By Michael C. Wright | ESPN, 2024-12-23 21:00:00
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。
在2023年新秀训练营的第一天 ，维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)就向圣安东尼奥马刺队解释了如何才能让他和球队取得成功。
这距离这位法国天才在2023年NBA选秀大会上被选中成为状元秀大约过去了90天。
传统的篮球理念认为，身高7尺3寸（约2.21米）的文班亚马应该在内线活动，在篮筐附近投篮。他应该负责掩护、篮板和防守。盖帽。把球交给后卫组织进攻。这是大多数大个子球员的职责。
但文班不是普通的大个子。他自己很清楚这一点。因此，这位19岁的年轻人与马刺队的教练组坐下来讨论，墨守成规将会如何扼杀他的创造力，从而限制以他为核心的球队的上限。
“对我来说，最好的帮助方式就是不要把我框死，”在自己的第一个NBA赛季开始前，文班亚马告诉马刺队。“[马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)]知道这一点。他正在了解我，我也在了解他。我们知道我们会创造一些原创的、特别的东西。”
这并没有花费太长时间。
文班亚马在新秀中得分 (21.4)、篮板 (10.6) 和盖帽 (3.6) 均排名第一，助攻 (3.9) 排名第四，抢断 (1.2) 排名第二。他是第一个在每场不到30分钟的出场时间内，场均至少得到20分、10个篮板和3次盖帽的球员，并且以单赛季至少得到1500分、700个篮板、250次助攻、250次盖帽和100个三分球的成绩结束了他的新秀赛季，并被一致评选为年度最佳新秀。
自迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)以来（至少出场1000分钟），他是场均得分效率最高的新秀。他还拿到过两次三双，一次是助攻三双，另一次是盖帽三双。在对阵洛杉矶湖人队的比赛中，文班亚马砍下27分、10个篮板、8次助攻、5次盖帽和5次抢断，获得了5x5的数据，成为NBA历史上最年轻的达成此成就的球员。
本赛季也不例外——他展现了其无与伦比的多才多艺。
在12月1日以127-125战胜萨克拉门托国王队的比赛中，文班亚马拿到了本赛季的第一个三双，他34分中的15分来自三分球。他在前10次出手中投了7个三分球，只有2次出手来自5英尺（约1.52米）以内。
但在圣安东尼奥以92-97落后进入最后一节的情况下，文班亚马回到了传统的打法。
他没有继续他的三分球攻势，而是转移到了内线，以5投4中的命中率砍下13分，外加6个篮板、4次助攻和2次盖帽。这五次出手都没有来自三分线外。其中三次来自7英尺（约2.13米）以内。
这场比赛让人们第一次在本赛季看到了文班亚马如何——以及最重要的是——何时运用他丰富的技能。以及它的效率有多么惊人。赛后，文班亚马再次告诫人们不要把他框死。
“别，”他说。
“我装不下。”
尽管文班亚马在战胜国王队 的上半场6投4中，但马刺队代理主教练米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)指出，他的二年级大个子“在前三节在基本功和扎实篮球方面有一些非常糟糕的时刻”。
约翰逊说，文班亚马在那段时间里出现了4次失误，全场比赛出现了5次失误，部分原因是接球失误和传球失误。
“他无所不能，”约翰逊在赛后说。“所以，当你的菜单上有这么多选择时，你很难每次都选择正确的一个。他是一个年轻的球员，正在学习如何使用他拥有的所有武器。显然，在他学习何时何地使用所有这些武器的过程中，我们对他充满信心，并给予他巨大的支持。”
文班亚马的多样化技能有时会让他难以决定如何在每场比赛中最好地发挥自己的才能。
在本赛季至少出手350次的球员中，文班亚马跳投比例排名第13位（63.4%），这让他与众多后卫和锋线球员一起出现在榜单上。文班亚马的跳投比例高于泰勒·希罗(Tyler Herro) (62.9%)、杰伦·格林(Jalen Green) (61.7%)、达柳斯·加兰(Darius Garland) (59.2%)、凯里·欧文(Kyrie Irving) (57.7%)、谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大(Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) (56.4%)，甚至特雷·杨(Trae Young) (55.2%)。
文班亚马的平均投篮距离为17.7英尺（约5.39米），几乎与多诺万·米切尔(Donovan Mitchell)和卢卡·东契奇(Luka Doncic)相同。
在队内，马刺队经常对关于他们年轻球星的投篮选择的大量讨论和担忧感到好笑——一位球队消息人士认为，文班亚马更接近凯文·杜兰特(Kevin Durant)，而不是比如说哈基姆·奥拉朱旺(Hakeem Olajuwon)，这解释了为什么他近一半的出手都来自三分线外。
“我对此并不感到惊讶，因为这是传统观念，”约翰逊谈到对文班亚马喜欢投三分的批评时说。“对于像维克托这样了解自己想要成为什么样的人，以及自己有潜力成为什么样的人的人来说，我们的工作就是尊重这一点，并在培养他成长的过程中与他合作。我认为有时候需要理解的是何时以及如何去做。随着他获得更多经验，他已经在这方面做得更好了。”
尽管文班亚马比赛中的这种多样性为马刺队提供了选择，但也为对手制造了不可预测性。
“你可以看出他非常了解他的队友，”波特兰主教练昌西·比卢普斯(Chauncey Billups)在12月13日马刺队逆转战胜开拓者队的比赛中，文班亚马送出7次助攻之前说道。“他可以带球突破然后传球，因为他知道有人会空切。”
即便如此，文班亚马表示他仍在适应组织进攻的角色。
“面对大量的包夹，我有责任给我的队友创造得分的机会，”文班亚马说。“在进入联盟之前，我从来没有真正拿到过10次或更多的助攻，也很少拿到7次以上助攻。所以，这是我发展中的一步，也是我愿意迈出的一步，因为我试图迫使球队用不止一名球员来防守我。”
老将队友哈里森·巴恩斯(Harrison Barnes)表示，尽管文班亚马在比赛早期会出现一些成长中的阵痛，比如在进攻初期就从logo处出手三分，但这一切都是为了正确的理由。
“很多人，他们有很多批评想说。‘他应该是这样的。他应该是那样的。他应该这样打球，’”巴恩斯说。“我的观点是，他会按照自己的风格打球，他会按照自己的方式去做。这可能不是人们希望他成为的样子，也不是人们期望他成为的样子。但他会按照自己的方式去做，最重要的是他想赢球。那是他的北极星。”
在对阵国王队拿到三双之后 ，文班亚马在一个狭小昏暗的房间里靠在椅子上，思考着他在比赛中已经做出的一些改变。
文班亚马承认，他大量的技能有时会让他感到困惑，但他称赞马刺队的录像团队帮助他放慢了比赛节奏。在每场比赛前，录像团队都会在iPad上加载大量的剪辑，其中包含对手在上一场比赛中对他使用的各种防守方式。
“真正的难处在于实时适应防守，适应各种防守策略，”文班亚马说。“因为当我们赛后观看录像时，答案总是显而易见的。很容易就能发现它们。但在实时反应是非常困难的。”
但由于他的录像学习，文班亚马开始认识到所有用于对付他的模式。比卢普斯在周六的比赛前解释说，防守文班亚马的唯一方法就是使用与他的技能一样多变的防守策略。
在即将到来的周一与费城76人队(Stephane Lasme)的比赛(美国东部时间晚上7点，NBA TV)之前，文班亚马刚刚经历了两场具有历史意义的比赛。周四，文班亚马在对阵亚特兰大老鹰队的比赛中砍下42分，成为NBA历史上第一位在单场比赛中命中7记三分球，同时得到6个篮板、5次助攻和4次盖帽的球员。周六，他在对阵开拓者队的比赛中得到30分和10次盖帽，再次让他跻身于稀有的行列。
在圣安东尼奥以133-126加时战胜亚特兰大的比赛中，当文班亚马重新上场时，马刺队落后三分。他以一记8英尺（约2.44米）的急停跳投开始进攻，然后是一个后撤步三分和一个打板抛投。
在圣安东尼奥的下一个回合中，文班亚马站在罚球线附近，老鹰队中锋克林特·卡佩拉(Clint Capela)防守他。随着进攻时间的减少，文班亚马向外做了一个试探步，然后又向内突破，在卡佩拉伸出的手臂下，将球高高地挑向篮板，就像马刺队前锋朱利安·尚帕尼(Julian Champagnie)切入篮下一样。当进攻时间还剩1秒时，文班亚马接住了自己打板后的空中接力球，完成了一记双手暴扣，将比分追至101平，弗罗斯特银行中心17852名球迷顿时沸腾起来。
然后，他从三分线外传出一记看似不可能的空中接力球给杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)，索汉在博格丹·博格达诺维奇(Bogdan Bogdanovic)和戴森·丹尼尔斯(Dyson Daniels)的近距离防守下完成了这次进攻。
这波11分的攻势让马刺队以103-101领先，文班亚马贡献了其中的9分，并助攻索汉得分。在加时赛中，文班亚马又得到了马刺队13分中的8分，4投3中，三分球2投2中。
“维克，我知道我必须小心，不要把他[的表现]视为理所当然，”控球后卫克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)说道。“今晚我放弃了一次上篮机会，我只是想，‘维克，你在哪里？’他掩盖了太多的错误。我不知道他今晚有多少次盖帽。他就是……他与众不同。”
对于与文班亚马拥有相同愿景的马刺队来说，这再好不过了。教练和球队一直都在告诉文班亚马该做什么，不该做什么，他是什么，他不是什么，从他记事起就是这样。
“你所说的那种日常的抗争是我经历过的，当然，在我的成长过程中经历了很多，”文班亚马说。“但现在，我正在体验着我以前从未有过的自由。对我来说，这也是如何变得更好，如何达到顶级水平的最清晰的道路。
“所以，我们在球场上看到创造力是有道理的，因为我认为这是我帮助我的球队的最佳方式。他们没有把我框死，我也不会把自己框死。”
点击查看原文：Victor Wembanyama doesn't want to be put in a box: 'I won't fit'
Victor Wembanyama doesn’t want to be put in a box: ‘I won’t fit’
ON HIS FIRST day of training camp as a rookie in 2023, Victor Wembanyama explained how the San Antonio Spurs could best position him, and the franchise, for success.
It was around 90 days after the French phenom was selected No. 1 in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Conventional basketball wisdom said the 7-foot-3 Wembanyama should live in the paint and take his shots near the basket. He should screen, rebound and defend. Block shots. Hand off the ball to guards to facilitate offense. That’s what most big men do.
But Wembanyama is no ordinary big. He knew it. So the 19-year-old sat with the Spurs staff and they discussed how conventionality would stifle his creativity, and therefore limit the team’s ceiling with him as its centerpiece.
“The best way for me to help is to not put me in a box,” Wembanyama told the Spurs ahead of his first NBA season. “[Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] knows it. He learned to know me and I’m learning to know him. We know we are going to make something original, something special.”
It didn’t take long.
Wembanyama led all rookies in points (21.4), rebounds (10.6) and blocks per game (3.6), ranking fourth in assists (3.9) and second in steals per game (1.2). He was the first player to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks in fewer than 30 minutes per game, and finished his rookie campaign as the first player in a season to rack up at least 1,500 points, 700 rebounds, 250 assists, 250 blocks and 100 3-pointers on the way to being voted unanimous rookie of the year.
He averaged the most points per possession by any rookie since Michael Jordan (min. 1,000 minutes). He posted two triple-doubles, too, one with assists and another with blocks. Wembanyama logged a 5x5 game against the Los Angeles Lakers that included 27 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 blocks and 5 steals, earning recognition as the youngest player in NBA history to do so.
This season has been no different – a multi-hyphenate showing the power of his unrivaled versatility.
When Wembanyama logged his first triple-double of this season on Dec. 1 in a 127-125 win over the Sacramento Kings, 15 of his 34 points came off 3s. He fired seven 3-pointers among his first 10 attempts and just two from 5 feet or closer.
But with San Antonio trailing 97-92 entering the final frame, Wembanyama went back to convention.
Instead of continuing his 3-point barrage, Wembanyama moved inside, lighting up Sacramento for 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. None of those five shots came from beyond the arc. Three landed from 7 feet or closer.
The performance provided one of the first glimpses this season of Wembanyama learning how – and most importantly – when to deploy his vast skill set. And how ruthlessly effective it can be. After the game, Wembanyama once again cautioned against putting him in a box.
“Don’t,” he said.
“I won’t fit.”
THOUGH WEMBANYAMA DRILLED 4 of 6 shots from deep in the first half of the win over the Kings, Spurs acting head coach Mitch Johnson pointed out that his second-year big “had some very poor moments in the first three quarters in terms of fundamentals and solid basketball.”
Johnson said Wembanyama committed four turnovers over that span and finished with a game-high five due, in part, to missed catches and errant passing.
“He can do everything,” Johnson said after the game. “So, when you have that many options on the menu, to think you’re going to pick the right one every time is tough. He’s a young player that’s learning how to use all the weapons that he has. There’s obviously tremendous belief and great support for him as he learns when and where to utilize all those weapons.”
Wembanyama’s diverse skill set can sometimes make it hard for him to decide how best to deploy his talents on a game-to-game basis.
Of the players to log 350 shots or more this season, Wembanyama ranks 13th in percentage of jump shots taken (63.4%), placing him on a list chock-full of guards and wings. Wembanyama hoists a higher percentage of jumpers than Tyler Herro (62.9%) Jalen Green (61.7%), Darius Garland (59.2%), Kyrie Irving (57.7%), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (56.4%) and even Trae Young (55.2%).
Wembanyama owns an average shot distance of 17.7 feet, nearly the same as Donovan Mitchell and Luka Doncic.
Internally, the Spurs are often amused to hear so much conversation and consternation about the shot diet of their young star – one team source believes Wembanyama is closer to Kevin Durant than, say, Hakeem Olajuwon, which helps explain why nearly half his shot attempts come from beyond the arc.
“It doesn’t surprise me because it’s conventional wisdom,” Johnson said of the criticism regarding Wembanyama’s penchant for shooting 3s. “For someone that is as in tune with who he wants to be and who he has the potential to be as Victor, it’s our job to respect that and kind of partner with him in growing who that is. I think there’s just an element of understanding sometimes when and how. As he gets more experience, he’s gotten a lot better with that.”
And though such diversity in Wembanyama’s game provides optionality for the Spurs, it creates unpredictability for the opposition.
“You can tell he knows his players very well,” Portland coach Chauncey Billups said before Wembanyama zipped seven assists on Dec. 13 in a Spurs comeback victory over the Trail Blazers. “He can just kind of drive it and throw it knowing that a guy’s going to be cutting.”
Even so, Wembanyama said he is still getting comfortable with playmaking.
“Facing a good amount of double teams, it is my responsibility to give the opportunity to my teammates to capitalize,” Wembanyama said. “Before coming into the league, I never really had 10 assists or more and rarely had seven-plus. So, it’s in my development and a step I’m willing to take because I’m trying to force teams to guard me with more than one player.”
Veteran teammate Harrison Barnes said that for all the growing pains, such as 3-point attempts from the logo early in the possession, they’re all done for the right reason.
“So many people, they have so many criticisms they want to talk about. ‘He should be this. He should be that. He should play this way,’” Barnes said. “My thing is look, he’s going to play his style and he’s going to do it his way. It may not be the exact mold people want him to be in or expect him to be. But he’s going to do it his way, and the biggest thing is that he wants to win. That’s his North Star.”
IN THE WAKE of the triple-double against the Kings, Wembanyama leaned back in a chair inside a cramped dark room, and thought about some of the changes he already has made in his game.
Wembanyama admits his vast array of assets sometimes creates confusion for him, but he credits the Spurs’ video team with helping him slow down the game. Before every game, the video staff loads an iPad full of clips of the various defensive looks the opponent utilized against him in the last matchup.
“The real difficulty is adjusting to the defense in real time, the type of coverage,” Wembanyama said. “Because the answers are always there when we watch film afterwards. It’s easy to spot them. But reacting in real time is very difficult.”
But thanks to his film study, Wembanyama is starting to recognize all the patterns used against him. Billups explained before Saturday’s game that the only way to defend Wembanyama is with a defensive scheme as varied as his skill set.
Heading into Monday’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers (7 p.m. ET, NBA TV), Wembanyama is coming off two historic performances. On Thursday, Wembanyama’s 42-point performance against the Atlanta Hawks made him the first NBA player to connect on seven 3-pointers while totaling 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks in the same game. And his 30-point, 10-block showing on Saturday against the Blazers put him in rare air again.
San Antonio trailed by three points during its 133-126 overtime victory against Atlanta when Wembanyama re-entered the game. He started the sequence with an 8-foot pull-up jumper, followed by a step-back 3 and a floater off the glass.
On San Antonio’s next possession, Wembanyama posted near the free-throw line with Hawks center Clint Capela defending. As the shot clock ticked down, Wembanyama took a jab step outside, then drove back inside, before ducking under Capela’s outstretched arms to float the ball high off the glass underhanded, just as Spurs forward Julian Champagnie cut to the basket. Wembanyama caught his self alley-oop off the backboard with 1 second left on the shot clock for a two-handed jam to tie the score at 101 as the 17,852 fans in the Frost Bank Center erupted.
He then closed the sequence by throwing a seemingly impossible lob from beyond the 3-point line to Jeremy Sochan, who completed the play with Bogdan Bogdanovic and Dyson Daniels defending within arm’s length.
The 11-point run gave the Spurs a 103-101 advantage, with Wembanyama accounting for nine of those points and providing the assist on the bucket by Sochan. In the overtime period, Wembanyama then scored eight of the Spurs’ 13 points, shooting 3-of-4 from the floor and 2-of-2 from 3-point range.
“Vic, I know I have to be careful of not taking [him] for granted,” point guard Chris Paul said. “I gave up a layup tonight and I was just like, ‘Vic, where you at?’ He just covers up so many mistakes. I don’t know how many blocks he had tonight. He’s just … he’s different.”
That’s just fine for a Spurs organization that shares Wembanyama’s vision for what he could become. Coaches and teams have told Wembanyama for as long as he can remember what to do, what not to do, what he is, what he isn’t.
“That everyday fight you talk about is something I’ve been through, of course, growing up a lot,” Wembanyama said. "But now, I’m experiencing levels of freedom that I’ve never really had the chance before to have. And for me, it’s also the clearest path into how to get better and how to get to the top level.
“So, it makes sense that we see creativity on the court because I think it’s the best way for me to help my team. They’re not putting me in a box, and I’m not going to, either.”
By Michael C. Wright | ESPN, via ESPN