By Marilyn Dubinski | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2024-08-20 02:24:12
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
即使在球场上拼尽全力，也不代表两个人之间就存在仇恨。
上赛季或许最被刻意制造的rivalry之一就是年度最佳新秀维克托·文班亚马与亚军切特·霍姆格伦之间的竞争。两人都是攻防两端全面、技术全面的长人球员，未来几年必将统治联盟内线。每场马刺对阵雷霆的比赛都备受期待，吸引了众多想一睹两位年轻“独角兽”风采的观众。然而，尽管这些对决异常激烈，但球迷和媒体似乎更想给这场新秀对决火上浇油，声称这两位球员之间存在“矛盾”。
现在，霍姆格伦就此公开澄清。在保罗·乔治(Paul George)的播客节目中，他被问及两人对阵时，那种能量和强度从何而来。霍姆格伦指出，两人在进入NBA之前就曾在国际赛场上交手，而且他们都是好胜心很强的球员。但实际上，他私下里几乎不认识文班，他认为“矛盾”应该是指那些彼此之间确实存在问题并想打架的人之间的事。他和文班之间并非如此（至少现在还没有）。
切特澄清了他和文班之间所谓的“矛盾”。
最新一期节目现已上线：https://t.co/Hb2z4ooNTd 图片
— 保罗·乔治播客 (@PodcastPShow) 2024年8月19日
他还谈到了其他话题，比如年度最佳新秀的竞争，并回击了那些说他不是新秀的人（他因腿伤缺席了整个2022-23赛季）。他指出，如果你正在打你的第一场NBA比赛，你就是一个新秀。即便如此，他仍然认为文班亚马实至名归（所以，再次强调，他们之间没有矛盾）。他还说，他从与文班亚马交手中得到的主要教训是，要记住面对一个身高7英尺5英寸（约2.26米）的人与面对一个身高6英尺9英寸（约2.06米）的人是不同的，你必须做出相应的调整。
你可以在下方观看完整采访。关于文班亚马的部分从29:00开始，关于“矛盾”的部分从32:06开始。
即使霍姆格伦和文班亚马之间没有任何“矛盾”，也不意味着未来他们之间不会展开激烈的竞争，而且竞争也不仅仅局限于他们两人之间。虽然马刺队的重建之路还落后雷霆队一到两年，但这两支球队未来都将为总冠军而战，这将重新点燃21世纪10年代那段短暂而激烈的竞争。当时，拥有凯文·杜兰特(Kevin Durant)/拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克(Russell Westbrook)的雷霆队曾三次与拥有蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)、马努·吉诺比利(Manu Ginobili)、托尼·帕克(Tony Parker)和科怀·伦纳德(Kawhi Leonard)的马刺队在季后赛相遇，其中包括2014年马刺队在第6场比赛中险胜晋级总决赛并最终夺冠。
随着亚历山大(Shai Gilgeous-Alexander)、杰伦·威廉姆斯(Jalen Williams)和霍姆格伦组成的雷霆队核心阵容基本确定，以文班亚马、德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)和另一位尚未确定的球员为核心的马刺队也希望尽快加入到西部顶级强队的行列中。到那时，马刺和雷霆之间的竞争将再次上演。
点击查看原文：Chet Holmgren denies there is any beef between him and Victor Wembanyama
Chet Holmgren denies there is any beef between him and Victor Wembanyama
Two players can play hard on the court without actually hating each other.
Perhaps one of the most manufactured rivalries of last season was the one between Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama and runner-up Chet Holmgren. Both are long, lanky, versatile players on both ends of the floor who figure to dominate the big-man landscape for years to come. Each Spurs-Thunder matchup was highly anticipated and brought plenty of viewers who wanted to see the two young unicorns, but as intense as those battles were, it seemed fans and the media wanted to help add to the budding on-court rivalry by claiming there was a “beef” between the two players.
Now, Holmgren is setting the record straight. Speaking on Paul George’s podcast, he was asked where the energy and intensity came from when the two of them faced off against each other. While Holmgren noted that the two had faced each other on the international stage before they were in the NBA and they are both competitors, in actuality, he barely knows Wemby in person, and he sees a “beef” as being between people who have actual issues with each other and are looking for a fight. That is not the case between Holmgren and Wemby (at least not yet).
Chet sets the record straight on “beef” with Wemby.
New episode premiering NOW: https://t.co/Hb2z4ooNTd pic.twitter.com/48LzFnXyKB
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) August 19, 2024
He also discussed other topics, such as the Rookie of the Year race while shooting down haters who say he wasn’t a rookie (he missed the entire 2022-23 season with a leg injury), noting that if you’re playing in your first NBA game, you are a rookie. Even so, he still felt Wemby was deserving (so again, no beef). He also said the main thing he learned from playing against Wemby was simply to remember that facing someone who is 7’5” is different than 6’9”, so you have to make those adjustments.
You can watch the entire interview below. His segment discussing Wemby begins at the 29:00 mark, with the beef part specifically beginning at the 32:06 mark.
Even if there isn’t any “beef” between Holmgren and Wembanyama, that doesn’t mean it won’t be an intense rivalry going forward, and not just between those two. While the Spurs are still a year or two behind the Thunder in their rebuild, both figure to be battling each other for championships in the future, rekindling a relatively brief but intense rivalry from the 2010’s, when the Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook Thunder battled the The Big Three plus Kawhi Leonard three times, including in 2014 when the Spurs won a nailbiter game 6 to advance to the Finals and win the their latest championship.
With the Thunder’s core of Holmgren, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams presumably set, a Spurs core centered around Wemby, Devin Vassell and another piece yet to be either named or discovered hope to join them at the top of the Western Conference standings soon. When that time comes, the Spurs-Thunder rivalry will be back on.
By Marilyn Dubinski, via Pounding The Rock