所以我弄伤了我的胳膊。你可能已经听说了这件事。如果你没听说，好吧。。。我很抱歉搞砸了这事。这次受伤，实话说，不怎么明智。一月下旬，在和达拉斯一场常规赛中，那时候我火得很。我看见了咱们替补席上的椅子，这椅子招惹了我了，然后我要砸死它。

那场比赛正好是在除夕夜，手机上刷文字直播，坎大刷确实打的比较挣扎，小牛的内线群不是很厉害，只能说大刷自己没感觉。

大错特错，椅子硬得很，我倒是断了根骨头。。。

你总是会恨自己让球队失望，不管什么原因。但是像这样。。。兄弟，比仅仅只是你让球队失望更糟糕。这还很尴尬。你知道吗，我很郁闷。就像，埃内斯，你都干了点啥啊，你是怎么砸椅子把手给砸折了？

我记得，受伤后，我们预计我将要错过一个多月的比赛。我真的害怕每个队员会对我发火，对我吼叫。像这样的意外，球队会受到消极的影响，每个人都会心烦意乱。尤其是拉塞尔，他比别人更关心这只球队，更想赢球。

但是我永远不会忘记拉塞尔后来在更衣室的反应。他做的第一件事就是跑过来问我感觉怎么样。。。你可能会想，他问我感觉怎么样。所以呢？是啊，这听起来简单得很。但是对我来说这意味着很多。这是一种表达方式，我想，他站在个人的角度关心我，虽然我的伤病甚至会让球队的工作人员担心，影响球队的战绩。

当然，当拉塞尔问我感觉怎么样时，我告诉他有根骨头断了。这是我最怕说的，你懂的。但是即使在我说了实情之后，他很冷静，非常暖心。我敢说他有点伤心，但是没有那么生气。

“总会有事情要发生的”他说。

总会有事情要发生的。我觉得这是个不错的说法。

然后他在赛后的采访中对媒体说了同样的话。总是有事情要发生的。我不得不告诉你，这句话奠定了球队的基调。拉塞尔是我们的领袖，大家都以他为榜样。我觉得他就是这么做的，他能感受到这次受伤已经让我感觉糟糕透顶了，足够让整只球队都不太好。如果可以的话我会回到那一刻。没必要对我大吼大叫，在我内心深处，我已经吼过我自己了。我觉得拉塞尔只是试图让我们清楚地知道：埃内斯感到非常抱歉，他是咱们球队的重要成员，所以让我们支持他吧，并让他尽快回来。就是这样，到此为止。

这对我来说意味深长。

但这就是拉塞尔·维斯布鲁克。

你可能会感到疑惑为啥我会在这说到这次愚蠢的受伤，在我关于这赛季的拉塞尔的故事里。但对于我来说，你懂的，这些故事，都是一样的。

它就像是：每个人都知道三双，他们已经知道拉塞尔打破了记录，表演着高光时刻，并且把雷霆带回季后赛——甚至绝大多数人在去年夏天会说，好吧，这座城市倒霉透的，他们完蛋了。他们已经知道了拉塞尔是联盟里最棒的球员，打出了联盟最棒的赛季表现。

但是我不认为他们知道拉塞尔也是联盟里最棒的队友之一。

通过这些话我想表达什么呢？好，从这开始说：你在媒体那边听到的，关于拉塞尔在某些方面并没有使他的队友们变得更好。这是个笑话，一个天大的笑话。坦率的讲，当我回想拉塞尔在这赛季所做到的事，最能让我想到的就是他如何让我们队变得更好。

数据统计是其中的一部分，好，场均十个助攻——数字不会说谎：我整个职业生涯中从来没有得到过像这赛季这么多的空位，我打五号位拉塞尔是一号位。这是难以置信的。而且场均11个篮板：你意识到对于我们来说拥有一个像拉塞尔这样抢篮板的后卫这是多大的优势吗？这使我们更快，更流畅，更好。这改变了一切。然后，你懂的，场均32分：这还有啥好说的？这个联盟里没人能一对一防住威少，没人，他随心所欲地得分。有些时候篮球很复杂，但是有时也很简单。在我看来这就很简答：如果你的球队有这样的一个其他球队无法防守的家伙——对他们而言麻烦大了（我说了这很简单）。

所有的这些三双：这就是这个赛季拉塞尔让雷霆变得更好的主要方式——这不是能在高光集锦视频上看到的，或者一堆数据能体现的，我不这么认为。因为今年威少所做到的事如此神奇，这不仅仅是他让我们球队变得更好。

更多意义上，他让我们球队“维斯布鲁克化”了。

我来解释下。我不必去想 KD，因为这都过去了。凯文是个非常不错的家伙，一个好人，曾经是我们这个大家庭的一部分。我们都理解有时候篮球也是一桩生意，但是当他离开，兄弟，你真的能感受到对我们造成的影响，毕竟一开始谁会知道？

你能感受到这种情绪在蔓延，人们开始感到沮丧。不仅仅是球队的成员。。。也许甚至整个俄克拉荷马城，感到沮丧。这就像是，这是座有着一只很棒的球队的城市，球迷们深爱着它，但是凯文却没有留下？然后你在电视上听到所有专家，都说雷霆是时候重建了——你懂的，“他们曾经有机会争夺冠军，但是现在完蛋了。”是吗？就这样？完蛋了？甚至在季前赛都没开始前，人们已经在讨论我们应该卷铺盖回家钓鱼了。

当然——我的意思是，你知道拉塞尔将在非常困难的境地打这个赛季，尝试着证明所有的憎恨和怀疑我们的人都错了。但是今年最棒的是，威少如何使整只球队打出了很棒表现，我们把这只球队扛在了肩上，猛然间我们让憎恨和怀疑我们的人都闭上了嘴。

疯狂的是：我觉得我们都意识到了我们喜欢上了在这样的困境中打球。就像是，整个雷霆队——我们挺过了最困难的夏季，然后调整自己的角色。。。正在努力成为我们想要成为的角色。“憎恨我们的人总是会恨我们的”这是句经典的威少的座右铭。

你知道吗，“憎恨我们的人总是会恨我们的”现在已经成为了这只球队的座右铭。

事实上，我改口了，这是整座城市的座右铭了。

就行我们整个球队试着接受拉塞尔这个赛季的个人表现，我觉得整个城市都在接受他的表现。俄城的球迷在那个休赛季是伤痕累累的，他们要让憎恨他们的人闭嘴，他们肩负重担，他们要证明一些东西……就像我们队，就像拉塞尔一样。

这就是我所说的，威少让雷霆威少化。

不少MVP竞争者，他们打出了不错的数据，也许他们甚至背负着整只球队。但是威少？

我不得不说，今年，他把整座城市都扛在了肩上。

如我所说，我弄伤了自己的胳膊。

康复的那一个月对我来说是一段艰难的时光，我恨自己不能上场打球，但是我熬到头了——二月底我整装待发。我对自己受伤的方式感到很尴尬，我会记住那个时刻，并化作千倍的动力，当回到球队时要增强自己对比赛的影响力。

真的如我所愿吗？不。。。不完全是这样：4分4失误，12投2中。赛后我很失望，我必须更努力地训练来帮助球队。但是我打的这么挣扎，一堆失误，投丢了不该投丢的投篮，这让我我很失落。赛后，我坐在更衣室里，很沮丧。就像是，现在你不仅仅是因为伤病伤害到球队了，糟糕的表现同样也伤害了球队，这让我无法接受。

但是随后发生了一件很酷的事。拉塞尔在更衣室看到了我垂头丧气，他说，“埃内斯，别担心”。然后他告诉我几年前他的手受伤时，刚开始甚至都没法投篮，到处投丢。但是他擦去了身上的铁锈，就像全新的剑一样锋利。他说同样的事也会发生在我身上。

我问他：“拉塞尔，你复出的那场比赛拿了多少分？”

“30。”（我在电脑上查了下，24分钟里32分，17投12中）

我当时第一个想法就是：哇，真厉害，拉塞尔在另一个层次上。但是我深入想想，意识到威少这事的重点不在于我是不是能在下场比赛中轰下30分，就像他说的，“总会有事情要发送的”。你可以用来当做借口，也能把它们视作动力。

因为，对威少来说，事情就是这样，没有任何借口。所有的发生的事，都化作了动力。

这就是他所说的。伤病后总是会有些生疏，忘了它吧。自信上场，知道自己是否正在比赛，只专注于你正在做的事，好事就会到来。

下一场比赛，我出场并拿了20分9个篮板（9投6中，10罚8中）。

不少时候，我都觉得这是我们这赛季的缩影，一整个赛季。

总会有事情要发生的。 自从去年夏天雷霆发生了不少事，比如七月份的自由球员市场，又或是八月人们说我们要重建了，甚至九月专家们预测我们这个赛季不能得到季后赛席位，十月没人相信我们火热的开赛表现，十一月那波连败（九场输了七场），还有十二月的六场球输掉四场，我在一月份手臂骨折，二月拉塞尔丢了全明星先发，三月没人把我们当回事，四月。。。哥们，我们每个人，所有人，都不会找借口停止向前卷铺盖回家钓鱼。

所有这些发生的事，我们都面临着选择：要么接着战斗，要么回家。

现在我们为了季后赛而战斗。

大多数人都会挑我们作为对手，很正常，我们不是一只球星铺天盖地的球队，不是大城市球队，也不是热门种子球队，我们没有疯狂的战绩，也没有明星球迷，更不是已经夺冠过的球队。但是我得说：我觉得我们还不错。

在这个特殊时刻，在这个特殊的赛季，即将到来的特殊的季后赛，甚至是特殊的一年里，我们可以说，也许，肯定，威少比任何人都要更出色。他的表现在某些特定的夜晚就好像是篮球中唯一值得大家关注的东西。

我们就是围绕在拉塞尔身边的一群人，我们是一支拥有拉塞尔的球队。

Russ

So I broke my arm. You may have heard about it.

And if you haven’t heard about it, well, then … I’m sorry I brought it up. Because this injury, to be honest, it was not a smart one. It was in late January, during a home game against the Mavericks, in the heat of the moment.

I saw this chair on our bench, and the chair was acting like a punk, and so I punched it.

Big mistake — chairs are tough. I fractured a bone.

You always hate to let the team down, no matter what. But with something like this … man, it was worse than just you are letting the team down. It was also embarrassing. I felt depressed about it, you know? It’s like, Enes, what did you do? How are you gonna break your forearm by punching a chair?

I remember, after this injury happened, and we found out I would miss a month or so … I was just really dreading the thought of everyone on the team being mad at me. Yelling at me. You figure, an incident like this, something that affects the team’s chances in such a negative way, people are going to be upset.

Especially Russ — who cares about this team, and about winning, more than anyone.

But I’ll never forget Russ’s response in the locker room after. The first thing he did was go right up to me and ask how I was doing. O.K. … you might be thinking. He asked how you were doing. So what? And yeah — that may not sound like much. But it meant a lot. It was a way of showing, I think, that he cares about me as a person, and that my health comes before even worrying about the team’s record and stuff.

Of course, when Russ asked how I was doing, I told him the bone was broken. It’s the thing that I had been dreading to say the most, you know. But even after I said that — he’s just very calm, and very warm. I can tell he is sad for me, but not so much mad.

“Things happen,” he says.

Things happen. It’s a good saying, I think.

Then he says the same to the media in the postgame. Things happen. And, I have to tell you … it really just sets the tone for the team. Russ is our leader, and guys follow his example. And I think that’s what he was doing there. He could sense that I already felt bad enough about this injury … bad enough for the whole team combined. And that I would take the moment back in a heartbeat if I could. There was no need to yell at me. On the inside, I am already yelling at myself. And so I think that Russ was just trying to let our guys know, you know, very clearly: Enes is sorry, and he’s an important part of our team. So let’s support him, and get him back as soon as possible — and that’s it. End of discussion.

And that was huge for me.

But that’s just Russ.

You might be wondering why I am talking about the time that I had this stupid injury, here, in my story about this season that Russell is having. But to me, I think, you know … these stories, they are the same story.

But I don’t think they know that Russ is also one of the best teammates in our league.

What do I mean by this? Well, to begin with: The idea you hear in the media, about how Russ in some way “doesn’t make his teammates better” — it’s a joke. Just a complete joke. Honestly, when I think of what Russ has accomplished this season … the thing that comes to mind most is how he has made the guys on our team better.

And the numbers are part of that, yes, of course. Ten assists per game — it speaks for itself: I’ve never had so many open looks in my whole life as I have this year, playing the five with Russell at the one. It’s unbelievable. And 11 rebounds per game: Do you realize what an advantage this is, for us to have a point guard who can rebound like Russ? It makes us faster, and smoother, and better. It changes everything. And then, you know, 32 points per game: What more is there even to say? Nobody in the league can guard Russ one-on-one. Nobody. The guy is scoring at will. And sometimes basketball is complicated, yes … but also sometimes it is very simple. And to me this is a very simple idea: If you have a guy on your team who the other team can’t guard — it’s a big problem for them. (I told you it is simple.)

But even with all of these triple doubles: The main way that Russ has made the Thunder better this season — it isn’t something that you can just show on a highlight video, or with a bunch of statistics, I don’t think. Because what Russ has done this year that is so amazing, to me … it isn’t just that he has made our team better.

It’s more that he has made our team … Russ-er.

I’ll explain now.

I don’t have to go into the whole KD situation here, because that’s all in the past. Kevin’s a really good dude, a nice guy, and was a part of our family here. And we all understand that basketball is a business. But when he left … man. You could really feel the impact of it, at first, you know?

You could feel a whole mood happening, where people are starting to feel bad. And it’s not just the guys on the team … but maybe even all of OKC, the entire city, is feeling bad. It’s like, Oh, is this a city where we have good teams … and the fans get really into it … but then guys don’t stay? And then you hear all of these experts on TV, saying that it’s time for the Thunder to rebuild — you know, “Those guys had their chance, but now it’s over,” that sort of thing. And it’s like — O.K., really? Just like that? It’s over? Before the preseason had even started, people were already telling us to pack up and go home.

And of course — I mean, come on, of course — you knew that Russ was going to play with an extra edge this season, and try to prove all the haters and the doubters wrong. But what’s been so great about this year, and what has been the real difference-maker for us … is how Russ has made our whole team play with an extra edge. Suddenly we are all playing with this big chip on our shoulder. Suddenly we are all taking the haters and the doubters very personally.

But now it’s just a team motto, you know?

Actually, I’ll rephrase — it’s a city motto.

Just like our entire team learned to adopt Russ’s personality this season … I think that our entire city also learned to adopt Russ’s personality. I think that OKC, as a fan base, felt like they got a raw deal from a lot of people in the off-season. And they had haters to silence, and a big chip on their shoulder, and something to prove … just like our team. And just like Russ.

And that is what I mean, I guess, when I say that Russ has made our team Russ-er.

A lot of these MVP candidates, they put the great numbers up, and maybe they even put the team on their back. But Russ?

I have to say, this year, that Russ put an entire city on his back.

So like I said, I broke my arm.

It was a tough month rehabbing, and I really hated not being able to play. But I made it to the end — and by late in February I was ready to go. And as much embarrassment as I felt for the way that I got injured … take that amount, and multiply it by a thousand … and that is how much determination I felt to make an impact in the game when I returned to the team.

Does it go so well? No … not exactly:

Four points and four turnovers, on 2-for-12 shooting. (Nice going, Enes.)

So I’m obviously very disappointed there — to have worked so hard to get back and help my team … and then here I am, struggling so bad, and turning the ball over a bunch, and missing crazy shots. I’m pretty down about it. And after the game, I’m just sort of sitting there, at my locker, feeling frustrated. And it’s like, O.K. — now you’re not just hurting the team by being injured … you’re also hurting the team by playing your worst? It’s unbelievable.

But then something very cool happens. Russ sees me at my locker, looking down I guess. And he says, “Enes, don’t worry about it.” And then he tells me the story of how, when he was rehabbing his own broken hand a few years ago, at first he couldn’t even buy a bucket. Was missing his shot left and right. But then he shook off the rust, and just like that, it was as good as new. And he says that the same thing will happen for me.

And I’m like, “Russ, how many points did you have, in your game when you came back?”

“Thirty.” (It was 32 points, on 12-for-17 shooting, in 24 minutes, I checked on the computer.)

And my first thought is to be, like, Oh, great. Russ is on another level. But then I think about it some more … and I realize that the point of Russ’s story isn’t whether or not I can go out there that next night and put up 30 points, like he did. The point of the story is that things happen. And you can either use those things as an excuse … or you can use them as motivation.

Because, for Russ — man, that’s just it. There are no excuses.

Everything is motivation.

And that’s what he is saying here, to me, you know? The rust, from the injury … just don’t even think about it. And instead, have the confidence to go out there … and know that if you play your game, and don’t focus on what happened — only focus on what you’re doing about it — then the good things will follow.

The next game, I go out there and I put up 20 points, 9 rebounds.

On 6-for-9 shooting, plus 8-for-10 from the line.

And in many ways, you know, I feel like this has been the story of our season, all season long.

Things happen.

A lot of things have happened to the Thunder since last summer. And every single one those things — whether it was free agency in July … or people telling us to rebuild in August … or the experts predicting us to miss the playoffs in September … or no one believing in our hot start in October … or losing seven of nine in November, and then another four of six in December … or me breaking my forearm in January … or Russ getting snubbed as an All-Star starter in February … or no one mentioning us as a contender in March, or in April … man. They were all just these moments, I think — where any one of us, or even all of us, could have turned around, and made the excuses, and kind of packed it in for the season and gone home.

Every one of these things that’s happened — they’ve all been moments where we’ve had a choice: We could either go home, or we could keep fighting.

And now we fight one more time in the playoffs.

Most people will pick against us — and that’s cool. We’re not the team with the roster full of stars … or the team with the big city … or the team with the high seed. We’re not the team with the crazy record … or the team with the famous fans … or the team with the championship banners.

But I have to tell you: We feel like we’re in a good spot.

And we feel like — at this particular moment, in these particular playoffs, in this particular year — we are able to say the thing that is maybe, honestly, even better than any of those. The thing that sometimes … on any given night … feels like the only thing in basketball that matters.

We’re the team with Russell Westbrook on it.