By Nick Moyle, Longhorns Insider | San Antonio Express-News, 2024-05-01 15:55:08

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。


圣安东尼奥马刺队中锋文班亚马在 2024 年 4 月 12 日星期五霜冻银行中心进行的 NBA 比赛下半场，对阵丹佛掘金队中锋尼古拉·约基奇 (15)，投出 3 分。圣安东尼奥以 121-120 击败丹佛

4 月 5 日，当马刺队在与新奥尔良的比赛中以一分险胜时，一个巨人盯着球场另一端的另一个巨人。维克多·文班亚马的脑子里飞速运转，制定计划，因为身材魁梧的鹈鹕队中锋约纳斯·瓦兰丘纳斯屈伸身体，完全展开他 7 英尺 6 英寸的翼展。

几秒钟过去了，然后文班亚马开始行动。这位新秀运球一次朝弧线方向移动，用一个短促的向左后撤步创造出空间，并投出 27 英尺 3 分球。这球落入篮网，使马刺队以 105-99 领先，最终以 111-109 击败了为了避免附加赛而奋战的鹈鹕队，这是一场至关重要的胜利。

当人们讨论这位假定的年度最佳新秀时，文班亚马的防守凶猛和内线杀伤力常常名列前茅，这是理所当然的。后撤步跳投更为隐蔽，出手罕见，但它可以说是这位 20 岁球星最具杀伤力的进攻武器。

在常规赛期间至少出手 50 次后撤步三分球的所有球员中，文班亚马的投篮命中率排名第一 (46.2%)。这是一个惊人的统计数字，不仅仅是因为他所有其他远程投篮的命中率只有 30%。

詹姆斯·哈登凭借他对后撤步跳投的精通，赢得了三个得分王，但本赛季他在这方面的投篮命中率仅为 36.8%（190 投 70 中）。达米安·利拉德 (42.3%)、斯蒂芬·库里 (40.2%)、卢卡·东契奇 (40.1%) 和德文·布克 (36.4%)——都是这个时代的伟大射手——也都落后于文班亚马。

根据 NBA.com 追踪数据，这些全 NBA 后卫中的每一位都比文班亚马投出这样球的频率高得多，仅东契奇本赛季就出手了 421 次。但与联盟的其他高个子相比，这位 7 英尺 3 英寸的法国人是一个惊人的变数。

乔尔·恩比德、劳里·马尔卡宁、克里斯塔普斯·波尔津吉斯、卡尔·安东尼·唐斯和切特·霍姆格伦——所有这些优秀的射手都身高 6 英尺 11 英寸或更高——本赛季总共投出了 18 个后撤步三分球。文班亚马自己投进了 24 球。

即使在当今 NBA 球场上漫步着所有多方面的“独角兽”大个子，防守者也从未见过如此高大的球员以稳定的速度投出此类球。除了极度的自信之外，文班亚马成功的关键在于他只在适当的时候施展后撤步。

“他显然是一位全能的天才球员，”马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇在 3 月份说。“他对比赛有着非同一般的敏锐，并以多种方式表现出来。”

文班亚马虽然高效，但也足够聪明，不会过度依赖一种可能被对方防守抢断的棘手投射。后撤步通常在防守者放松警惕或向油漆区下沉以阻止他对篮筐的注视时使用，而文班亚马在篮筐附近的命中率高达 67.1%。

到目前为止，这是一个适度使用的强力工具，即使他的投篮技术有所提高，也不太可能达到东契奇或哈登的水平。但文班亚马出人意料的后撤步跳投的威胁将使防守者在未来几年更加烦恼。

正如马刺队前锋桑德罗·马穆克拉什维利在文班亚马以 34 分、12 个篮板和 5 个三分球在与掘金队的比赛中以 121-120 获胜后所说，“即使天空也不是极限。他 [text_marker]是一个外星人。[/text_marker]”

原文如下：

Victor Wembanyama's secret weapon: the step-back jumper

[Image] San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama shoots a 3-pointer over Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during the second half of their NBA game at the Frost Bank Center on Friday, April 12, 2024. San Antonio beat Denver 121-120

One giant stared down another at the top of the key as the Spurs clung to a late one-score lead at New Orleans back on April 5. Gears were spinning in Victor Wembanyama’s head amid the glaring, a plan formulating as burly Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas crouched into position and unfurled his full 7-foot-6 wingspan.

A couple seconds ticked away, then Wembanyama made his move. The rookie dribbled once toward the arc, used a short leftward step-back to create space and flicked a 27-foot 3-pointer. The shot dropped through the net to put the Spurs up 105-99, a critical moment in an eventual 111-109 win over a Pelicans team fighting to avoid the play-in tournament.

Wembanyama’s defensive ferocity and interior lethality often get top billing when anyone discusses the presumptive rookie of the year, and rightfully so. The step-back jumper is more subtle, unleashed sparingly, yet it is arguably the 20-year-old star’s most devastating offensive weapon.  

Of all the players who attempted at least 50 step-back 3s during the regular season, Wembanyama ranked first in field goal percentage (46.2%). That is a staggering statistic, and not just because he shot only 30% on all other tries from deep.

James Harden, who won three scoring titles in part due to his mastery of the step-back jumper, shot just 36.8% (70 of 190) on such attempts this season. Damian Lillard (42.3%), Stephen Curry (40.2%), Luca Doncic (40.1%) and Devin Booker (36.4%) — some of this era’s greatest shooters — all lagged behind Wembanyama, too.

Each of those All-NBA guards launches a much higher volume of those shots than Wembanyama, with Doncic alone attempting 421 this season, per NBA.com tracking data. But compared to the league’s other skyscrapers, the 7-3 Frenchman is a striking aberration.

Joel Embiid, Lauri Markkanen, Kristaps Porzingis, Karl Anthony-Towns and Chet Holmgren — all excellent shooters listed at 6-11 or taller — combined to hit 18 step-back 3s this season. Wembanyama knocked down 24 himself.

Even with all the multifacted "unicorn" bigs roaming NBA courts today, defenders haven't seen such a towering player make these kinds of shots at a consistent rate. And the key to Wembanyama's success, besides supreme confidence, has been working out just when to unleash the step-back.

“He's obviously an all-around talented player,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said in March. "He has a great feel for the game and it shows in a variety of ways." 

Efficient as he was, Wembanyama was smart enough not to become over-reliant on a tricky shot that could serve as a bail-out for opposing defenses. More often than not the step-back was deployed when a defender had dropped his guard or sagged toward the paint to prevent a look at the rim, where Wembanyama converted at a 67.1% clip.

It's a potent tool that has thus far been used in moderation, one unlikely to be utilized to anywhere near the level of Doncic or Harden, even as he becomes an improved shooter. But the mere threat of Wembanyama popping a surprise step-back jumper will give defenders even more to fret about in the coming years. 

As Spurs forward Sandro Mamukelashvili said after Wembanyama capped his season with 34 points, 12 rebounds and five 3-pointers in a 121-120 win over the Nuggets, "even the sky's not a limit. He's an alien.”

By Nick Moyle, Longhorns Insider, via San Antonio Express-News