LeBron James didn't officially become a Los Angeles Laker until July 9, 2018, but his connection with the City of Angels began long before putting his signature on a four-year, $153.3 million contract.

勒布朗·詹姆斯直到2018年7月9日才正式成为一名洛杉矶湖人。但在签下这份为期四年、价值1.533亿美元的合同之前，他与天使之城就有了千丝万缕的联系。

Whether it was through his offseason home, pickup¹ games or his many off-court ventures, King James has the entertainment capital of the world serve as the capital for his personal global empire.

无论是休赛期在家中、野球场上、还是场下的各项活动，詹皇都把洛杉矶这座世界娱乐之都视为他个人帝国的首都。

When LeBron James and his friends and business partners first struck out on their own, forming LRMR in 2006, they wanted to get into the marketing² business.

当勒布朗·詹姆斯和他的朋友以及商业伙伴在2006年成立LRMR时，他们想要进入营销行业。

Their initial venture didn't go well, but it informed subsequent ventures including media platforms SpringHill and Uninterrupted.

他们的初次创业进展得不好，但这却促使了随后的创业，包括媒体平台SpringHill和Uninterrupted。

Their attempts to expand James' endorsement³ opportunities also led to lucrative⁴ nontraditional marketing partnerships⁵, in which James not only endorsed⁷ the product but had a stake in the business.

他们尝试扩大詹姆斯代言机会，这同时也促生了非传统营销伙伴关系，其中詹姆斯不仅代言了产品，而且在企业中拥有股份。

James' partnership⁶ investment in Beats by Dre netted him $30 million when the company was bought by Apple, and he gave up his McDonald's endorsement to become the face of Blaze Pizza, a business he has invested in that is now one of the fastest-growing restaurants in America.

James合伙投资了Dre博士成立的Beats耳机，公司被苹果的收购使詹姆斯净赚了3000万美元，他为了成为Blaze Pizza的代言人而放弃了麦当劳，现在Blaze Pizza是美国发展最快的餐厅之一。

Having signed a billion-dollar, lifetime deal, LeBron James was going to be a big part of Nike's plans, regardless of where he played.

勒布朗·詹姆斯签下价值数十亿美元的终身合同，所以无论他为哪支球队效力，他都是耐克远大商业计划的重要组成部分。

But not long after his signing with the Lakers, Nike quickly put up billboards⁸ steps away from Staples¹⁰ Center — a vertical¹¹ portrait of James in the Lakers' home uniform towered over 30 floors, and an iconic tomahawk dunk image from his 2003 rookie debut¹² overtook the entire width of the JW Marriott building.

但在与湖人签约后不久，耐克就迅速在斯台普斯中心附近竖起了广告牌——一幅30层高，詹姆斯身穿湖人主场制服的竖直肖像，还有一副覆盖了JW Marriott大厦整个宽度的图像——2003年新秀赛季处子秀中标志性的战斧劈扣。

James' presence already has put A-listers such as Denzel Washington, Will Ferrell, Kate Beckinsale and Jeffrey Katzenberg back into the courtside seats at Staples Center.

詹姆斯的出现已经让像丹泽尔·华盛顿、威尔·费雷尔、凯特·贝金赛尔和杰弗里·卡岑伯格这样的一线明星回到了斯台普斯中心的观众席。

What happens if those side conversations with the famous fans during inbounds plays lead to cameo appearances in films?

试想一下，如果在发球时与著名球迷进行的对话被放在电影中作为客串镜头会是怎样一番景

Will the hottest ticket in the NBA — costs for Lakers home games are up 20 percent over last season on the resale market, and Lakers road games cost 19 percent more than that of any other NBA team — become even hotter?

NBA最热的门票（湖人主场比赛的票价比上赛季转售市场上涨了20%，湖人客场比赛的票价比其他NBA球队高出19%）会变得更热吗？

And what happens if — as James prioritized — he takes the Lakers back to the promised land? Will a championship feel as if it counts for even more?

如同詹皇述，如果詹姆斯把湖人带回冠军这片乐土，会发生什么呢？这个冠军会不会意味着更多？

According to SocialBlade.com, James — already the most-followed American athlete on social media — picks up about 20,000 new Instagram followers¹³ a day.

根据SocialBlade.com的统计，詹姆斯（已经是社交媒体上粉丝最多的美国运动员）每天会有20000名Instagram的新粉丝。

It's doubtful he'll suddenly change his approach as new people come on board.

新关注者大量增加短期内不会改变詹姆斯对待社交媒体的方式。

A post that could be seen as an #ad — showing off his Nikes or his latest Beats by Dre billboard⁹.

一篇推特可以被看作是一个广告—展示他的耐克或者Beats耳机。

With his various business and media interests in the city, James has made Los Angeles far more than just his basketball home court.

洛杉矶这座城市的商业多样性和发达的媒体吸引着詹姆斯，所以对他而言，洛杉矶不仅仅是主场那么简单。

Although he might never be as beloved among Lakers fans as legends like Magic Johnson or Kobe Bryant, he has set himself up for the opportunity to be bigger than them — or any basketball player — on a worldwide scale.

也许他不会得到像魔术师和科比一样的宠爱，但他已经准备好成为一个世界偶像，比魔术师科比要伟大，或者说比任何篮球运动员都要伟大。