Mike Finger: 维克托·文班亚马展现出他仍在追赶勒布朗·詹姆斯(LeBron James)

SAEN · 2024 年11 月 16 日 23:10

By Mike Finger, Columnist | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-11-16 16:29:03

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。

德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥 - 11 月 15 日：2024 年 11 月 15 日，在德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥的弗罗斯特银行中心举行的酋长杯NBA比赛下半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队的 1 号维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)在对阵洛杉矶湖人队的比赛中完成扣篮后做出反应。

在弗罗斯特银行中心的底线，一个篮球时代的全球象征与另一个时代的偶像对视。

那几乎是一年前的事了，在一场文班的马刺队最终获胜的比赛中。詹姆斯面对着这个自他以来最受瞩目的新秀——那时的文班——投进了一个三分球，但每个人都明白发生了什么。

在去年十二月的那个夜晚，文班亚马明确表达了他的意图。

他正在追赶詹姆斯，在很多方面都是如此。

当他们在周五晚上再次于同一座球馆相遇时呢？即使输掉了比赛，文班也表明他仍在追赶。

文班最常重复的英语短语之一是关于进步并非线性的。他在圣安东尼奥对阵詹姆斯的两场比赛说明了这一点。11 个月前，当马刺队除了争取乐透签之外几乎没有其他竞争力时，他们击败了湖人队。周五晚上，在取得巨大进步后，他们以 115-120 输掉了比赛。

然而，细节才是最重要的，即使在 20 岁时，文班也认识到了这一点。在经历了一场令人痛苦的惜败之后，他说去年球队和今年球队最大的区别在于马刺“都感觉更能掌控局面”。

他，当然，是主要原因。在周六晚上客场挑战达拉斯的比赛之前，马刺队在 13 场比赛中赢了 6 场（6胜7负），比上赛季 35 场比赛赢的还要多，而文班也可能度过了他职业生涯中最好的一周。

在他最近的四场比赛中，他场均得到 34.0 分、12.5 个篮板、3.8 次盖帽、3.3 次助攻，同时投进了 24 个三分球。如果你把这些统计数据输入篮球参考网，并询问NBA历史上最后一个在四场比赛中达到所有这些数据的球员，它基本上会回答：“哈哈”。

从来没有人像现在的文班这样打球，即使在对手试图利用他弱点的时候，这一点也很明显。在周五对阵湖人的比赛中，他偶尔会与詹姆斯和全明星中锋安东尼·戴维斯(Anthony Davis)对位，后者砍下 40 分和 12 个篮板，让马刺队难以招架。

但最有效的防守文班的球员可能是身高 6 英尺 5 英寸的后卫马克斯·克里斯蒂(Max Christie)，他效仿了俄克拉荷马雷霆队的亚历克斯·卡鲁索(Alex Caruso)、休斯顿火箭队的狄龙·布鲁克斯(Dillon Brooks)和波特兰开拓者队的杰拉米·格兰特(Jerami Grant)，作为一个身材较小的侧翼球员，阻止了这位瘦长的 7 英尺 3 英寸的超级巨星在低位找到空间。

这对文班来说是一个问题，而且在他花一整个休赛期来解决这个问题之前，这可能仍然是一个问题。但问题是：就像詹姆斯在他早年克服了自己的缺点一样，文班有很多其他方式来统治比赛。

不仅仅是三分球。对阵湖人队的比赛中，马刺队也找到了让文班通过移动到达篮下的方法，完成了四次空接扣篮，他还抢下进攻篮板，轻松得分。

所有这些都是进步，即使文班事后说他觉得“有些时刻我们有点错失了良机”。

“也许我们需要让（对手）付出更多，”文班说，“并且……少依赖天赋，有时多依赖基本功。”

换句话说，他思考比赛的方式和这位长期以来的NBA门面人物经常一样。詹姆斯的长寿在很大程度上归功于他不断学习和进步的方式。

而随着文班不断地追赶他呢？

詹姆斯知道他总有一天会被超越，这是不可避免的。

第二节的一个片段提供了一个非常快速的 glimpse。

在与一年前弗罗斯特银行中心底线相反的一侧，詹姆斯和文班再次对视。相机的快门声再次响起，18000 人再次屏住呼吸，这一代篮球的偶像再次考虑伸出手臂。

然而，这一次，是詹姆斯试图阻止文班得分。这一次，当这个年轻人飞向篮筐，只有这位老将挡在路上时，詹姆斯做出了一个瞬间的决定。

他漫不经心地挥了挥篮球，想了想，又把手缩了回来。他让文班直接飞过去扣篮。

和以前一样，每个人都明白发生了什么。

而詹姆斯认为没有理由去阻止它。

圣安东尼奥马刺队的维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)在周五，即 11 月 15 日，在圣安东尼奥举行的酋长杯篮球赛上半场对阵洛杉矶湖人队的比赛中庆祝得分。（美联社照片/达伦·阿贝特）

spursGalleryMark
SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 15: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs dunks on the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half the Emirates NBA Cup game at the Frost Bank Center on November 15, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas.

SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 15: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs tries to block Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers three point shot in the first half the Emirates NBA Cup game at the Frost Bank Center on November 15, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas.

SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 15: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots a three point shot over Cam Reddish #5 of the Los Angeles Lakers in the first half the Emirates NBA Cup game at the Frost Bank Center on November 15, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas.

SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 15: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs goes over Christian Koloko #10 of the Los Angeles Lakers in the first half the Emirates NBA Cup game at the Frost Bank Center on November 15, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas.

SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 15: Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks past Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs in the second half the Emirates NBA Cup game at the Frost Bank Center on November 15, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas.

SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 15: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs shows his disappointment as the second half comes to an end against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Emirates NBA Cup game at the Frost Bank Center on November 15, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas.

SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 15: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers shots over Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs in the first half in the Emirates NBA Cup game at the Frost Bank Center on November 15, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas.

SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 15: Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers reaches for a pass as he is guarded by Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs in the first half the Emirates NBA Cup game at the Frost Bank Center on November 15, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas.

SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 15: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs is met by Sidy Cissoko #25 as he comes out during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first half the Emirates NBA Cup game at the Frost Bank Center on November 15, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas.

SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 15: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs tries to knock the ball in against the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half the Emirates NBA Cup game at the Frost Bank Center on November 15, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas.

SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 15: Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers blocks the shot of Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs in the second half the Emirates NBA Cup game at the Frost Bank Center on November 15, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas.

SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 15: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers pushes the ball down court past Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs in the second half of the Emirates NBA Cup game at the Frost Bank Center on November 15, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas.

Los Angeles Lakers’ Austin Reaves (15) tangles with San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, right, and Chris Paul during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama (1) goes to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers’ Cam Reddish, left, during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 15: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs reacts after a basket against the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half the Emirates NBA Cup game at the Frost Bank Center on November 15, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas.

点击查看原文：Victor Wembanyama shows he's still coming for LeBron James

Victor Wembanyama shows he’s still coming for LeBron James

SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 15: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs reacts after a dunk on the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half the Emirates NBA Cup game at the Frost Bank Center on November 15, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas.

Along the baseline at Frost Bank Center, the worldwide symbol of one basketball generation stared down the icon of another.

That was almost a year ago, in a game Wembanyama’s Spurs wound up winning. James swished a 3-pointer in the face of the kid who was then the most celebrated rookie since James himself, but everybody recognized what was happening.

On that night last December, Wembanyama made his intentions clear.

He was coming for James, in more ways than one.

And when they met again in the same building Friday night? Even in a loss, Wembanyama showed he still is.

One of Wembanyama’s most repeated English phrases is the one about how progress is not linear. His two San Antonio outings against James illustrate his point. Eleven months ago, when the Spurs were not even close to contending for anything other than a lottery, they beat the Lakers. Friday night, having made huge strides, they lost 120-115.

The details are what matter, though, and even at 20 years old Wembanyama recognizes this. In the aftermath of a painfully close defeat, he said the biggest difference between last year’s team and this one is the fact that the Spurs “all feel more in control of the situation.”

He, of course, is the main reason why. Heading into Saturday night’s game at Dallas, the Spurs had won more games through 13 games (6-7) than they did through 35 last season, and Wembanyama had assembled perhaps the best week of his career.

In his last four games, he averaged 34.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, 3.3 assists while making 24 total 3-pointers. If you plug those statistics into Basketball Reference and ask for the last player in NBA history to hit all of those marks over a four-game span, it essentially responds with, “LOL.”

Nobody ever has played the game quite like Wembanyama is now, and this is evident even on nights when opponents try to exploit his weaknesses. Against the Lakers on Friday, he had his occasional matchups with James and with All-NBA center Anthony Davis, who torched the Spurs for 40 points and 12 rebounds.

But the most effective Wembanyama defender probably was 6-foot-5 guard Max Christie, who followed in the footsteps of Oklahoma City’s Alex Caruso, Houston’s Dillon Brooks and Portland’s Jerami Grant as a smaller wing player who kept the spindly 7-foot-3 superstar from carving out space in the post.

That’s an issue for Wembanyama, and it probably will remain one until he spends an entire offseason addressing it. But here’s the thing: like James, who battled through his own shortcomings in his early days, Wembanyama plenty of other ways to dominate.

It’s not just the 3-point shot. Against the Lakers, the Spurs also found ways for Wembanyama to get to the basket on the move, with four alley-oop dunks, and he crashed the offensive boards for another easy bucket.

All of it was progress, even if Wembanyama said afterwards that he felt “some moments slipped through our hands a little bit.”

“Maybe we need to make (opponents) work a little bit more,” Wembanyama said, “and … rely a little bit less on talent, and a little bit more on the basics sometimes.”

In other words, he was thinking through the game the same way the longtime face of the NBA often has. James’ longevity is owed in no small part to the way he constantly studies and evolves.

And as Wembanyama keeps coming for him?

James knows how inevitable it is that he’ll be overtaken someday.

A sequence in the second quarter provided an ever-so-quick glimpse of this.

Near the Frost Bank Center baseline opposite from the one a year ago, James and Wembanyama eyed each other once more. Again the camera shutters clicked, and again 18,000 people held their breath, and again the icon of a basketball generation considered extending his arm.

This time, though, it was James trying to keep Wembanyama from scoring. And this time, as the kid came soaring toward the basket, with only the old legend in the way, James made a split-second decision.

He waved half-heartedly at the basketball, thought better of it, and pulled his hand back. He let Wembanyama fly right by for a dunk.

Just like before, everybody recognized what was happening.

And James saw no reason to fight it.

San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama celebrates a basket during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)