the
international stage for the Americans, it might be the time to finally honor his father’s well wishes.
但考量到他本身已有多年未再代表美國隊出現在國際舞台，也許是時候來兌現父親的夢想了。
His father and former NBA No. 1 overall pick, Mychal Thompson, has a proud Bahamian blood. This ultimately makes Thompson an intriguing, probable
reinforcement of the Bahamas squad that targets a coveted basketball seat in next year’s Paris Olympics.
他的父親、也是前選秀狀元的Mychal Thompson 是巴哈馬人。這最終可能使他成為隊中其中一位引起關注、可能出現的強援，而該國的目標是在明年的巴黎奧運會上，鎖定其中一個席次。
“He never had a chance to play for the national team because they just didn’t have the chance back in the ’70s or the ’80s,” Klay said of his father.“Now my brother [Mychel] is coaching with them which is also very cool.
“But right now, I’m really focused on the [upcoming 2023-24 NBA] season. But when that time comes next summer, I’ll give it consideration.”
談到父親時，Klay 說：
「他從來沒有機會為國家隊效力，因為在七、八十年代，他們根本沒有機會。而如今我的哥哥Mychel Thompson 是該隊的主教練。但不管怎樣，現階段我會先專注在即將到來的2023-24 賽季，到了下個夏天時，我會認真考慮的。」
The Bahamas conquered last week’s Olympic Pre-Qualifiers of the Americas, sweeping the entire contest with might and dominance. Powered by Deandre Ayton, Buddy Hield, and Eric Gordon – whose cutting of the international play ties with the United States was granted by FIBA – the Bahamians exited the tournament with an unblemished record, pocketing one of the five Olympic Qualifier tickets as they joined Bahrain, Poland, Cameroon, Croatia, and the other 19 yet-to-be-determined nations based on the future results of the ongoing World Cup tourney in Manila, Okinawa, and Jakarta.
巴哈馬制霸了上週的奧運資格賽美洲預選賽，以強大的實力和統治力橫掃了整個賽區。在Deandre Ayton、Buddy Hield 和獲得FIBA特例批准的 Eric Gordon 之支持下，該隊以全勝戰績出線，獲得了五張奧運預選賽入場券的其中一張，將與巴林、波蘭、喀麥隆、克羅埃西亞以及其他十九個尚未確定的世界盃隊伍爭奪最終的晉級資格。
Thompson expressed his delight that The Bahamas were able to dismantle hoops powerhouse and the FIBA No. 4 nation Argentina en route to the nation’s
biggest win thus far in national program history.
Thompson表示，他很高興巴哈馬隊能夠擊敗籃球強國、FIBA排名第四的阿根廷隊，取得國家隊歷史上迄今為止最大的一場勝利。
“When it comes to the Bahamian basketball, I couldn’t be more proud of what they’ve accomplished in the past few weeks especially Chris De Marco, Buddy Hield, Deandre Ayton, Eric Gordon, and the rest of the Bahamians,” said the four-time NBA champion.
「在來到巴哈馬籃球時，我為這些人（尤其是 Chris De Marco、Buddy Hield、Deandre Ayton、Eric Gordon 及其他球員在過去數個星期的成就而感到自豪。」
“Those guys had the biggest win in our country’s history as far as beating Argentina twice on their home soil. [It’s] not an easy task. Argentina is one of the best teams in the world, and it’s just gonna do wonders for the country.”
「他們在客場兩次擊敗阿根廷隊，創下歷史上的最大勝利。這來的不容易。阿根廷是世界上最好的球隊之一，這將為國家製造奇跡。」
His impending decision to potentially cut his ties with the American
federation and eventually join The Bahamas would require utmost pondering, considering that Steve Kerr, his current coach in the Warriors, has been calling the shots now for USA Basketball.
考量到 Steve Kerr ，也是他在勇士隊的主教練正負責執教美國隊，他可能作出的決定將需要經過一定的深思熟慮。
Nevertheless, he’s proud of the current progress of Kerr and the youthful squad that is now preparing for the second round of the FIBA Championships’Group Phase while boasting an unstained 3-0 preliminary round record.
無論如何，他為目前 Kerr 和美國隊在第一階段預賽中，以不敗戰績進入第二階段之表現感到自豪。
“Steve [Kerr] is doing a great job and the great thing about when you watch Team USA is the guys put their egos aside,” Thompson said. “They don’t
care who leads the team in scoring, in rebounding, and steals. All that
matters is when you play for Team USA, it’s winning gold [medal].
“And that’s beautiful to see.”
「Steve Kerr 做得很好。當你觀看美國隊的比賽時，最棒的一點是球員們都把自我放在一旁，不在意誰是國家隊的得分王、籃板王或抄截王。重要的是，在為美國隊打球時，目標旨在獲得金牌。這看來非常美妙。」
Reddit 鄉民評論：（https://redd.it/166d4z5）
"Deandre Ayton: I want to build a superteam. I’d like that superteam to come to me"
「艾頓：我要建立一支超級球隊。我希望那支超級球隊能來找我」
"The prospect of Klay Thompson, Eric Gordon, DeAndre Ayton, Buddy Hield and Kai Jones all on one team is very interesting. They might sneak into the Olympics if each one of them plays in the qualification tournament next
summer.
「如果 Klay Thompson、Eric Gordon、DeAndre Ayton、Buddy Hield 和 Kai Jones 都在一隊，看起來會非常有趣。假如他們都在下個夏天出戰奧運預選賽最終階段，他們很有可能擠進奧運會正賽。」
短評：
看來國際籃球將會變得越來越有趣了...
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