By Mike Finger, Columnist | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2024-12-14 16:01:43
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。
俄勒冈州波特兰市 - 12月13日：圣安东尼奥马刺队的1号维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)在2024年12月13日于波特兰市摩达中心对阵波特兰开拓者队的比赛结束后走下球场。
这位不容错过的年轻球员改变了一切。周五深夜在波特兰，马刺的比赛形势危急，他用左手运球，然后瞬间交叉到右手。
正是这种动作让他在两年前的NBA选秀抽签中成为每支球队梦寐以求的对象。当他在三分线弧顶转过身时，马刺得到了他们需要的东西。
斯科特·亨德森(Scoot Henderson)盯住篮筐，滑倒了。
如果不是那颗微不足道的乒乓球的弹跳，亨德森在第四节出现那个关键失误时，身上穿的可能就是马刺的球衣了。如果不是那次弹跳，这位7英尺3英寸的法国人很可能穿着开拓者队的红色球衣，在球场上运球自如。
这就是拥有维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)的天赋的意义所在。无论马刺多么想忘记自己是多么幸运，总有一些事情会提醒他们。
周五在波特兰的逆转胜利只是最新的例子。就在不久之前，一些业内最精明的球探还将这场比赛中的两位二年级球员视为改变球队命运的珍宝。尽管大多数球探在2023年选秀之前都认为文班亚马比亨德森更有优势，但前一年10月他们在内华达州进行的史诗级表演赛对决，让绝大多数高管都相信，无论选择哪一位都不会错。
如果马刺最终得到了波特兰的选秀权——探花签——他们会为亨德森的到来而欣喜若狂。而如今，开拓者却在思考他们是否还能再次抓住机会，而不是像马刺一样，既期待着明年春天可能获得附加赛资格，又展望着之后十年的统治地位。
当然，打造一支胜利之师不仅仅靠运气。你需要一个好的计划，你需要耐心，你需要能够识别 talent，你还需要平衡短期目标和长远规划。有了文班亚马，马刺已经做到了所有这些，而且不仅仅是当地报纸这么说。
本周早些时候，《The Athletic》发布了一项民意调查的结果，其中40位NBA总裁、总经理、副总裁和助理总经理被要求对联盟的顶级管理层进行排名。圣安东尼奥，尽管自2019年以来就没有进入过季后赛，却排在了第十位。
联盟中CEO R.C. 布福德(R.C. Buford)和总经理莱特(Brian Wright)的同行们都意识到了这里正在发生的事情。他们看到包括德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)、杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)在内的四位最近的乐透秀都在稳步提升。他们看到了克里斯·保罗和哈里森·巴恩斯是如何完美地融入这支曾经是NBA最年轻的球队。他们看到马刺没有糟糕的合同负担，控制着亚特兰大未来三年的选秀权，并且拥有2025年到2031年多达12个首轮选秀权。
俄勒冈州波特兰市 - 12月13日：圣安东尼奥马刺队的1号维克托·文班亚马在2024年12月13日于波特兰市摩达中心对阵波特兰开拓者队的上半场比赛中，越过17号谢顿·夏普扣篮。
但问题是：如果没有文班亚马站在这一切的中心，人们还会以同样的方式看待这一切吗？如果马刺正朝着连续第三个60负赛季的方向前进，他们新建市中心球馆的计划还能进展顺利吗？
如果马刺正在绞尽脑汁地想如何处理亨德森的问题，那些高管们还会在调查中对布福德和莱特如此友好吗？
对亨德森来说，这有点不公平，但在摆脱与文班亚马的对比之前，他可能还有很长的路要走。在选秀前八个月，他们在拉斯维加斯郊外交手时，亨德森砍下28分和9次助攻，带领他的G联赛点燃队战胜了文班亚马的大都会92队。文班亚马自己也砍下了37分，两位新秀都展现出了耀眼的光芒。
然而，作为NBA球员，他们却走向了相反的方向。文班亚马轻松获得了年度最佳新秀的荣誉，而亨德森在糟糕的波特兰阵容中仍然难以获得太多关注。到目前为止，他的职业生涯投篮命中率只有39%，场均失误3.3次，而且并没有表现出太多进步。
周五晚上对阵马刺的比赛中，摩达中心的所有球迷都清楚地看到了这一切。他们的开拓者——本赛季目前的战绩是8胜17负——至少在努力。他们在第四节领先了17分，在比赛还剩6分30秒时仍然领先11分。
然后，如果不是那颗微不足道的乒乓球，他们本可以拥有的超级巨星文班亚马投进了一个转换三分球，最终砍下了28分。在球场的另一端，亨德森试图像在沙漠中的表演赛那样做出回应。
然而，当他在禁区滑倒时，球脱手了。当波特兰将他换下场时，他们的领先优势只剩下3分。他再也没有回来，而文班亚马在比赛还剩两秒时罚进两球，以118-116锁定胜局。
与此同时，在圣安东尼奥，几位备受尊敬的人物看起来比以往任何时候都更明智。
他们也比以往任何时候都更感激他们最终得到了这位不容错过的年轻球员。
PORTLAND, OREGON - DECEMBER 13: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots the ball over Donovan Clingan #23 of the Portland Trail Blazers during the first half at Moda Center on December 13, 2024 in Portland, Oregon.
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots over Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) passes over Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant (9) drives to the basket as San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) hugs forward Sandro Mamukelashvili (54) following their team’s 118-116 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) and forward Jeremy Sochan (10) react to their team’s 118-116 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots over Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant (9) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Portland, Ore. The San Antonio Spurs won 118-116. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) evades Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant (9) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Portland, Ore. The San Antonio Spurs won 118-116. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
PORTLAND, OREGON - DECEMBER 13: Donovan Clingan #23 of the Portland Trail Blazers plays defense against Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs during the first half at Moda Center on December 13, 2024 in Portland, Oregon.
点击查看原文：Spurs give more thanks for Wembanyama after Blazers game
Spurs give more thanks for Wembanyama after Blazers game
PORTLAND, OREGON - DECEMBER 13: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs walks off the court after the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on December 13, 2024 in Portland, Oregon.
The can’t-miss kid changed everything. With a game sliding away from the Spurs late Friday night in Portland, he pounded a dribble with his left hand, then crossed over to his right in a flash.
This was exactly the kind of move that made him coveted by every team in the NBA draft lottery two springs ago. And when he turned the corner at the top of the key, the Spurs got just what they needed from him.
Eyeing the basket, Scoot Henderson slipped and fell.
If not for the bounce of a measly ping-pong ball, Henderson might have been wearing a Spurs jersey when he committed that crucial fourth-quarter turnover. If not for that same bounce, the 7-foot-3 Frenchman who dribbled the ball in the opposite direction very well could have done so clad in Trail Blazers red.
That’s the thing about the gift of Victor Wembanyama. No matter how tempted the Spurs might be to forget how lucky they are, there’s almost always something to remind them.
Friday’s come-from-behind victory in Portland was just the latest example. It wasn’t so long ago that some of the game’s smartest talent evaluators saw both of the second-year dynamos in that game as franchise-altering prizes. And although most scouts gave Wembanyama the edge over Henderson before the 2023 draft, their epic exhibition-game duel as teenagers in Nevada the previous October had an overwhelming consensus of executives believing a team couldn’t go wrong either way.
If the Spurs had wound up with Portland’s pick – No. 3 overall – they would have been thrilled to have Henderson fall into their laps. And today, instead of eyeing both a possible play-in berth next spring and a decade of dominance after that, they’d be where the Blazers are now, wondering if they’d ever catch another break again.
There’s more to building a winner than getting lucky, of course. You need a good plan, you need patience, you need to be able to identify talent, and you need to balance the short term with the big picture. With Wembanyama in the fold, the Spurs have done all of that, and it’s not just the local newspaper saying so.
Earlier this week, The Athletic released the results of a poll in which 40 NBA presidents, general managers, vice presidents and assistant general managers were asked to rank the league’s top front office. San Antonio, despite not having made the playoffs since 2019, finished 10th.
The colleagues of CEO R.C. Buford and general manager Brian Wright around the league recognize what is happening here. They see four recent lottery picks, including Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan and Stephon Castle, trending upward. They see how perfect Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes fit in with a roster that had been the NBA’s youngest. They see that the Spurs are weighed down by no bad contracts and control Atlanta’s next three drafts, and own as many as 12 first-round picks from 2025 to 2031.
PORTLAND, OREGON - DECEMBER 13: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs dunks the ball past Shaedon Sharpe #17 of the Portland Trail Blazers during the first half at Moda Center on December 13, 2024 in Portland, Oregon.
But here’s the thing: Would people look at any of that the same way if Wembanyama wasn’t standing in the middle of it? Would the Spurs’ pitch for a new downtown arena be getting anywhere if they were on their way to a third consecutive 60-loss season?
Would those executives have been as kind to Buford and Wright in the survey if the Spurs were trying to figure out what to do with Henderson?
It’s a bit unfair to pick on the guy, but it’s probably going to be a long while before he escapes the unflattering Wembanyama comparisons. When they faced off outside of Las Vegas eight months before their draft, Henderson racked up 28 points and nine assists to lead his G League Ignite to a victory over Wembanyama’s Metropolitans 92 team. Wembanyama poured in 37 points of his own, but both prospects oozed with the dazzle factor.
As NBA players, though, they’ve gone in opposite directions, with Wembanyama cruising to rookie of the year honors and Henderson still struggling to gain much traction in a bad Portland lineup. Thus far in his career, he’s shooting only 39% from the field while committing 3.3 turnovers per game, and he’s not showing much progress.
Friday night against the Spurs, all of this came into clear view for fans at Moda Center. Their Blazers – now 8-17 this season – were making an effort, at least. They led by 17 points in the fourth quarter, and were still up by 11 with 6:30 to play.
Then Wembanyama, the superstar they could have had if not for that measly ping-pong ball, swished a transition 3-pointer, on his way to a 28-point night. At the other end of the floor, Henderson tried to answer they way he’d done in the desert in the exhibition.
Instead, the ball got away from him when he slipped in the lane. By the time Portland pulled him off the floor, its lead was down to three. He never returned, and Wembanyama hit two free throws with two seconds left to ice a 118-116 victory.
Meanwhile, back in San Antonio, a couple of widely respected looked as smart as ever.
And they were as thankful as ever they wound up with the right can’t-miss kid.
By Mike Finger, Columnist, via San Antonio Express-News