By Michael C. Wright, 2024-10-18 20:00:00
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。
8 月 10 日，在巴黎郊外的贝尔西体育馆，维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 脸上带着一丝不安的笑容，矛盾的情绪涌上心头。
就在 28 分钟前，这位 20 岁的法国青年和东道主法国队，差点将星光熠熠的美国队拉下马。文班亚马带领法国队从落后 11 分的劣势中奋起直追，将比分差距缩小到只差 3 分，但最终还是没能阻止斯蒂芬·库里 (Steph Curry) 和他的队友们连续第五次夺得金牌。
文班亚马身高 7 英尺 4 英寸（约 2.24 米），站在球场中央，队友们在他身边显得格外矮小。他手持银牌，脸上带着真诚的笑容，但内心却燃烧着失望的火焰。
当时很少有人知道的是，早在 4 月份圣安东尼奥马刺队 2023-24 赛季结束后，文班亚马就一头扎进了球队耗资 5 亿美元打造的胜利资本训练中心 (Victory Capital Performance Center)，他渴望增强自己作为新秀时所缺乏的力量。
在前往参加奥运会之前，他在圣安东尼奥训练了两个月。
文班亚马很喜欢这些训练在夏季国际赛场上的体现。他可以毫不费力地向对手展现出侵略性和身体对抗性，这是他作为新秀时无法做到的。而且，他在保持精英级别的运动能力和身体控制力的同时，还能更好地对抗身体接触。
“这两个月的刻苦训练足以让我更上一层楼。”他说。
下一步，是在回到圣安东尼奥后。
“奥运会结束后，我在这里训练了四五个星期，”文班亚马说。“这足以让我再上一层楼。这就是我想要的进步方式。我想每年、每个夏天都保持进步。这在奥运会期间已经帮助了我，我相信这在赛季中也会帮助我。”
在媒体日上，队友德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 称文班亚马的蜕变对对手来说是一个“可怕”的信号，并补充道：“你不会想到他这么高还能做到这些。现在这对他来说几乎是家常便饭了。”
马刺队管理层在休赛期采取了一些措施，确保球队能够更上一层楼，他们引进了名人堂级别的控球后卫克里斯·保罗 (Chris Paul) 和经验丰富的前锋哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes)。
他们加入了上赛季 NBA 最年轻的阵容，其中包括瓦塞尔、凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 和杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan)，以及乐透秀新秀斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)。
当然，还有 20 岁的文班亚马，他是上赛季的年度最佳新秀和年度最佳防守球员的亚军。上赛季，文班亚马场均得到 21.4 分、10.6 个篮板、3.9 次助攻、3.6 次盖帽和 1.2 次抢断，成为自 1985-86 赛季的马努特·波尔 (Manute Bol) 之后第二位领跑联盟盖帽榜的新秀。
而这些数据仅仅包括他上赛季 71 场 NBA 比赛的数据。在整个夏天，文班亚马都在默默地打磨自己的身体，体重增加了 25 磅（约 11.3 公斤）的肌肉。他还私下里与三届最佳第六人贾马尔·克劳福德 (Jamal Crawford) 一起训练控球、阅读比赛和投篮创造能力，并与一位世界级的控球后卫搭档。
欢迎来到维克托·文班亚马时代的第二年。
“我认为人们仍然不确定他真正能做什么，他会做什么，”四年级后卫特雷·琼斯 (Tre Jones) 说。“我认为有些夜晚，他仍然会做出我们以前从未见过的事情，在未来的许多年里，情况都会是这样。”
回到巴黎，文班亚马脖子上挂着银牌，身穿法国公鸡队的运动服走下球场。他的眼中依然噙着泪水，他忍不住开始思考未来。“我一直在学习，”他告诉《圣安东尼奥新闻快报》，“我担心几年后我的对手们。”
是国际篮联的对手，还是 NBA 的对手？
文班亚马停顿了一下。
“所有人。”
圣安东尼奥马刺队中锋维克托·文班亚马是上赛季的年度最佳新秀，他上赛季场均得到 21.4 分、10.6 个篮板、3.9 次助攻、3.6 次盖帽和 1.2 次抢断。Daniel Dunn/Imagn Images 上赛季，马刺队的球员和教练经常对文班亚马在防守端弥补失误的能力赞不绝口，但在进攻端，保罗的一次失误却因为文班亚马的存在而成为了他在圣安东尼奥的第一个官方集锦。
在 10 月 9 日对阵奥兰多魔术队的季前赛首节的最后一分钟，保罗持球突破篮下，身高 6 英尺 11 英寸（约 2.11 米）的莫里茨·瓦格纳 (Moritz Wagner) 和科尔·安东尼 (Cole Anthony) 从后面追防。保罗在空中发现了文班亚马正在向篮下移动。
他将球轻轻一抛，文班亚马高高跃起，双手接球，膝盖顶在瓦格纳的肩膀上完成了一记势大力沉的扣篮。这记空中接力是保罗和文班亚马在比赛中的第一次连线。
传
得
— 圣安东尼奥马刺队 (@ spurs) 2024 年 10 月 10 日
圣安东尼奥希望保罗在本赛季帮助球队改善他们在文班亚马新秀赛季中表现不佳的环节：关键时刻的表现，即比赛最后 5 分钟内分差在 5 分以内的情况。上赛季，圣安东尼奥经历了 41 场这样的比赛，最终的战绩是 13 胜 28 负。
马刺队的关键时刻进攻效率排名联盟第 25 位，失误率排名第 26 位。文班亚马上赛季在关键时刻出现了 15 次失误，与联盟最高值持平。
所以，人们认为像保罗这样的一流组织者来掌控进攻，应该可以通过明智的篮球决策和避免强行将球交给文班亚马的纪律性来缓解其中的一些问题。毕竟，文班亚马在比赛后期会吸引大量的防守注意力，以至于其他马刺球员经常处于无人防守的状态。毕竟，保罗是 NBA 历史上最伟大的关键先生之一。
在 19 个 NBA 赛季中，保罗在关键时刻投进了 512 个球，在联盟自 1996-97 赛季开始追踪每次进攻数据以来的排名中位列第九。在这段时间里，他在关键时刻的 440 个进球来自无助攻得分。这一数据仅次于勒布朗·詹姆斯 (LeBron James)（645 个）、科比·布莱恩特 (Kobe Bryant)（505 个）和拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克 (Russell Westbrook)（490 个），排名第四。
在过去的五个赛季中，只有 50 名球员在关键时刻出手次数超过 200 次。保罗在这一群体中的投篮命中率排名第三（49.5%），仅次于尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokic)（51.1%）和扬尼斯·阿德托昆博 (Giannis Antetokounmpo)（49.8%），这两位球员共获得过 5 次 MVP。
就在上个赛季，保罗在关键时刻送出了 11 次助攻，只出现了一次失误。
“和他一起在场上，感觉一切都在他的掌控之中，”文班亚马在这对搭档在战胜奥兰多的比赛中完成季前赛首秀后说道。“这让人安心，而且在困难的时候，他又多了一个我可以依靠的队友。最重要的是，他愿意告诉我们一些事情。每次训练他都会向我们反馈他以前是怎么做的，防守球员是怎么防他的，我们怎样才能获得更大的空间。他以一种非常无私的方式对待这一切。”
球队的工作人员对文班亚马的学习速度感到惊讶。 一位官员指出，文班亚马在本赛季初主要担任挡拆掩护者的频率，以及他在 2023-24 赛季末发展成为一名有能力在挡拆中控球的球员，就是最好的证明。
“你不会经常看到一个像他这样能在运球后投篮的球员在挡拆中打球，”巴恩斯说。“也许有时候你会成为一个定点投手。但有了维克托的控球，也许他会选择突破。也许他会找到不同的方式来占据空间。这对我们来说是一个很好的挑战，我们要弄清楚如何最大限度地发挥他这种独特的天赋。”
这也是文班亚马自己面临的难题，他要找到方法，最大限度地发挥自己的身体和技术优势。这位二年级球员在夏天增强了力量，以防止对手轻易地把他挤出他的位置。
因此，文班亚马的体重比他新秀赛季时的 210 磅（约 95 公斤）增加了 25 磅。
这帮助文班亚马提高了对抗后的投篮命中率。
“他的投篮感觉非常好，感觉在任何位置都能投进，”大前锋扎克·柯林斯 (Zach Collins) 说。“如果你把他挤出他的位置，他也能很舒服地完成投篮。很明显，没有人能盖掉他的跳投。上个赛季，如果他被挤出位置，就很难完成后仰跳投。现在，他看起来很稳固。”
文班亚马很可能在夏天还藏了一些绝招。他花时间和克劳福德一起训练，后者被认为是近年来联盟中最华丽的得分手之一。上个赛季，我们看到文班亚马用一记“沙姆斯·查理贝利运球”（Shammgod）晃过四届最佳防守球员鲁迪·戈贝尔 (Rudy Gobert) 完成得分。
本赛季，克劳福德的招牌动作“晃动烤鸡”会上演吗？
文班亚马对此守口如瓶。
“这是我第一次和一位退役的 NBA 球员一起训练这么长时间，”他说。“他对比赛的看法和教练不同。”
消息人士称，他们的训练内容包括控球、一对一训练、阅读比赛以及为文班亚马找到在运球后创造投篮机会的方法。
这对他来说，不过是锦上添花而已。
“和上个赛季的区别在于，那是我第一次经历这些，”文班亚马说。“我当时只是在场上跑来跑去，做一些事情。我们现在要减少年轻球员的错误和失误。教练给了我一年的时间来更多地了解我的比赛。但现在，是时候制定一些标准了。”
训练营开始还不到一周，文班亚马就在一次训练中让保罗难以置信地摇了摇头。在将近一个小时的时间里，保罗一直对文班亚马在训练中的一次进攻赞叹不已。
他看到文班亚马在三分线后几英尺处接到传球，然后一只脚迈了一步，而另一只脚却没有落地。
“哦，该死！”保罗说。
文班亚马刚刚完成了一记金鸡独立的三分球，几乎和德克·诺维茨基 (Dirk Nowitzki) 的投篮姿势一模一样。
巴恩斯在那次进攻中防守文班亚马，他在描述这次进攻时开玩笑地举起双手，表示厌恶。
“这不是我第一次看到他这么做了，”巴恩斯说。“他还没有投丢过。”
点击查看原文：Victor Wembanyama's offseason transformation is 'scary' for the rest of the NBA
Victor Wembanyama’s offseason transformation is ‘scary’ for the rest of the NBA
VICTOR WEMBANYAMA CRACKED an uneasy smile as conflicting emotions took hold.
It was Aug. 10 inside Bercy Arena, on the outskirts of Paris, where 28 minutes earlier the 20-year-old Frenchman and the host nation had nearly upset the star-studded Team USA. Wembanyama had galvanized Team France to rally from an 11-point deficit to pull within 3, but it failed to stop Steph Curry & Co. from seizing a fifth straight gold.
Standing in the middle of the court, his 7-foot-4 frame towering over teammates, Wembanyama posed with the silver medal, genuinely smiling, with disappointment burning inside.
What few knew at the time is that as soon as the San Antonio Spurs’ 2023-24 campaign wrapped in April, Wembanyama hit the team’s $500 million Victory Capital Performance Center with a vengeance, hungry to build the strength he lacked as a rookie.
He worked out for two months in San Antonio before leaving for the Olympics.
Wembanyama loved how those sessions manifested themselves over the summer on the international stage. How he could effortlessly unleash aggression and physicality on opponents in a way he wasn’t quite able to as a rookie, and doing so while maintaining his elite athleticism and body control, with an improved ability to play through contact.
“Those two months of hard work were enough to make me pass another step,” he said.
The next step would come upon returning to San Antonio.
“After the Olympics, I spent four or five weeks working here,” Wembanyama said. “It’s enough to make me pass another step. This is how I want to go. I want to keep progressing every year, every summer. It has helped me already through the Olympics, and I’m sure it’s going to help me during the season too.”
Teammate Devin Vassell called it all a “scary” proposition at media day for opponents, adding “you just don’t expect at his height what he’s doing. It’s almost normal now.”
The Spurs front office took steps in the offseason to ensure that, adding surefire Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul and veteran forward Harrison Barnes.
They join what was the NBA’s youngest roster last season, including Vassell, Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan, as well as rookie lottery-pick Stephon Castle.
Then, of course, there’s the 20-year-old Wembanyama, the reigning Rookie of the Year and runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year. Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals per game last season, becoming just the second rookie since Manute Bol in 1985-86 to lead the league in blocks.
Those numbers only include his 71 NBA games from last season. Wembanyama tallied those before toiling for months this summer refining his body, packing 25 pounds of muscle onto his physique. Before privately working on ballhandling, reads and shot creation with three-time Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford. Before teaming up with an all-world point guard.
Welcome to Year 2 of the Victor Wembanyama era.
“I think there is still that unsureness of what he really can do, what he will do,” fourth-year guard Tre Jones said. “I think there will be nights where he still pulls off things that we have never seen before, and that’s just how it’s going to be for however many years.”
Back in Paris, Wembanyama’s silver medal dangled from his neck as he walked off the floor sporting a Team France Le Coq Sportif sweatsuit. Eyes still moist with tears, he couldn’t help but think about what is to come.
“I’m learning,” he told the San Antonio Express-News, “and I’m worried for the opponents in a couple of years.”
FIBA counterparts or NBA foes?
Wembanyama paused.
"Everybody."San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, the reigning Rookie of the Year, averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals last season. Daniel Dunn/Imagn ImagesSPURS PLAYERS AND coaches often raved last season about Wembanyama’s penchant for erasing mistakes on defense, but it was a near miscue by Paul on offense that turned into the point guard’s first official highlight in San Antonio, courtesy of Wembanyama.
In the final minute of the opening quarter of Paul’s preseason debut Oct. 9 against the Orlando Magic, he drove to the basket as 6-11 Moritz Wagner slid over to defend, along with a trailing Cole Anthony. Midair, Paul spotted Wembanyama rolling to the basket.
He flicked a lob to Wembanyama, who elevated for a two-handed jam with his knees wrapped around the back of Wagner’s shoulders. The play marked the first in-game alley-oop between Paul and Wembanyama.
“I got caught in the air,” Paul said. “I was in trouble. It was nice to just look over there and see him to bail you out.”
THROW
— San Antonio Spurs (@ spurs) October 10, 2024
San Antonio expects Paul to return the favor this season by improving its fortunes in an area where the team faltered in Wembanyama’s rookie year: clutch time, which is defined as a game separated by five points or fewer in the last five minutes. San Antonio played 41 such contests last season, finishing with a mark of 13-28.
The Spurs ranked 25th in clutch time offensive efficiency and 26th in turnover percentage. Wembanyama committed 15 turnovers last season in clutch time, tied for the league high.
So, the thinking goes, a premier setup man like Paul controlling the offense should alleviate some of those woes with smart basketball decisions and the discipline to resist forcing the ball to Wembanyama, who draws so much attention in late-game situations that other Spurs are often left wide-open. After all, Paul owns the designation as one of the NBA’s all-time great clutch performers.
“It just feels like he’s so wise and has so much experience,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Sometimes I get mesmerized just listening to him say things to players, and I say, ‘I should’ve thought of that.’”
Over 19 NBA seasons, Paul has knocked down 512 clutch time field goals, ninth most since 1996-97, when the league first started tracking play-by-play data. Over that span, 440 of those buckets in clutch time came unassisted. That ranks fourth behind LeBron James (645), Kobe Bryant (505) and Russell Westbrook (490).
Over the past five seasons, just 50 players have hoisted 200-plus shots in clutch time. Paul ranks No. 3 among that group in field goal percentage (49.5), behind Nikola Jokic (51.1) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (49.8), who own a combined five MVP awards.
Just last season, Paul dished 11 assists in clutch time with only one turnover.
“Being on the court with him feels like he’s got things in control,” Wembanyama said just after the duo made its preseason debut together in their win over Orlando. “It’s reassuring, and it’s one more teammate I can rely on in tough moments. The most important thing is he’s willing to tell us things. Every practice he gives us feedback on what he used to do, how defenses play him, how we can get more space. He’s approaching this in a very unselfish way.”
TEAM STAFFERS MARVEL at how quickly Wembanyama learns. One official pointed out as evidence the frequency at which Wembanyama served primarily as a screener in pick-and-rolls early in the season before developing into a capable ball handler in pick-and-rolls near the end of 2023-24.
“You don’t see a lot of times a guy that can shoot it as well as he can off the bounce playing in pick-and-roll,” Barnes said. “Maybe sometimes you’re being a shooter spotting up. But with Victor handling, maybe it’s cutting. Maybe it’s finding different ways to occupy. That’s just the good challenge we have, figuring out how you maximize a unique talent like him.”
That’s Wembanyama’s own personal conundrum, too, finding ways to coax the most from his body and skill set. The second-year man gained strength over the summer to prevent opponents from easily pushing him off his spots.
As a by-product, Wembanyama added an additional 25 pounds from his listed rookie weight of 210 pounds.
That’s helped Wembanyama to improve accuracy through contact.
“He’s shooting the ball really well, it seems like from everywhere,” power forward Zach Collins said. “If you push him off his spot, he’s comfortable shooting the shots. Nobody is going to block his jump shot, obviously. Last year, if he got pushed off, it was a tough fadeaway. Now, he seems solid.”
Wembanyama likely stashed some tricks up his sleeves over the summer, too. He spent time working with Crawford, who is regarded as one of the flashiest scorers in recent league history. We saw Wembanyama hit four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert with a “Shammgod” last season for a bucket.
Could Crawford’s patented “shake and bake” move be on the menu this season?
Wembanyama isn’t telling.
“It was my first time working for this long with a retired actual NBA player,” he said. “The view he has of the game is different from a coach.”
Their sessions consisted of ballhandling, sources said, as well as iso work, reads and finding creative ways for Wembanyama to get into his shot off the dribble.
Just more tools added to a seemingly bottomless bag.
“The difference with last year is it was my very first experience,” Wembanyama said. “I was running around doing a bunch of stuff. We’re going to be less loose on the youth errors, the youth mistakes. Coach gave me one year to figure out a little bit more about my game. But now, it’s time to be held to certain standards.”
Not even a week into training camp, Wembanyama had already left Paul shaking his head in disbelief. It had been nearly an hour since one particular play during a practice run left Paul in awe.
He’d watched Wembanyama gather a pass in transition a couple of feet behind the 3-point line, only to take a step with one foot, while the other never came back down to the floor.
“Oh, s—!” Paul said.
Wembanyama had just drilled a running one-legged 3-pointer, almost Dirk Nowitzki style.
Barnes had guarded Wembanyama on the play, and jokingly tossed up his hands in disgust when describing it.
“It’s not the first time I’ve seen him do that,” Barnes said. “He hasn’t missed it yet.”
By Michael C. Wright, via ESPN
