Fresh off winning a second NBA title, Klay Thompson showed us his best self on a tour of China.
by Hugo Kitano@HugoKitano Jul 13, 2017, 8:00am PDT

在這個(gè)熱鬧的休賽期里，NBA球星們似乎每周都在制造新聞，但這個(gè)夏天最新奇的籃球新聞卻和所有的自由球員都沒有關(guān)系。隨著一個(gè)湯普森在中國行中嘗試360扣籃而扣翻自己的視頻出現(xiàn)在推特，我們見識到了所謂的#社會(huì)主義克萊。
克萊-湯普森去中國展示一個(gè)NBA球員的天賦在現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中看起來是怎樣的pic.twitter.com/DdxZFJ5ZUv
— Ben B (@guga31bb) June 24, 2017
Throughout the next week, #ChinaKlay kept popping up in photos and videos circulated throughout Twitter, encompassing a wide range of scheduled activities:
Here’s #ChinaKlay airballing a swaggy three.
Here he is losing at arm-wrestling due to unexpected tickling.
Here’s #ChinaKlay getting lit in the club and popping bottles.
Here he is in a kind of choreographed dance routine or something.

在接下來的星期里，社會(huì)主義克萊繼續(xù)出現(xiàn)在各種推特?zé)醾鞯恼掌鸵曨l里，在一系列的活動(dòng)中大放異彩：
社會(huì)主義克萊自信而又瀟灑的三不沾.
這個(gè)是他扳手腕輸給一個(gè)女生
社會(huì)主義克萊在夜店中搖擺和開懷暢飲.
這里是他在廣場舞

還有一個(gè)最佳的，這里社會(huì)主義克萊 在嘗試一個(gè)太熱或者太冷的食物。
社會(huì)主義克萊一瞥#WarriorsTalk #Icon pic.twitter.com/Jb9wwks79D
— Warriors Talk (@JaeAzizi) July 6, 2017
Back here in the U.S., Thompson often seems detached, and his interactions with media are usually unremarkable. He is always good-natured, but tends to keep his feelings to himself. #ChinaKlay, on the other hand, is our favorite, lovable dork, wearing his emotions on his sleeve. Man does that guy look happy with life.
Fresh off signing a ten-year, $80-million endorsement extension with Chinese sportswear brand Anta, Thompson was in China on a promotional tour. Thompson admittedly didn’t know much about Anta when he first signed on in 2014, but relished the opportunity to explore the new Chinese market.
在美國的時(shí)候，湯普森看起來總是超然的，與媒體的互動(dòng)也總是不可描述。雖然他看起來很和善，但卻很少外露自己的情感。而社會(huì)主義克萊，看起來就是一個(gè)可愛而討喜的小傻瓜，情緒都寫在自己臉上。天啊他看起來真的是在享受生活。
在剛剛與安踏續(xù)約了一份10年8000萬美元的延長合同之后，湯普森踏上了他的中國行。他承認(rèn)在2014年第一次與安踏簽約時(shí)，他并不了解這個(gè)品牌，而是因?yàn)閷χ袊袌龅呐d趣完成了簽約。
“Knowing that I could be really big in China, that was really cool to me,” said Thompson in an interview with Nice Kicks. “The shoe market sometimes is over-flooded in the States, and I thought, ‘Well, why not branch out and be global.’”
Thompson particularly sought to have major creative input into the design of his signature shoes and individual player tours as part of his deal. Because larger American brands promote far more players, Anta would be able to devote more attention to Thompson’s wishes and concerns.
湯普森在一次采訪中說：“得知我可以在中國成為一個(gè)人物而廣受歡迎對我來說非常的酷，美國的球鞋市場有時(shí)有些溢出了，所以我想，為什么不嘗試一下別的品牌然后放眼全球呢?！?br> 湯普森在尋求球鞋合作的時(shí)候，特別關(guān)注與能否在簽名鞋中注入自己的一些創(chuàng)造性想法并且能夠進(jìn)行個(gè)人的宣傳行。由于美國的大品牌的球鞋推廣關(guān)注于更多更大牌的球員，而安踏正好能夠全身心的投入到湯普森的想法與關(guān)注點(diǎn)上。

If anyone was puzzled by Thompson’s decision to sign with Anta, it was a decision that has literally paid off with his NBA success, which includes two NBA championships and three All-Star team nods in the past three years. Thompson is now Anta’s biggest marketable commodity, with only Rajon Rondo filling out their roster of NBA player endorsements. Under Anta’s new deal, Thompson now owns one of the top ten richest basketball shoe deals in 2017.
Being big in China, however, still doesn’t mean much stateside. Chinese sportswear brands have not been able to crossover into the U.S. market, with quality and originality still appearing to be the missing element. If this is a reputation that bigger Chinese sportswear brands are working to steer away from, newer brands like Uncle Martian haven’t helped change that perception.
如果有人仍然想不通湯普森簽約安踏的決定的話，那么看看他在NBA的成功吧，過去三年兩個(gè)總冠軍以及三次全明星。湯普森如今是安踏旗下最大牌的球員，除此以外只有拉簡-隆多填補(bǔ)宣傳的空白。在和安踏簽了新合同之后，如今湯普森擁有2017賽季前10的球鞋合同。
在中國廣受歡迎并不代表在美國也是如此。中國的體育品牌由于質(zhì)量問題以及原創(chuàng)性的缺失，還未能夠漂亮的打入美國市場。如果中國的體育品牌想要避開這樣的口碑，那么Uncle Martian這樣的公司還是越少越好。
(譯者注：大家打開Uncle Martian的鏈接看一下，真是長見識)
And yet, #ChinaKlay has somehow transcended these and other cultural differences to perhaps start the wheels turning on a potential U.S. market. On a social media platform banned in China, we have gotten to see not only the best Klay, but a completely different world of fandom, a place where Klay can truly be happy. These are moments that can connect sports fans across different continents. #ChinaKlay is universal.
但是，社會(huì)主義克萊卻在一定程度上超越了這些文化差異，并推動(dòng)了安踏在美國市場的發(fā)展。在推特這個(gè)中國封禁的媒體網(wǎng)站上，我們不僅看到了最好的克萊，也看到了一群完全不同的球迷，看到了這個(gè)能讓克萊真正開心的地方。正是這些時(shí)刻能將世界各地的體育迷們連接在一起。社會(huì)主義克萊是獨(dú)一無二的。

After Thompson missed the dunk attempt in the beginning of his trip, he immediately hoped it wouldn’t go viral, but we must be glad for it. For once not so long ago, there was Ping-Pong Diplomacy, then Muhammad Ali visited China, then Yao Ming went to the NBA, and now Klay Thompson. With a strained relationship to China under the current administration, few things can be said to be better for sports-based U.S.-China diplomacy than #ChinaKlay, and the world is better for having him.
Cover photo from NBA China.
在湯普森中國行開始時(shí)，克萊錯(cuò)失了那記扣籃，他雖然希望這件糗事不要被媒體瘋轉(zhuǎn)，但我們必須為此感到慶幸。在很久以前，有過乒乓外交，然后阿里到訪中國，接著姚明登陸NBA，現(xiàn)在有了克萊-湯普森。在如今政府與中國保持著一個(gè)緊張的關(guān)系之下，中美的體育外交中沒有什么能比社會(huì)主義克萊更棒了，這個(gè)世界有他真好。
封面照片來自NBA China.