不仅仅是一块地板 NBA地板背后的故事
Tromp through the forests of the Upper Midwest—think Wisconsin and Michigan, specifically—and you'll run across plenty of acer saccharum or hard maple, the kind that makes up 29 of 30 NBA hardwood courts.
雄赳赳气昂昂穿过上中西部的森林——尤其是威斯康辛州和密歇根州——你会看到大面积的甘蔗林或硬枫木林，而这正是30个NBA主场中29个主场的原料。
"This is where the greatest density of that particular specie of maple is grown," Doug Hamar, Horner Flooring president, says. "It is selected over others because it is harder than other hardwoods, is a tighter grained product, and is light in color."
“这里正是那种特殊枫木生长的地方。”霍纳地板公司的总裁道格·哈马尔表示，“之所以选择这种材料，是因为它比其他硬木更硬，纹理更密，颜色也更淡。”
The NBA leans on three companies for all its flooring needs—Horner, Robbins and Connor Sports Flooring—and they all source their maple from the same region, even if floor similarities stop there.
NBA依靠三家公司为他们供应球馆地板——霍纳、罗宾斯和康纳体育地板公司——而这三家公司的地板产品尽管没有太多相似性，但原料都取自同一地区。
The tight grain ensures the hardness of maple, giving it the durability needed to withstand NBA seasons and the 70 or so floor conversions an NBA arena goes through each year. The NBA requires teams to replace the floor every 10 years, although one team has received annual waivers, making their floor last 19 years. The lightness of the wood helps provide contrast against the ball, making it easier for players to discern its movement. Plus, the lighter color on the floor reflects light better and helps brighten arenas.
细密的纹理保证了枫木的硬度，使其具有更强大的耐用性，能够承受漫长NBA赛季及每座NBA球馆一年间近70次的地板更换过程。NBA要求球队每10年更换一次地板，不过每支球队能有一次选择不更换的权利，这让他们的地板寿命最长可达到19年。木质轻巧会与皮球形成差异，使得球员更容易感知篮球的移动。此外，地板颜色越淡，灯光的反射效果就越好，球馆也会更亮。
While the maple trees may start out nearly the same, finished floors can differ. The flooring strips are typically comprised just thicker than 3/4 of an inch, a dimension, Hamar says, that has been around since maple flooring was first produced in the late 1800s. That thickness turned into a tradition that has carried through even now.
如果用作原料的枫木取自临近地区，那地板成品将会因此存在差别。每块地板的厚度会稍厚3/4英寸，哈马尔说，这个标准自从19世纪末枫木地板产品出现时就是如此了，这个厚度成了一种传统延续至今。
Maple hardwood floor pieces get graded—first, second and third grades—by the Maple Flooring Manufacturing Association. Sometimes those differing grades help to create the specific look of an NBA floor.
枫木地板制造协会会对枫木硬木地板会划分等级——一级，二级和三级。有时候，那些不同的等级正是NBA球馆地板不同样式的原因之一。
"If a team wants their floor to be lighter in color, we will manufacture out of first grade and there are things in the finishing process to enhance that lightness of color as well as preserve it," Hamar says. "If there are areas where they want a multi-grade look, you could do first grade in the center and third grade around the perimeter for a picture frame type of look."
“如果球队希望他们的地板颜色更淡，我们就会用一级原料生产地板，而且在最后的装饰阶段，我们还会进一步做淡并保持那种颜色。”哈马尔说，“如果有球馆希望地板呈现多等级的样子，我们可以在场地中央使用一级原料，在外围使用三级原料，看上去就像相框一样。”
Not only can the differing woods provide looks around the court, but other floors, such as the parquet pattern in Orlando and Boston or the herringbone in Brooklyn, create a pattern on the 94-by-50 playing surface by placing differing grades of wood. Of course, Boston has always bucked tradition with its red oak floor.
不仅不同的木头能构造场地图样，而且其他地板设计，比如奥兰多和波士顿的拼花地板，和布鲁克林的交叉缝式地板，通过摆放不同等级木料的不同形式，也能在94x50的比赛场地上展现出不同的款式风貌。当然，波士顿一直以来就以使用红橡木地板的传统而自豪。
Below the hardwood comes plenty of company-specific creation as well, with subflooring systems consisting of everything from plywood construction to specialized cushioning systems.
硬木地板之下就是各家公司特定的创造了，下层地板系统包括很多东西，既有胶合板结构，又有定制化的缓冲系统。
Greg Pierce, portables manager for Robbins, tells that all of his company's NBA floors use a "resilient package" that includes a cushion pad. "Adding the resilient package helps with shock absorption, ball bounce and vibration control, which leads to better athletic performance," he says.
罗宾斯公司的移动产品经理格雷格·皮尔斯表示，他们公司的所有NBA地板都是用了一种“弹性套装”，里面包含一个缓冲垫。“增加缓冲套装能够帮助地板吸收冲击力、球的反弹性，控制颤动，地板也能因此拥有更优秀的运动表现。”他说。
Hamar says Horner NBA floors come with a mix of their proprietary cushioning systems and without. "The cushions or pads on the underside ofthe floor to enhance resiliency characteristics are sometimes opted for, but not all the time," he says. Depending on the amount of cushion, the NBA floors absorb energy. Too much absorption means that players don't get as much energy returned to them, and the less energy returned the harder it is to run, like running on sand or in water. "You don't want the floor surface to absorb too much of the athlete's energy," Hamar says. "Some athletes prefer a harder surface for playing their games so they get more energy return."
哈马尔表示，霍纳公司的NBA地板可以选择是否使用他们拥有专利的缓冲系统。“地板下能提高弹性的缓冲垫，缓冲板有时候是可以选择的，并不是一直附随地板安装。”他说。缓冲垫的多少也决定了NBA地板吸收能量的能力。吸收能力太强意味着球员回收的能量不足，反弹的能量越少，球员必须越加用力地跑动，就像在沙地或水里跑步一样。“你也不会想让地板表面过度吸收球员能量。”哈马尔说，“有些球员打球时喜欢更硬一些的地板，这样他们就能得到更多的反弹能量。”
As the aesthetics of NBA floors have morphed—two teams, Golden State and Milwaukee, even have alternate floors for this season—so has the process of designing. To get the mountain scene Horner places on the Denver floor or the cityscape Robbins offers Cleveland, for example, the manufacturing process includes staining the maple. Minnesota has one of the darkest stains in the league, while Charlotte has employed a honeycomb pattern and New Orleans offers a pelican silhouette. No matter the design, Hamar says, companies must always ensure that whether bare, stained or painted, the floor takes the final finish coat—a high-gloss polyurethane used for the most available grip—exactly the same.
随着NBA地板审美的变化——金州勇士和密尔沃基雄鹿这两支球队本赛季甚至拥有备选地板——地板的设计流程也在发生变化。比方说，为了得到霍纳公司为掘金地板设计的山顶图样，以及罗宾斯公司为骑士设计的城市轮廓图样，地板的制造流程还包括了为枫木染色这一过程。森林狼的地板颜色是联盟最深的之一，黄蜂采用了蜂巢图样，新奥尔良选择了鹈鹕的轮廓。哈马尔说，不管如何设计，公司必须保证，无论是原木地板，还是染色或刷漆，地板的最外的涂层必须是一样的——也就是大多数时候会使用的高光泽聚氨酯。
Below that oil- or water-based final finish, which is reapplied every off-season, as per NBA rules, also comes plenty of paint, with center-court logos averaging 300 square feet in the NBA and city names or nicknames adorning the baselines, along with arena names, the NBA logo and secondary logos.
最后一道工序是油基层或水基层，每年的休赛期这都会进行重涂。而按照NBA的规定，地板上还会有很多的涂漆区。其中有中场平均300平方英尺的队标，底线有城市名称或地名，还有球馆名称、NBA标志和球队的第二标志。
"We have to be 100 percent confident that the finish is going to perform the same at all points on the floor," Hamar says. "We don't want (players) to fear losing traction."
“我们必须有100%的信心，保证成品时刻有着同样的表现。”哈马尔说，“我们不希望(球员)担心找不到感觉。”
（文/Tim Newcomb 译/傅婧瑛）