By Mike Finger, Columnist | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-01-18 16:05:36
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。
他们现在还不需要他的同情。
很多人还记得五个月前维克多·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)说过的话，当时他泪流满面，语气坚定，发出了一则警告。
八月的那个夜晚，一枚奥运会银牌挂在他的脖子上，他站在巴黎体育馆的中央，面对着一位来自圣安东尼奥的体育记者，说道他“担心几年后他的对手们”。
“所有对手，”文班说道。
这番大胆的言论在NBA引起了不少关注，那些老牌强队也更有动力让这位年轻的法国人在球场上尽可能地难受。就像周五晚上，无情的孟菲斯灰熊队连续第二场击败了文班亚马所在的球队，他对手们似乎并不用担心他。
但自从在巴黎发表那番声明以来，文班也做了很多事情来支撑他的豪言。他的马刺队还没有赢多输少，但他们正在接近这个目标。他并没有羞辱每一个防守者，也没有把每一个在他臂展范围内的投篮都变成肉沫，但这种情况发生的频率已经足以被视为常规操作。
本周，当文班回到他赢得银牌的塞纳河畔的同一座体育馆时，他对统治篮球的计划依然坚定。
“长远目标，”他周五说道，“从未动摇。”
自从去年八月奥运会金牌争夺战以来，文班在篮球界的地位不减反增。在那场比赛中，他与勒布朗·詹姆斯(LeBron James)、凯文·杜兰特(Kevin Durant)和斯蒂芬·库里(Steph Curry) 展开了史诗般的对决，最终他所在的法国队不敌美国队。在那场精彩的攻防大战中，他向全世界宣告，他是这三位美国巨星的超级巨星继承人。
从那以后，他几乎没有做过任何事情来反驳这一说法。当他的马刺队在周四和周六与印第安纳步行者队进行两场巴黎比赛时，文班将以一位准全明星球员、一位板上钉钉的年度最佳阵容球员以及一位很有可能获得相当一部分MVP选票的球员的身份出战。
所有这一切都发生在他第二个NBA赛季的中途，而他所在的球队甚至可能无法获得附加赛的资格。
从某种意义上说，文班似乎远远领先于计划。毕竟，他明确表示，他对对手的担忧会在“几年后”发生。但这种快速进步的问题在于，它可能会导致人们对他周围的团队缺乏耐心。
毕竟，有些人想知道，如果文班继续打出几乎没有哪个NBA超级巨星能打出的逆天数据，如果马刺队至少无法锁定西部联盟的第十名，那是否应该被视为失败？
虽然文班没有放弃获胜的渴望，但他明确表示，他不这么认为。他最常重复的一句英语是“进步不是线性的”。他明白，即使马刺队的战绩没有一直体现出来，他们也可能取得巨大的进步。
文班表示，他毫不怀疑自己正处在成为赢家的正确位置上。
“球队已经一次又一次地证明，他们愿意并且正在做正确的事情，”文班说道。“我认为最重要的是，首先是信任，还有沟通。对我来说，不要做得太多……这是一种平衡，以及多年来保持这种平衡的意愿。这将会得到回报。”
有趣的是，从现在到获得回报之间会发生什么。例如，本赛季的剩余时间可能有两种走向。马刺队可以坚持他们在训练营中看似现实的目标——继续围绕年轻核心建队，学习如何赢得势均力敌的比赛，也许将胜场数从22场提高到35场左右——或者他们可以决定他们准备好做得更多。
如果他们在附加赛的竞争中再坚持几周，他们是否会考虑在交易截止日前增加一些帮助，也许是增加一些射手或者更可靠的替补中锋？也许会，但他们不会为了牺牲未来的灵活性而采取任何短期行动。
正如文班在奥运会上提到的那样，总体目标仍然是“几年”或更长时间后会发生什么。因此，当他本周回到巴黎，希望像去年夏天那样为他的祖国带来快乐时，即使他还未兑现他的警告，也无可厚非。
他的对手们现在可能还不需要他的同情。
但给他们时间。
所有对手。
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) signals three after hitting a 3-pointer during the first half of their NBA game with the Memphis Grizzlies at the Frost Bank Center on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025 in San Antonio. Memphis beat the Spurs 140-112.
Victor Wembanyama (32), of France reacts during a men’s gold medal basketball game at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 10: Jayson Tatum #10 and Kevin Durant #7 of Team United States box out Victor Wembanyama #32 of Team France during the Men’s Gold Medal game between Team France and Team United States on day fifteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on August 10, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
点击查看原文：After issuing a warning, Victor Wembanyama still has time to deliver
After issuing a warning, Victor Wembanyama still has time to deliver
They don’t need his sympathy yet.
Lots of them heard about what Victor Wembanyama said five months ago, when in a tear-stained moment of resolve he issued what amounted to a warning.
On that August night, with an Olympic silver medal hanging from his neck, he stood at the bottom of a Paris arena in front of a San Antonio sports writer and said he “worried for his opponents in a couple of years.”
“All of them,” Wembanyama said.
The boldness turned quite a few heads around the NBA, where established powers found more incentive to make the young Frenchman’s on-court life as difficult as possible. On nights like Friday, when the ruthless Memphis Grizzlies beat up on Wembanyama for a second game in a row, his concern for his adversaries can seem misplaced.
But since he made his Paris pronouncement, Wembanyama also has done plenty to back it up. His Spurs aren’t yet winning more than they lose, but they’re getting close. He isn’t humiliating every single defender, nor is he turning every single shot attempted within his wingspan into mincemeat, but it’s happening enough to be considered routine.
And this week, as Wembanyama returns to that same arena on the Seine where he won his silver medal, he is no less resolute in his plans for basketball domination.
“The long term,” he said Friday, “is never being questioned.”
If anything, Wembanyama’s hoops stature has grown since the Olympic gold medal game last August, when he traded epic blows with LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry before his overmatched Team France eventually fell to Team USA. In that dazzling back-and-forth, he essentially announced to the world that he was the superstar heir apparent to that American trio.
Since then, he’s done little to dispel that notion. When his Spurs meet Indiana for two Paris games on Thursday and Saturday, Wembanyama will do so as a sure-fire All-Star, an All-NBA shoo-in, and a likely recipient of a not-insignificant share of Most Valuable Player votes.
All of this halfway through his second NBA season, on a team that still might not be good enough to qualify for the play-in tournament.
In one sense, Wembanyama seems way ahead of schedule. He did, after all, specify that his worry for opponents would happen in “a couple of years.” But the problem with that rapid progression is that it can lead to impatience with the team around him.
After all, some wonder, if Wembanyama keeps putting up ungodly stat lines that almost no NBA superstar has produced before, shouldn’t it be considered a failure if the Spurs can’t at least secure the 10th seed in the Western Conference?
While not backing down from his desire to win, Wembanyama has made it clear that he doesn’t see it that way. One of his most-repeated English phrases is the one about how “progress is not linear.” He understands that it’s possible for the Spurs to make tremendous strides even if their record doesn’t always show it.
And Wembanyama said he has no doubt that he’s in the right place to become a winner.
“The organization has proven over and over that they’re willing, and they’re doing the right things,” Wembanyama said. “And I think the most important thing is, first of all, trust, and also communication. It’s for me not doing too much. … It’s a balance, and the will to keep that balance over the years. This is what’s going to pay off.”
The interesting part is what happens between now and the payoff. The rest of this season, for instance, can go one of two ways. The Spurs can stick with what appeared to be a realistic objective back in training camp – keep building around the young core, learn how to win close games, maybe improve from 22 victories to 35 or so — or they can decide they’re ready to do a little more.
If they hang around the play-in race a few more weeks, would they consider adding help at the trade deadline, maybe to add some shooting or a more reliable backup big man? Perhaps, but they won’t make any short-term move that sacrifices their future flexibility.
The overarching goal, as Wembanyama referenced at the Olympics, is still about what happens in “a couple of years” or more. So as he returns to Paris this week, hoping to delight his home country as he did last summer, it’s OK that he has not yet followed through on his warning.
His opponents might not be asking for sympathy now.
But give them time.
All of them.
By Mike Finger, Columnist, via San Antonio Express-News