By Tom Orsborn, Sports reporter | San Antonio Express-News, 2024-04-16 12:43:01

由Gemini Pro人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。


2024年3月27日星期三，在盐湖城的NBA篮球比赛上半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队中锋维克托·文班亚马（1号）防守犹他爵士队中锋奥梅尔·尤尔特塞文（77号）。

马刺队中锋维克托·文班亚马在他的新秀赛季里与许多篮球偶像进行了积极的接触，包括凯文·杜兰特、扬尼斯·阿德托昆博和勒布朗·詹姆斯。

在场外，这位法国天才还遇到了其他运动项目的明星，最著名的是七次超级碗冠军汤姆·布雷迪和芝加哥黑鹰队的新星康纳尔·贝达德，并享受着他们的陪伴。

但是，没有一次会面能像他在见到一位戴着眼镜、身高5英尺9英寸的作家之后所发表的欢呼雀跃的评论那样。

“那真是太棒了。这让我非常高兴，”文班亚马谈到他与多产的科幻奇幻作家布兰登·桑德森共度的时光时说道。

文班亚马补充说：“最重要的是，它让我高兴的是，我发现自己从小就很崇拜和仰慕的许多人，都像我所说的那样满足了我的期望。”

文班亚马是一个贪婪的读者，他最喜欢的文学体裁是幻想，最喜欢的作家是桑德森。

这位7英尺3英寸的20岁球员在3月27日马刺队在盐湖城战胜犹他爵士队后，遇到了这位48岁的小说家。桑德森是杨百翰大学的校友，在犹他州普罗沃学院教授创意写作课，住在犹他州美国福克。

据《纽约时报》报道，桑德森因其“迷雾之子”系列和完成罗伯特·乔丹史诗般的畅销奇幻系列“时光之轮”而闻名遐迩，他已经售出了2000万册印刷版、有声书和电子书。

文班亚马和桑德森在会面时互赠了礼物。

文班亚马在以118-111击败爵士队的比赛中得到19分并盖帽5次后，把自己的比赛球衣给了桑德森。桑德森送给文班亚马一本他签名的书。

桑德森在以前的推特上发布了他和文班亚马在Delta Center游客更衣室外的合照。

“比赛结束后，他抽出时间接待了我们，就像大家说的那样亲切而善于雄辩。”桑德森写道。

最近一次比赛后，文班亚马用法语对法语记者讲述了他与桑德森相处的融洽。

“他不仅是一位不可思议的作家，而且这个人真的吸引了我，让我感到惊讶，”文班亚马说。“我想象他是一个我可以很容易与之进行长时间交谈的人。”

文班亚马表示，他希望很快再次见到桑德森。

“在那个层面上给我留下深刻印象的人不多，而他是其中之一。”文班亚马说道。

原文如下：

Spurs' Wembanyama cherishes meeting with author Brandon Sanderson

[Image] San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) defends against Utah Jazz center Omer Yurtseven (77) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Salt Lake City.

Spurs center Victor Wembanyama enjoyed positive encounters with many of his basketball idols during his rookie season, a list that included Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James.

Off the court, the French phenom also met stars from other sports, most notably seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and Chicago Blackhawks rookie star Connor Bedard, and enjoyed their company.

But none of those meetings elicited the kind of joyful comments he made after meeting a bespectacled, 5-foot-9 writer.

"It was great. It made me very happy," Wembanyama said of the time he spent with prolific science fiction and fantasy author Brandon Sanderson.

"Most of all," Wembanyama added, "it makes me happy to see that a lot of people I grew up admiring and looking up to are living up to my expectations, as I would say." 

A voracious reader, Wembanyama ranks fantasy as his favorite literary genre and Sanderson as his favorite author.

The 7-foot-3 20-year-old met the 48-year-old novelist after the Spurs' win over the Utah Jazz on March 27 in Salt Lake City. Sanderson is an alumnus of Brigham Young University who teaches a creative writing class at the Provo, Utah, school and lives in American Fork, Utah.

Best known for his "Mistborn" series and for finishing Robert Jordan's epic, bestselling fantasy series "The Wheel of Time," Sanderson has sold 20 million print, audio and e-books, according to the New York Times.

Wembanyama and Sanderson exchanged gifts during their meeting.

Wembanyama gave Sanderson his game jersey after scoring 19 points and blocking five shots in the 118-111 win over the Jazz. Sanderson presented Wembanyama with a signed copy of one of his books.

Sanderson posted on X, formerly Twitter, a photo of him and Wembanyama together outside the visitor's locker room at the Delta Center.

"He made time for us after the game, and was just as gracious and eloquent as everyone says," Sanderson wrote.

Speaking in French to French reporters after a recent game, Wembanyama talked about how well he and Sanderson hit it off.

"Not only is he an incredible author, but the person really appealed to me and surprised me," Wembanyama said. "He's someone I imagine I could very easily have a very long conversation with."

Wembanyama said he hopes to meet again with Sanderson soon.

"There are a few personalities like that who have marked me on that level, and he's one of them," Wembanyama said. 

By Tom Orsborn, Sports reporter , via San Antonio Express-News