By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-01-05 14:10:01
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。
掘金中锋尼古拉·约基奇(Nikola Jokic)和马刺的维克多·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)从身体条件上看可能并不那么相似。但在这位三届MVP身上，圣安东尼奥看到了他们希望如何使用这位划时代内线球员的蓝图。
芝加哥——周日下午，马刺球员们一个接一个地驱车前往圣安东尼奥国际机场，这已是越来越熟悉的场景，这次他们的目的地是芝加哥，开启另一段漫长的客场之旅。
好消息是，一旦马刺抵达“风城”，就不会再看到尼古拉·约基奇的身影了。
这位丹佛掘金队的球星在连续两个晚上对马刺狂砍87分、27个篮板和19次助攻后，将把他的独特破坏力施加到另一个不幸的对手身上。
对于维克多·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)，这位马刺队新晋的21岁未来巨星来说，与约基奇的这两场对决就像连续两晚在NBA研究生院学习。
“多次获得MVP，很快将再次获得MVP，”文班亚马谈到约基奇时说。“没有比这更好的学习方式了。”
的确，与掘金的比赛——马刺周五在丹佛顽强取胜，周六则在主场经历了一场艰难的加时失利——对文班亚马来说是最好的学习经历。
这些比赛也为马刺教练组提供了学习经验，他们在这位身高7英尺3英寸的法国人踏上圣安东尼奥的土地之前，就将文班亚马设想成某种下一代版本的约基奇。
在马刺赢得2023年选秀状元签后不久，管理层和教练组成员坐下来，观看各种过去和现在NBA球员的比赛录像，集思广益，探讨如何最好地发挥他们即将拥有的新“玩具”的所有功能。
他们很快就锁定了约基奇和掘金，当时掘金队正朝着队史首个NBA总冠军迈进。
“他们是那种我们会观看他们的一些比赛，然后说，‘哦，也许这是我们可以尝试或发展的东西，’”马刺代理主教练米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)说道。
这并不是说约基奇和文班亚马注定会成为完全相同的球员。
文班亚马比约基奇更高，运动能力也更强。
现阶段，29岁的约基奇是一位更好的外线射手和更有创造力的传球手。文班亚马的防守能力则要强得多。
尽管约基奇和文班亚马不是同一种类型的球员，但马刺相信他们或许可以成为同一种棋子。
“只是在他们都非常全面和独特这层意义上，”约翰逊说。“他们的技能组合表明你可以在球场上任何位置使用他们。”
丹佛主教练迈克尔·马龙(Michael Malone)敏锐地注意到了马刺对约基奇打法的借鉴。
“当我观看他们的比赛时，这让我想起了我们使用尼古拉的方式，”马龙说。“他们把他放在了所有可以想象到的位置上。”
就像掘金队对约基奇的运用一样，马刺队本赛季也开始将文班亚马部署在各种各样的情况下。
他会像传统的NBA内线球员一样设置掩护并执行传统的挡拆。他同样会在挡拆战术中控球。他会设置掩护，也会接掩护。
当文班亚马被身材较小的对手防守时，马刺队已经开始将他安排在肘区，并通过他来组织进攻。
这种摸索的过程将在周一继续，届时马刺将在芝加哥开始他们的四场客场之旅。
“去年，我们一直在努力找出维克的最佳位置，”马刺后卫德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)说。“现在我们发现维克的最佳位置几乎是任何地方。”
尽管约基奇在丹佛与马刺的两场比赛中表现出色，但文班亚马也有自己的高光时刻。
在马刺113-110战胜丹佛的比赛中，文班亚马砍下35分和18个篮板，并在最后时刻成功防守了约基奇一次可能的反超进攻。
在周六122-111的加时赛失利中，他的表现也几乎同样出色，在他21岁生日当天拿下了20分和职业生涯最高的23个篮板。
三届NBA最有价值球员约基奇在最近与文班亚马的交锋后对他印象深刻。
“他今年比去年更好，我认为他会变得更好，”约基奇说。
在马刺与掘金背靠背的比赛中，有时很难分辨出哪支球队是哪支球队。
在马刺客场战胜掘金的比赛接近尾声时，文班亚马的一个回合尤其像约基奇。
在比赛还剩一分半钟时，马刺落后一分，文班亚马似乎准备在三分线外出手。当两名掘金球员上前防守他时，文班亚马却将球传给了切入内线的凯尔登·约翰逊(Keldon Johnson)。
约翰逊完成了上篮，造成了拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克(Russell Westbrook)的犯规，并罚进了随后的罚球，帮助马刺取得领先。
“我们正试图让他在最好的位置拿到球，”瓦塞尔谈到文班亚马时说。“我们帮助他就是帮助我们自己，因为这样（防守者）就必须协防，我们就能得到空位投篮和空切的机会等等。他正在提升我们所有人的比赛水平。”
直到最近，文班亚马才了解到马刺为他制定的“约基奇式”计划。
他大致知道马刺一直在从各种篮球资源中汲取灵感。但他并不知道约基奇就是其中之一。
“我把这当成一种赞美，”文班亚马说。“约基奇是那种尽管每场比赛都遭到包夹，但他能让队友变得更好的球员。这正是我100%想要成为的样子。”
点击查看原文：In Jokic, Spurs see Wembanyama's future
In Jokic, Spurs see Wembanyama’s future
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama may not be all that similar from a physical standpoint. But in the three-time MVP, San Antonio sees a blueprint for how they want to use its generational big man.
CHICAGO — One by one, Spurs players made the increasingly familiar drive to San Antonio International Airport on Sunday afternoon, this time bound for Chicago and the start of another long road trip.
On the positive side, once the Spurs touched down in the Windy City there would be no Nikola Jokic to be found.
Having torched the Spurs for a total of 87 points, 27 rebounds and 19 assists on back-to-back nights, the Denver Nuggets star was off to wreak his unique brand of havoc on a different unfortunate foe.
For Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs’ newly minted 21-year-old superstar-in-waiting, the double dip against Jokic was akin to consecutive nights in NBA grad school.
“Multiple-time MVP, soon to be MVP again,” Wembanyama said of Jokic. “Can’t ask for a better way to get better.”
Indeed, the games against the Nuggets — which the Spurs split with a gritty win in Denver on Friday followed by a tough overtime loss at home Saturday — were the best kind of learning experience for Wembanyama.
They also served as a learning experience for Spurs coaches, who envisioned Wembanyama as a sort of next-gen iteration of Jokic even before the 7-foot-3 Frenchman set foot in San Antonio.
Not long after the Spurs won the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft lottery, members of the front office and coaching staff sat down with film of various NBA players past and present, brainstorming ideas on how to best unlock all the features on their soon-to-be new toy.
They quickly zeroed in on Jokic and the Nuggets, who at the time were on their way to the club’s first NBA championship.
“They were one of the teams where we would watch some of what they were doing and say, ‘Oh, maybe that’s something we can try or grow to,’" Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson said.
It’s not that Jokic and Wembanyama project to be identical players.
Wembanyama is taller and more athletic than the earthbound Jokic.
At this stage, the 29-year-old Jokic is a better outside shooter and more creative passer. Wembanyama is leaps and bounds the better defender.
Though Jokic and Wembanyama are not the same player, the Spurs believe they could perhaps be the same kind of chess piece.
“Just in the sense they are so versatile and unique,” Johnson said. “Their skill set suggests you can use them all over the court.”
Denver coach Michael Malone has taken keen note of the Spurs’ homage.
“When I watch them, it kind of reminds me of the way we use Nikola,” Malone said. “They put him in every conceivable action.”
Like the Nuggets with Jokic, the Spurs this season have begun to deploy Wembanyama in an endless variety of situations.
He will set screens and run a traditional pick and roll like a traditional NBA big man. He will likewise handle the ball in pick-and-roll actions. He will set pin-downs and receive pin-downs.
When Wembanyama is defended by smaller opponents the Spurs have begun to station him at the elbow and run the offense through him there.
That feeling-out process will continue Monday, as the Spurs begin a four-game road trip at Chicago.
“Last year, it was a bunch of trying to figure out what Vic’s spots are,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. “Now we’ve figured out Vic’s spots are pretty much anywhere.”
As well as Jokic played during Denver’s two-game set with the Spurs, Wembanyama had his moments as well.
In the Spurs’ 113-110 victory at Denver, Wembanyama exploded for 35 points and 18 rebounds, and stonewalled Jokic on a potential go-ahead possession for the Nuggets in the waning moments.
He was almost as productive in Saturday’s 122-111 OT defeat, posting 20 points and a career-best 23 rebounds — on his 21st birthday, no less.
Jokic, the NBA’s three-time Most Valuable Player, came out of his most recent meetings with Wembanyama impressed.
“He’s better this year than last year, and I think he’s going to get even better,” Jokic said.
At times during the Spurs-Nuggets back-to-back, it was difficult to tell which team was which.
One Wembanyama play near the end of the Spurs’ road win over the Nuggets seemed particularly Jokic-like.
With the Spurs down by a point in the final minute and a half, Wembanyama appeared to wind up for a top-of-the-arc 3-point try. As a pair of Nuggets converged to contest him, Wembanyama instead dumped the ball to Keldon Johnson slicing through the paint.
Johnson finished the layup, drew a foul on Russell Westbrook and made the ensuing free throw to give the Spurs the lead.
“We’re trying to get him the ball in the best spots that we can,” Vassell said of Wembanyama. “Us helping him helps us, because then (defenders) have got to help and we’re getting open shots and cuts and everything. He’s upping the game for all of us.”
It wasn’t until recently Wembanyama learned of the Spurs’ Jokic-tinged plans for him.
He was generally aware the Spurs have been sponging up inspiration from all manner of basketball sources. He did not know Jokic, specifically, was one.
“I take it as a compliment,” Wembanyama said. “Jokic is one of the guys that, despite getting double teamed every game, he makes his teammates better. That’s 100% what I want to be.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News