我经常被问到，在NBA打球的好处与坏处。我想在这篇博客里同时解答这两个问题。让我首先说清楚，总的来说瑕不掩瑜。我不知道世界上还有多少工作与此相似，我不骗你，我每晚都默默感谢上帝给了我在NBA打球的机会。

除了能够有钱养家和供自己小小挥霍之外，在NBA打球的最大好处就是挑战。我从来都没有对此感到厌烦。当我走进训练馆或准备上场时，我不知道接下来会发生什么。我会打得很好么？我会所有投篮都不中么？我能把对手防住么？我们会赢么？每晚你都必须重新证明你自己。没人记得你上个星期有一场球打得多出色，大家只关心你下一场表现如何。有一天当我结束了篮球生涯——我希望别太早到来——这将是我最怀念的地方。我热爱挑战，热爱击败困难取得成功后的那种感觉。

人生中没有比更衣室里更真挚的情义了。球队如同家庭。有时候你会和队友相谈甚欢，有时候会争得脸红脖子粗。大多数NBA球员或职业运动员最怀念的东西就是：更衣室的气氛和队友间的友谊。你的队友会不停地那你寻开心。无论是你穿的袜子太难看，还是球处理得有些愚蠢，或者说了什么胡话，队友都会提醒你。在队中人人都会被作弄，谁都逃不掉。我和队友相处的时间要超过了我的家人。是的，有时候他们也会把我惹火，但大多数时间他们让长途旅程变得轻松愉快。当然我也喜欢夏天的休赛期。高尔夫和野外烧烤都是我的最爱。

我开头就说了，NBA赛制瑕不掩瑜。人们一直很好奇，作为一名NBA球员有什么不好么？我现在就列几条。我设想中最完美的情况是：每个赛季只打58场比赛。每年随着赛季的进行，旅途变得越来越折磨人，我总是很想念家人。如果NBA让每两个球队之间只打两场比赛，一个主场一个客场，我想反对这一意见的球员不会超过5个。球迷也会赞成，因为这样一来，花在观看比赛上的时间会减少，每场比赛的价值都会提升。赛季缩短将让球员更加健康，也让篮球比赛更加好看。对每个人来说，这都是双赢的选择。

此外，NBA赛制另一个坏处就是：漫长的赛季让你始终要和伤病作伴。在赛季期间，我很少有几天醒来时感觉到神清气爽精力充沛的。通常情况下(至少对我而言)，我的脚踝很疼，有时候是背部——那是前一天的比赛留下的。有时候，身体的伤病让你没脾气。

尽管如此，我还是要说，我的工作是世界上最棒的，我不想和任何人换工作。我在实现自己的梦想。每天都如同活在梦里。每天。

回见，

肖恩

原文如下——

People often ask me what are the best and worst parts of playing in the NBA. I'd thought I'd tackle those two issues in this blog. Let me preface this by saying that the best parts greatly outweigh the worst parts. I don't know how many jobs are like that, but trust me when I say that I thank God and my lucky stars every night for the chance to play in the NBA for a living.
 
Aside from being able to take care of my family financially and do a few nice things for myself as well, the best part of the NBA is the challenge. I never describe my job as boring. When I come to the gym and prepare for a game, I never know how it's going to unfold. Am I going to play a good game? Will I miss all of my shots? Will I shut my man down? Will we win? You have to go out and prove yourself every single night. No one cares if you had a great game last week, the only focus is what you are going to do in the next game. When I retire from basketball, hopefully many years from now, this is what I will miss the most about my job. I love the challenge and the mojo you get from taking this challenge and coming out on top.

There are very few things in life that can compare to the camaraderie of a locker room. A team is like a family. Sometimes you have great connections, sometimes you get in arguments. The number one thing most NBA players and pro athletes say that they miss is the locker room and the friendship of teammates. Your teammates are constantly making fun of you. Whether you wear an ugly pair of shoes to the game, make a boneheaded play, or just say something idiotic, you know your teammates will be there to remind you. No one is safe, but in an entertaining way. I spend more time with my teammates than I do with my family. Yes, sometimes they get on my nerves, but for the most part they make the journey a very enjoyable one. I also like the summer break of a few months. Golf and BBQ.

Like I said, the positives of the season outweigh the negatives. People are always curious about the downsides of being an NBA player so here is my short list. In my perfect world, we would only play 58 regular season games. The travel gets a bit old after awhile and I miss my family during the season. If we played every team twice a year, once at home and once on the road, I don't think you could find 5 NBA players that would complain. I think fans would appreciate this as well because it wouldn't be such a time commitment and every game would mean much more. A shorter season would mean healthier players and a better quality of basketball would be played. It's a win-win for everyone.
 
The only other major negative to playing a rigorous schedule is that you are always battling an ailment of some sorts. There are few days that I wake up during the season and my body feels refreshed and energized. Usually, (for me at least), my ankles are hurting or some days my back hurts from taking a charge the night before. Sometimes you just get tired of physically hurting.
 
With that said, I have the best job in the world and I wouldn't trade it with anyone. I am living the dream. My dream. Everyday.

Talk to you later,

Shane