这封信是弗朗兹·瓦格纳写给他在密西根的家人的心声，表达了他对家人的感激和思念。信中可能还包含了他在外求学生活的所思所想。
前言
进入联盟第三年，截稿当下场均19.8分5.4篮板3.9助攻，和刚成为全明星的Paolo Banchero组成双侧翼核心，携手将前一年仍在抽乐透的魔术队带入东区前五的高度，网路上也盛传着「Franz Wagner真的好强」的流行语，成为奥兰多的新时代招牌人物。
然而，或许是个性或球队市场较小使然，Franz Wagner至今在大众关注度上仍逊色其他同届新秀不少，在进入联盟打出身手前，选秀评价与声量也不是非常高，除了慧眼独具的魔术管理层外，恐怕没有多少人认为他能打出如今的身手，就连队友WendellCarter Jr.在当年选秀会结束受访时，都直言：「我对Franz并不是那幺了解」。
基此，本篇想透过翻译Franz Wagner在投入选秀前，写给密西根大学的感谢信，让所有对他感兴趣的、愿意支持他与这只新生的魔术队的球迷朋友，能更加了解Franz Wagner在进入联盟前的故事，以及他是怎幺样的人。
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"A couple of years ago, I had a decision to make."
几年前，我必须做一个决定。
"I had to choose between two things — and both were really appealing to me."
我必须在两件事之间做出选择——而且这两件事对我来说都很有吸引力。
"On the one hand, I had an offer to play pro basketball at home with Alba Berlin. I knew if I chose this option I would be happy. Playing professionally in the Bundesliga, that's a great honor. And I had a nice life in Germany. It was the comfortable choice, for sure."
一方面，我收到了在家乡球队Alba Berlin打职业篮球的邀约，我知道如果我选择这个选项我会很高兴，能够在德甲联赛中打职业比赛，是一种莫大的荣幸。我在德国有着美好的生活，这肯定是一个舒适的选择。
"On the other hand, I had an offer to play college hoops in Ann Arbor. My brother, Moe, of course gave me helpful advice about this option. And I had good conversations with Coach Howard and his staff. But still … college in the States, that was basically a mystery. It meant flying halfway around the world, to live alone, in a whole different culture — the opposite of a comfortable choice. It meant I'd have to take a leap of faith."
另一方面，我收到了在安娜堡打大学篮球的邀约。当然，我的哥哥 Moe 为我提供了有关此选项的有用建议，我也与Howard教练和他的团队进行了很好的对话。但在美国上大学，对我基本上还是个谜。这意味着飞越半个地球，独自生活在完全不同的文化中——相反于舒适的选择，这意味着我必须坚定自己的信念。
"And after months of going back and forth in my head about it (and against the advice and expectations of almost everybody at home), that's what I did. Not because Moe did it — but because I wanted to do it my way. I took a leap of faith."
经过几个月的反覆思考（并且违背了家里几乎每个人的建议和期望），这就是我所做的决定。不是因为Moe这幺做了──而是因为我想用自己的方式去做。我决定放手一搏。
"I decided to enroll at Michigan."
我决定就读密西根大学。
"It's the best decision I ever made."
这是我做过的最好的决定。
"And now, two years later, I'm making another decision."
两年后的现在，我正在做出另一个决定。
"I've decided to enter the 2021 NBA Draft."
我决定参加 2021 年 NBA 选秀。
"I'll be honest ... I'm definitely feeling a lot of emotions about it. I'm hopeful, more than anything — as playing in the NBA has been a big dream of mine. It's something I've been working extremely hard for. And after talking with my coaches and my family, I know it's something I'm ready for. From a basketball perspective, this is the move for me to make right now. (Plus, I mean, if Moe can play in the league — obviously they'll take anyone.)"
说实话……我确实对此感触良多。我充满希望，胜过其他事情——在 NBA 打球一直是我的一大梦想。这是我一直为此非常努力的事情。在与我的教练和家人交谈后，我知道我已经準备好了，从篮球的角度来看，这就是我现在要做的事。（另外，我的意思是，如果 Moe 能在联盟打球——显然他们会选任何人。）
"But it was still a tough decision."
但这仍然是一个艰难的决定。
"And I think it was tough for me for pretty much one reason: I love Michigan."
我认为这对我来说很艰难，原因只有一个：我爱密西根。
"Man ... I've just truly loved being a part of this Michigan thing with you all."
伙计……我真的很喜欢和你们一起待在密西根。
"So that's why I wanted to write this letter. I didn't want to just do some quick “see ya later.” I wanted to say thanks, for the time of my life."
这就是我想写这封信的原因，我不想只是简单地说声「之后见」。我想对我生命中的这段时光表示感谢。
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"One thing I'm really proud of from my college career is how we showed people that Michigan Basketball is here to stay. After Coach Beilein left, there were a lot of doubters. People were questioning whether Michigan was about to take a step back. And I feel like Coach Howard and our vets, like Zavier, they just got us locked into this mentality where we weren't going to let that happen. It became like a mission: Not only were we refusing to take a step back — actually we were going to push things forward."
在我的大学生涯中，我很感到自豪的一件事是我们如何向人们展示密西根篮球将继续存在。Beilein教练离开后，人们有着不少质疑声，人们质疑密西根州是否会退步。我觉得霍华德教练和我们的老将，例如Zavier，他们让我们进入了一种「我们不会让这种情况发生」的心态，这就像一个使命：我们不仅拒绝退步，实际上我们反而还要向前进。
"And I feel like we just kind of kept making these statements with our play. Like, beginning the Coach Howard era with a seven-game win streak, that was a statement. Winning the Big 10 in year two, that was a statement. Earning a #1 seed for the first time since the Fab Five, that was a statement. I know I only was around for two seasons, but I still hope you all will consider me a part of that legacy. Of telling the world that Michigan hoops isn't going anywhere."
我觉得我们只是在比赛中不断达成那些信念，就像以七连胜开启 Howard 教练时代一样，这就是一个宣告。第二年赢得Big 10，那是一个宣告。自「密西根五虎」以来首次赢得一号种子，那也是一个宣告。我知道我只待了两个赛季，但我仍然希望你们所有人都能将我视为这份传奇的一部分。告诉全世界密西根篮球不会消失。
"And on a personal level, I'm really proud of how much I've grown over these last two years. Off the court, I feel like I've become an adult — I've learned to take care of myself, you know what I mean?? (Also, I can mostly grow a beard now. Amazing perseverance.) And on the court, I think I'm just a more well-rounded player than I was when I first got to Michigan. I know the current NBA is all about versatility, guys who can show guard-like skills while having forward-like size. And I definitely think I'm developing that type of game."
就我个人而言，我对过去两年自己的成长感到非常自豪。在场外，我感觉我已经成为一个成年人了——我学会了照顾自己，你懂我的意思吗？（而且，我现在基本上可以留鬍子了。惊人的毅力。）在球场上，我认为我比第一次来到密西根时更加全面了，我知道现在的 NBA 注重的是多才多艺，球员既能展现后卫般的技术，同时又拥有前锋般的身材，而我确信自己正在向这种类型发展。
"At the same time, though, I'll always be my own worst critic — and I know I've got lots of things I have to work on and improve if I'm going to achieve my goals. I know I have to keep pushing myself to my limits. But those types of challenges … I live for them. I never want to feel satisfied with where I'm at."
但同时，我永远是自己最严厉的批评者——而且我知道，如果我要实现我的目标，我还有很多事情需要努力和改进。我知道我必须不断挑战自己的极限，但这样子的挑战......我正是为此而生。我永远不想对自己的现况感到满意。
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"Before I wrap this up, I have to say a few thank you's."
在结束之前，我必须说几句谢谢。
"I have to thank Coach Howard, and everyone associated with Michigan Basketball. Coach is just a special dude — and from the moment he came to scout me (at this tournament in Greece), it's been awesome to know him. He's given me the best basketball education I could ask for … but at the same time, he's never put coaching me as a player ahead of caring about me as a person. The program is in great hands."
我必须感谢 Howard 教练，以及所有与密西根篮球相关的人。教练是个特别的人——从他来考察我的那一刻起（在希腊举行的这次锦标赛上），能够认识他是件非常好的事。他为我提供了我所能要求的最好的篮球教育……但与此同时，他从来没有把对于一名球员的指导，放在对我作为一个人的关心之前，计划都在良好的掌握中。
"Next I have to thank my teammates. Most of you probably already know this, but my season ended on a very sour note. And man, I won't lie — it was a tough couple of weeks after that. It hurt a lot. Not just because it hurts to lose, and I'm such a competitor, but also because it felt like I let everybody down. Most of all our seniors. One missed shot by me … and their Michigan careers were over, just like that. I was pretty hard on myself about it. But the guys were so supportive of me — they had my back like true brothers. They'll be my brothers for life."
接下来我要感谢我的队友，你们中的大多数人可能已经知道这一点，但我的赛季以非常糟糕的方式结束，伙计，我不会撒谎——那之后的几週是很艰难的。那伤我很深，不仅因为失败的痛苦，而且我是一个竞争者，而是因为我感觉我让每个人都失望了，特别是对我们的高年级学长，我投丢了一球……而他们的密西根生涯就这样结束了。我对自己非常严厉，但这些家伙非常支持我——他们像真正的兄弟一样支持我，他们将是我一生的兄弟。
"And lastly I have to thank the entire Michigan family."
最后我要感谢整个密西根家庭。
"I'm sure a lot of people think “family” is just some word that gets over-used, especially around teams and schools and stuff like that. But it's honestly how I feel about my time here. I feel like I've found a kind of second family — one that is filled with all these great people, and that I'll be a part of even after I leave."
我确信很多人认为「家庭」只是一个被过度使用的词，尤其是在团队和学校之类的地方。但老实说，这就是我在这里的感觉，我觉得我找到了第二个家庭——一个充满了所有这些优秀的人的家庭，即使在我离开之后我也会成为其中的一部分。
"Sadly, now it's that time. It's time for me to say goodbye to Ann Arbor, and to take on this whole new challenge in the NBA."
难过的是，现在正是那个时候。是时候告别安娜堡，并在 NBA 接受全新的挑战了。
"I don't know what the future will hold for me there ... but I'm excited to find out. And it's like I said — I'll always know one thing for sure: I'm proud to be able to call myself a Michigan Wolverine."
我不知道我在那里的未来会怎样……但我很高兴能去找到答案。就像我说的——我永远都知道一件事：我很自豪能够称自己为密西根狼獾。
"Appreciate you all."
感谢你们大家。
"Go Blue, forever."
–Franz
Pic from THE PLAYERS TRIBUNE
原文连结：A Letter to My Michigan Family
翻译内容经文字修饰删减，一切以原文为主。
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