1996-11-12, By Jeanne Jakle Express-News TV Editor
NBA 50周年纪念
乔治·“冰人”·格文 (George “The Iceman” Gervin) 的眼睛闪着光，笑容从这里一直延伸到无穷远，为周三感人至深的篮球50周年电视庆祝活动留下了难忘的时刻。在TNT特别节目“NBA at 50”中，格文回忆起自己最喜欢的比赛部分是在球迷面前比赛。
“他们知道，当他们来看‘冰人’时，”这位名人堂成员和马刺传奇人物笑着说，“他们将有机会这样做：‘哦，哦，好球！’”
说着，他举起手臂模仿为自己欢呼的样子，开怀大笑，然后叹了一口气，“啊，多么美好的人生！”
这种全心全意的热情，这种将自己的身体和灵魂投入到比赛中的精神，正如节目中所展示的那样，让这场为期两小时的电视回顾节目如此引人入胜。它应该吸引任何对篮球比赛有过一丝激动的人，无论男女老少。
“NBA at 50”由丹泽尔·华盛顿 (Denzel Washington) 主持，并包含大量精彩片段，将于周三晚上7点在TNT（Paragon有线频道25）首播，并在当晚9点和11点重播。
一开始，你应该知道，圣安东尼奥马刺队在节目中并没有扮演主要角色。节目追溯到马刺队之前很久，回溯到篮球的起源和第一场NBA比赛：1946年的纽约尼克斯队对阵多伦多哈士奇队。
（NBA实际上是在1949-50赛季开始的，当时美国篮球协会与国家篮球联盟合并组成了国家篮球协会。美国篮球协会于1946-47赛季成立，拥有11支球队，包括波士顿凯尔特人队、纽约尼克斯队和费城勇士队。）
如果这是一部关于马刺队的纪录片，它应该叫做“NBA at 20”，因为圣安东尼奥的球队直到1976年才加入NBA。
不过，节目中确实出现了不少大卫·罗宾逊 (David Robinson) 的镜头，尤其是在节目最后半小时，当纪录片聚焦于在迈克尔·“空中飞人”·乔丹 (Michael “Air” Jordan) 退役和复出之间短暂时期内崛起的一众球星时。
节目指出，罗宾逊、查尔斯·巴克利 (Charles Barkley)、沙奎尔·奥尼尔 (Shaquille O’Neal)、帕特里克·尤因 (Patrick Ewing)、哈基姆·奥拉朱旺 (Hakeem Olajuwon) 和格兰特·希尔 (Grant Hill) 继续着乔丹的开创之举：将篮球变成一种超越体育运动本身的东西。球员们突然被要求成为娱乐家，更不用说社区领袖和榜样了。
为了说明这一点，节目中展示了罗宾逊在自己备受欢迎的“罗宾逊先生的街区”节目中夸张地表演。
当然，还有许多NBA历史上最 flamboyante 的场外球星的镜头：穿着粉色、蓝色或铂金头发的丹尼斯·罗德曼 (Dennis Rodman)，他出现在奥普拉·温弗瑞 (Oprah Winfrey) 的节目中。
但节目的大部分内容都集中在比赛本身以及每个十年的冠军——威尔特·张伯伦 (Wilt Chamberlain)、朱利叶斯·“博士 J”·欧文 (Julius “Dr. J” Erving) 和当然还有乔丹——他们创造了令人瞠目结舌的精彩时刻，并将永远载入史册。
例如，80年代最火热的两位球星——波士顿凯尔特人队的拉里·伯德 (Larry Bird) 和洛杉矶湖人队的魔术师约翰逊 (Magic Johnson)——在整个十年中统治着比赛。他们的统治力令人叹为观止！正如一位回忆者所说：“他们会把自己的身心都投入到比赛中——绝对的、彻底的、完全的、毫无保留地。”
正如另一位专家在节目中所说，最重要的是，这两位球员都拥有在关键时刻站出来的动力和天赋：“当比赛的关键时刻到来时，他们会站出来，把握住机会。”
另一位拥有这种气势的球员是艾赛亚·托马斯 (Isaiah Thomas)，节目中展示了他在一年NBA总决赛中一瘸一拐，身负重伤，但仍然拼尽全力。
所有这些精彩的时刻不禁让人更加渴望有一天，马刺队能够像这些传奇球队一样站出来，为了赢得冠军，倾尽所有。
仅仅观看这部为期两小时的电视节目，就能成为一个很好的鼓舞人心的开始——无论是球员还是那些发现自己的精神需要振作的球迷。
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NBA does high 50
His eyes shining and his smile stretching from just about here to eternity, San Antonio’s George “The Iceman” Gervin provides a memorable moment on Wednesday’s heartfelt TV celebration of basketball’s golden anniversary. On the TNT special, “NBA at 50,” Gervin recalls how his favorite part of the game was playing in front of the fans.
"They knew that when they came to see Ice,' " the Hall of Famer and Spurs legend chuckles, "they'd get the chance to do this: Ho, ho, good shot!’ "
With that, he raises his arms in a mock cheer of himself, laughs heartily and sighs, “Ah, what a life!”
That all-out exuberance, that throwing one’s body and soul into the game, as the special shows players doing throughout, is what makes the two-hour TV retrospective so compelling to watch. It should appeal to anyone, man, woman or child, who has ever thrilled, even a little, to the game of basketball.
“NBA at 50,” featuring host Denzel Washington and loads of fabulous footage, premieres at 7 p.m. Wednesday on TNT (Paragon cable channel 25) and repeats at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. that same night.
At the outset, you should know that San Antonio’s Spurs don’t play a major role in the special, which harkens back way before their time, to the very beginning of basketball and the first NBA game ever: the New York Knicks vs. the Toronto Huskies in 1946.
(The NBA actually started in 1949-50, when the Basketball Association of America merged with the National Basketball League to form the National Basketball Association. The BAA began in 1946-47 with 11 teams, including the Boston Celtics, New York Knickerbockers and Philadelphia Warriors.)
If this were a look at the Spurs, it would have to be titled “NBA at 20,” as S.A.'s team didn’t become part of the NBA until 1976.
The special does feature quite a few glimpses of David Robinson, however - particularly in the special’s last half-hour, when the documentary focuses on stars who came to prominence in the brief time between the retirement and return of magnificent Michael “Air” Jordan.
Robinson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon and Grant Hill, as the special points out, went on to continue what Jordan started: turning the game into something much more than a sport. Players suddenly were expected to be entertainers, too, not to mention civic leaders and role models.
To illustrate this, Robinson is shown hamming it up in one of his beloved “Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood” spots.
And, naturally, there’s a bevy of shots of the most flamboyant off-court stars in NBA history: the pink-or-blue-or-platinum-haired Dennis Rodman, who’s seen guesting on the Oprah Winfrey show.
But the great majority of the special is devoted to the game itself and the champions of each decade - Wilt Chamberlain, Julius “Dr. J” Erving and, of course, Jordan - who made the jaw-dropping moves that would go down in history.
The two hottest names of the '80s, for instance - Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics and Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers - are shown dominating the game for an entire decade. And what domination! As one reminiscer puts it: “They would throw themselves into the game -absolutely, totally, completely, hopelessly.”
Most critical of all, as another expert in the special says, is both players had the drive and the talent to come through in the clutch: “when the game was on the line, they’d come in and seize it.”
Another player who had this sort of oomph was Isaiah Thomas, who’s shown limping and injured during one year’s NBA finals, but playing his heart out despite the pain.
All these marvelous moments can’t help but make one wish more than ever that one day soon the Spurs will arrive in the same manner as these legendary teams did and call forth anything and everything it takes to win that title.
Just watching this two-hour TV special should serve as a great inspirational start - for both players and fans who find their spirits need a little reviving.
By Jeanne Jakle Express-News TV Editor, via San Antonio Express-News