🎧 Spurs Insider️ 播客: 马刺的巴黎情缘永存

SAEN · 2025 年1 月 22 日 00:51

Spurs Insider Podcast, 2025-01-22 07:59:00

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。

专栏作家迈克·芬格(Mike Finger)以及马刺跟队记者杰夫·麦克唐纳(Jeff McDonald)和尼克·塔尔博特(Nick Talbot)讨论了马刺即将到来的巴黎之旅、马刺近期的颓势以及斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)的下一步发展。

推荐阅读：

马刺前往法国之际，文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)正兑现他的宣言

约翰逊悼念超音速名宿、家族友人

马刺巴黎之行：专注比赛而非玩乐

背靠背负于灰熊凸显马刺的节奏问题

以下是播客的文字稿：

这里是来自北半球高度安全的绝密网络的马刺内幕国际版。我们身处南德克萨斯州的冬日仙境。我是迈克·芬格，与我一起的是《快报新闻》体育编辑尼克·塔尔博特，以及来自法国巴黎的《快报新闻》马刺跟队记者杰夫·麦克唐纳。为了参加今天的马刺内幕播客，他经历了一场冒险才到达他的绝密地点。我们非常感谢他的到来。很高兴听到你的声音，杰夫。你还好吗？

很高兴你特别说明了是法国巴黎，而不是另一个。

我知道你遇到了旅行问题，如果你的飞机、火车、优步、地铁把你带到了德克萨斯州的巴黎，我一点也不会感到惊讶。所以，任务一，到达正确的巴黎，你已经完成了。我们录制这期节目是在德克萨斯州时间周二早上，巴黎时间周二晚上。你已经……我就让你来接管这个播客，让家乡的观众和听众知道你今天过得怎么样。你去看文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)了，对吧？

是的。当地时间早上6点55分左右，我抵达了法国巴黎。等我们安顿下来，就该出发去莱谢奈了，我想是这样发音的，那是文班出生和成长的地方。他今天在那里做的事情是……我今天才知道，这是一个酝酿了大约四个月、四五个月的项目，文班决定当马刺回到巴黎时，他想在他从小打篮球的体育馆旁边为孩子们建一些户外篮球场。所以今天是它的落成典礼。我今天去了那里，镇长也出席了，托尼·帕克(Tony Parker)也出席了，很多马刺队的队友都出席了，文班也在那里揭幕了这个显然是他设计的球场。布莱恩·莱特(Brian Wright)今天说，这件事最早是在他的办公室里实现的，当时文班在白板上画出了他对这些球场的想法。现在它们就在这里了。所以这就是我到达后立即做的事情。然后，我坐了两个小时的优步回来，只走了20公里。这是我见过的最疯狂的交通堵塞。比任何从洛杉矶市中心到圣莫尼卡的交通堵塞都严重。比任何一次都严重。太疯狂了。

你知道，我想声明一下，我没有推荐你坐优步。你确实得到了一些旅行建议。

是的，是的，是的。我吸取了教训。我想我遇到的问题是……文班亚马的家乡不在铁路线路上，虽然你可以坐火车到附近。所以我想，既然无论如何都要坐优步，不如直接坐优步。但事实证明，这不是好办法，因为……去那里花了45分钟，有一些交通堵塞，但45分钟还可以，不算太糟。所以我没想到回程要花两个小时。这似乎有点不对劲。但没人想听我抱怨我的旅行问题。

就像……就像……你延续了《快报新闻》的传统……当这个播客的主持人今年夏天去奥运会的时候。他的航班延误了一整天。你到达那里……我比预定时间晚到了一天。待了20天而不是21天。而你飞往巴黎的航班因为……是什么原因？因为美国的风暴延误了一整天？是这样吗？

我的意思是，不完全是。只是一些普通的维修问题。就是这样。但你还是到了。

我到了。我在去华盛顿的路上待了一晚。

啊哈。什么都没发生。

华盛顿什么都没发生？

是的。不知为什么，那里有很多红帽子。我不明白，但是……

杰夫，国民队在那里比赛。顺便说一句，你报道的球队，体育编辑尼克·塔尔博特派你到巴黎去报道的球队，他也在这个播客上，你报道的球队……情况正在分崩离析。自从我们上次播客以来，情况并不顺利，当时我想你是预测一周一胜两负的人中最悲观的。我们中有几个人可能预测得乐观一些，两胜一负。我们都高估了它。两场在主场对阵孟菲斯灰熊的比赛都很艰难。我不知道你对上周的比赛有什么看法。

还记得上周你问到马刺战胜洛杉矶湖人后所获得的势头吗？

是的。我不认为他们获得了任何势头。那只是……他们没有。连续三场惨败。其中两场是对阵一支他们就是无法战胜的孟菲斯球队。那支孟菲斯球队似乎会在一段时间内成为马刺的难题。我想他们输给了那支球队15场比赛中的14场。迈阿密有点乱。因为吉米·巴特勒的情况，他们已经乱了一两个月了。他回来了。他打得不是很好，但马刺在比斯坎湾的日场比赛中没能保持接近比分。现在……你说你在文班新球场的揭幕仪式上看到了马刺队。他的队友在那里，管理层成员也在那里。那支球队怎么了？他们会在对阵……顺便说一句，我还想提一下，我想我在上次播客中顺便提到了，我犯了一个巨大的失礼。这是法语吗？

是法语。我推测，巴黎贝西体育馆，也就是雅高体育馆的主场观众会帮助马刺队战胜印第安纳步行者队。步行者队是联盟中最炙手可热的球队之一。这……这不是一个容易对付的对手，不是一个容易战胜的对手。这些比赛可能会很艰难。他们是一支节奏很快的球队，这最近给马刺队制造了麻烦。杰夫，你对你在巴黎报道的比赛有什么看法？

马刺不断被大比分击败，这令人担忧。就像一段时间以来发生的事情一样。即使他们输球，他们也一直很有竞争力。我记得本月早些时候马刺在密尔沃基被大比分击败时，米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)强调说，嘿，我们今晚在密尔沃基被打得屁滚尿流，但我们今年并没有经常被打得屁滚尿流。也许这部分已经过去了。然后，我的天哪，他们几乎每晚都被打得屁滚尿流。他们最近所有的失利都是两位数的。是的，最近，所有的失利都是。即使在迈阿密也是如此。所以对我来说，这令人担忧。我……我只是觉得一周的变化真大。我们从那场对阵湖人的比赛中出来，认为马刺可能……我有点轻视了势头的概念，但我也没有预料到他们会连续三场被屠杀。所以，他们可以在对阵湖人的比赛中看起来那么好，然后在与其他球队的比赛中看起来那么糟糕，这真是……我不知道发生了什么。我不知道这是否只是赛季的疲惫期。我不知道其他球队是否发现了什么。赛季的疲惫期。我不知道其他球队是否发现了什么。我不知道他们是否只是在低迷。在防守端，他们表现糟糕。所有这些失利，他们不仅丢了100分，不仅丢了110分，不仅丢了115分，而且在最近的连败中，几乎每场比赛都丢了120分。所以我认为防守端显然存在问题，必须解决。我认为，一支年轻球队可能会从非常自信变成非常不自信。在我看来，他们现在看起来不像一支非常自信的球队，除了打得更好和赢球之外，我不知道如何让他们恢复自信。

一如既往，背景是关键。我们有近因偏差。如果三个月前你回到季前赛的马刺播客，如果我们提到本地球队将以19胜22负的战绩前往巴黎……那将是超前于预期的。我认为我们在季前赛的预测中都预计他们能赢30多场，而现在马刺已经超过了这个数字，或者说正好达到了这个数字。所以重要的是要记住，这个赛季不一定是关于季后赛的。不一定是关于打到六月份的。但是……一周前，这些希望更高了。现在……这是否改变了你对本赛季走向的现实预期？你是否又回到了“这只是为了展现适度的进步，忘掉季后赛，忘掉附加赛，只为了拿到35场胜利，看看你明年有什么”的观点？或者在你心中是否仍然抱有希望，认为在以后……可能会有一些有趣的事情值得报道……

我的意思是，我认为他们仍然可以留在附加赛的竞争中，在边缘徘徊。我不知道他们是否会完全掉队。但是他们必须赢下一些比赛，我不知道他们什么时候会赢下比赛。防守端的滑坡很有趣，因为当他们打得很好，胜率超过50%的时候，他们是联盟中防守最好的球队之一。他们排名前十左右，而现在他们每晚都要丢120分。有一段时间，当文班在场上的时候，他们是一支很棒的防守球队，但是当他……你知道，当他下场的时候，就会出现滑坡，但是他们现在在比赛的大部分时间里都被打爆了。

我认为第一场对阵孟菲斯的比赛。我想两场都是。我记不清了，但其中一场特别……比赛的转折点出现在第三节末段文班上场的时候。就像一个13-0的得分高潮，在文班上场之后。这不是我们习惯看到的。就像你说的，我们习惯看到这些得分高潮发生在他坐在板凳上的时候。所以这对马刺来说是一个令人沮丧的进展。有一件事可以部分解释这次低迷，那就是……他们和很多球队打了比赛，特别是孟菲斯，还有芝加哥，在这七场比赛中输掉了六场，这些球队真的加快了节奏，而这并不是马刺今年的强项。那些节奏很快的球队给马刺制造了麻烦。我之前提到的印第安纳也是其中之一。当你看看联盟中节奏最快的球队，孟菲斯在其中，芝加哥在其中，印第安纳在其中，这些球队都给马刺制造了麻烦。所以当你展望他们如何恢复状态时……这方面让你有点怀疑他们能否很快恢复。但好的一面是，我想你会在这些法国的比赛中看到文班亚马的最佳状态。他回到了他的早期，回到了他进入NBA之前的日子。他是一个能够应对重要时刻的人，我真的希望他在这些巴黎的比赛中能够应对这些时刻。我不知道这是否会转化为马刺的胜利，但我认为我们不会在这些比赛中看到表现平平的文班。

是的，他在这里如鱼得水。即使是今天下午我见到他的那一点点时间，RC今天也在谈论，对文班来说，来到巴黎，向大家展示他的老地方，这真的很重要。他们一直在进行训练，他们将在文班在这里长大后打球和训练过的各个体育馆进行投篮训练。我……今天对他来说，有队友在他的家乡，以及朋友和家人，以及他生活中的所有这些群体聚集在一起，他生活中的所有这些小部分聚集在一起，这真的很重要。你可以看出他真的很兴奋。所以他在这里如鱼得水。你知道，我认为他是一个可以区分轻重缓急的人，但你可以看到这也会如何分散他的注意力，你知道，这与你正常的NBA比赛如此不同。你可以看到比赛几乎变成了整个旅程的附属品。我的意思是，他们有安排……马刺每天都在这里进行社区活动和旅游活动。所以你可以看到，将其视为一次商务旅行是多么困难，但我认为文班没有这个问题。我认为他很擅长……他很擅长在球开始比赛时集中注意力。

我认为其中一个关键部分是，当你回到我今年夏天在法国巴黎度过的20天，我看到文班亚马承受着篮球运动员所承受过的最大压力。你可以看出，有些日子这对他来说是一种负担，因为奥运会在他的祖国举行。当地人期待一枚金牌，不管这是否……显然不现实，但不管是否现实，他们都认为这是他们击败强大的美国队的机会。他们认为这个当时20岁的孩子是这一切的关键。我只是不知道在那段时间里他怎么可能玩得开心。我认为这次有点不同。你可以谈谈这个，但看起来马刺队在巴黎和周边社区做的所有事情……看起来他能够玩得更开心，而且不像整个国家的重担都压在他本周击败印第安纳步行者的能力上。所以也许这会让他这次旅行更加愉快。正如他上周在圣安东尼奥的赛后……上次赛后告诉我们的那样，他仍然认为这是一次商务旅行。他仍然认为赢球是这次旅行最重要的事情，但它……我不认为……结果不像当时那么重要。也许这会让他更加享受这次旅行。

是的，马刺球迷不想听到这个，但这毕竟不是奥运会。

是的。在争夺NBA第十名和为你的国家赢得一枚金牌之间有很大的区别。顺便说一句，也许更现实地说，他们可以在美国本土赢得它。法国人可能是2028年的夺冠热门。

我认为是这样。那不是……谁会是美国队的成员？

是的，但是我的意思是……杜兰特、库里、勒布朗，这些人到那时可能都退役了。然后你有……像整个……所有这些最近的状元秀，还有诺兰·索里(Nolan Threory)，他是……他打的是法国队这次……我不敢相信这变成了一个2028年奥运会的播客，但是……诺兰·索里是一个非常有前途的控球后卫。我很抱歉，如果我念错了这个名字，但是……你知道，马刺队知道他。就像法国队去年夏天需要一个控球后卫一样，马刺队在克里斯·保罗时代之后仍然需要一个能打这个位置的人。所以谁知道呢？也许马刺队在2028年奥运会上会有很多法国代表。

就像休·杰克曼在漫威电影里一样，他们会一直用克里斯·保罗到他90岁。

就是这样。那是尼克·塔尔博特在帮助我们接触杰夫和我并不总是能接触到的人群。所以也许这会提高收视率。

你们……我可能是这里唯一一个看过《金刚狼》和《死侍》的人，这有点奇怪。但是我不会……我会把“可能”这个词去掉。不管怎样，我……我看过电影《金刚狼》，也看过电影《死侍》，但我没看过电影《金刚狼和死侍》。

你应该去看。你应该去看，两部都看。它在Disney+上。它相当不错。好的。回到马刺。回到马刺。那个……是的，就像……我被所有这些东西弄得晕头转向，比如我们接触到孩子们……我忘了我要说什么了。关于巴黎，我们还有什么需要提到的吗，杰夫？你享受你……你在那里还不到……还没有真正……

24小时。

是的。是的。这对你来说应该是一次美好的旅行。

谢谢你。我希望你玩得开心，就像我希望文班玩得开心一样。

我找到了一家Chipotle。

什么？我找到了一家Chipotle。

是的，那……那应该不错。我想他们叫它La Chipotle，但我找到了一家。

这就像我……我今年夏天在法国里尔看到德维恩·韦德从肯德基出来一样？那很有趣。

我看到了Chipotle。我本来想告诉朱利安·尚帕尼(Julian Champagnie)，因为那是他……那是他赛前的必备品。上次在主场的投篮训练结束后，当我们谈论法国时，我说，我打赌你肯定吃不到你的Chipotle了。我错了。他能吃到。他们这里有。

谁是朱利安·尚帕尼？这是一个……这是一个过渡到讨论……

我想他必须来自法国的香槟区才能被称为尚帕尼。

我明白了。赛季中期对一些开局很好的球员的评估更新。朱利安就是其中之一。不久前的一个播客中，杰夫谈到他已经相信朱利安·尚帕尼可以成为一支季后赛球队的轮换阵容中的高效球员。长期来看，他是否合适。你……你是否仍然……就从这位Chipotle先生开始。他是否仍然让你相信？

是的，当然。很难对所有这些球员都保持乐观……你必须……你必须从长远来看。就像现在，在过去的一周里，每个人看起来都很糟糕。这个播客真的因为缺少汤姆·奥斯本(Tom Osborn)而缺乏乐观情绪。

说得对。确实如此。肯定是的。关于斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)。上周有一点新闻……一个非常罕见的场合，一位圣安东尼奥马刺队的球员将参加全明星周末的扣篮大赛。这应该很有趣。

扣篮大赛从来都不那么有趣。

是的。你知道……自从J博士，或者也许……我会像个老家伙一样说，自从乔丹参加以来，它就一直不好看，或者也许是布雷克·格里芬跳过汽车。

我认为……我认为斯蒂芬·卡斯尔可以和任何人一样有趣。他今年在比赛中有一些非常精彩的扣篮。他可能是其中名气最大的球员之一，你知道，我认为这就是它多年来一直不尽如人意的地方，自从……我一直在把话题转移到奥运会、漫威和全明星周末。但是，是的，通常就是缺少大牌球员。就像你不知道那些家伙是谁。就像，哦，是那个来自发展联盟的家伙赢得了扣篮大赛。就像，好吧。去年那个去德克萨斯理工大学的孩子，我不记得他的名字了。

麦克·麦克朗(Mac McClung)。麦克·麦克朗。对了。但是斯蒂芬·卡斯尔这位球员经历了一些起起落落。似乎每周他都会经历起起落落。

就像他……我仍然看好他……他有机会成为那届选秀中最好的球员。不仅是今年，而且是未来。我认为我们必须看看扎克·埃迪(Zach Edey)，上周对阵孟菲斯时年度最佳新秀的领跑者。仍然认为他可能略微领先于……卡斯尔在年度最佳新秀的竞争中，但是……

他可能会赢。我认为这与上场时间有关。如果每个人都健康的话，卡斯尔可能不会进入首发阵容，如果这种情况真的发生的话。但是在对阵孟菲斯的比赛中，他们被打得落花流水，但是在第二节，卡斯尔爆发了。在大约五分钟的时间里，他完成了三四次扣篮。他就像，哇，这将是一个家伙。你可以看到他身上散发出的潜力，他接管了比赛一段时间。我的意思是，哇，这支马刺队真的要锁下那个51区……的球员了。那将会发生。我认为他做到了。在大约五分钟的时间里，他看起来就像一个有明星潜力的球员，然后比赛就脱离了每个人的控制。

他做到了，他今年有很多次这样的表现，而且……这是作为新秀的一部分，即使在比赛中也是如此。这不仅仅是每场比赛，每周都有。有时可能是每节都有。他会在一个非常好的季度之后，有一个或两个季度看起来像个新秀。我想这就是作为新秀的一部分，但我仍然认为马刺队对他感到非常满意。杰夫，我想……我记得我想问你一些事……你提到今天早上和布莱恩·莱特谈过。我想有一些新闻，也许称之为新闻有点夸张，但是RC在文班……在文班的家乡谈到了格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)的情况。是这样吗？

是的，法国人问他，或者一个法国人问了他两次关于波波的情况，我的意思是，基本的答案是……不能评论具体情况。我们预计他会在某个时候回来，但不知道是什么时候。

是的。仍然预计他会回来。

所以基本上就是他们一直以来所说的。

是的。是的。伙计，你……你真的不知道如何补充播客的内容，是吗？

不，我不知道。那导致了现任代理主教练米奇·约翰逊。在我看来，这就像对主教练的考验。每当一支球队经历像马刺刚刚经历过的那样的一周时，我的意思是，抛开法国不说，这是连续三场大比分失利。你如何让你的球队对此做出回应？这不仅仅是关于激励性的讲话，而是……这是……这是主教练受到考验的时候。你能止住颓势吗？关于米奇的个性，关于他处理事情的方式，你认为……会对马刺如何回应这件事产生影响？

我的意思是，看看会很有趣，对吧？我不……我们不知道在米奇·约翰逊时代还没有出现过这种程度的……这种程度的冲突。我的意思是，他们输过球，他们也惨败过，但不是连续输球。所以这就像陪审团还没有做出裁决。就像你说的，这是对主教练的考验，我们将看看他如何通过考验。我的意思是，我认为球员们尊重他，球员们也……接受了他的说教。其中很多东西与波波的说教相同，但是……波波就是波波，他在这种情况下很有威信。他知道如何处理处于困境中的球队。有时是用……棍棒，有时是用胡萝卜。关于米奇会做什么或他会如何处理，我真的无法回答你。我们必须看看他是如何度过难关的。这将是一些……一些值得关注的事情，即使是在巴黎，甚至在巴黎之后。

真正让我印象深刻的是……有很多事情让我印象深刻……关于米奇·约翰逊在赛季中期接手球队的方式。但是在马刺打得很好的那段时间里，有一件事在一段时间内是他们的标志，那就是中场休息后打出精彩的第三节，这是他们去年的弱点。他们养成了在第三节被打爆，让比赛脱离他们掌控的习惯。我认为这证明了主教练做出调整和为下半场制定计划的能力。有一段时间，看起来米奇·约翰逊在这方面做得非常好。然后在过去的一周里，连续三场第三节都很糟糕。所以他还没有掌握这一点。但我认为这只是另一个例子，说明你永远无法真正了解NBA。你永远无法真正了解篮球。危险总是潜伏在拐角处，值得关注的一件事是，他能否继续做出调整？马刺能否继续……弄清楚如何处理下半场，这对他们最近来说并不好。再说一次，我们会看到的。但你有没有注意到……这些第三节有没有让你想起去年的那些糟糕的第三节，杰夫？

是的。是的，那些糟糕的第三节确实如此。有些事情……首先，我们想念汤姆·奥斯本。我们……他从迈阿密回来时遇到了旅行问题。希望他在这里，在杰夫·麦克唐纳像波波维奇一样粗略的回答之后，填补一下冷场。汤姆是个讨人喜欢的人。我们想念他。还想为杰夫辩护一下，他在过去的40个小时里只睡了三个小时，对吧？所以……如果他不像往常那么有趣，也许这可以成为一个借口。但是……我仍然希望得到更多见解，杰夫。

我不知道什么……我不知道……我不知道……我不能……你知道……也许作为主持人，我问的问题不好。我把谈话引向了一个不好的方向。但是……伙计，你在巴黎。世界上最伟大的城市之一，灯光之城。

诺兰，我在和你说话。

是的，那边是晚上。你可以欣赏巴黎的灯光。不……但他在这里。我可以从我的窗户看到他。这就是体育记者的方式，不是吗？就像我没有真正看到这些东西。

正是如此。这周你的非篮球相关的行程是什么？你要去卢浮宫吗？

我很想去那里。那会很棒。我确实……我确实开车经过了他们在这里的那座大塔。或者我没有。优步司机经过了。那是……我们慢慢地经过了它。

你惊叹了吗？你……你……它有没有让你想起……历史和所有……所有……所有注视着同一景象的灵魂？

它让我想起了……它让我想起了拉斯维加斯。它让我想起了拉斯维加斯。你……你……你有没有停下来， briefly 看看塞纳河？塞纳河很美。

是的，是的。你不是沿着塞纳河开车吗？

我们是。或者优步司机是。

是的。那是一条美丽的河流。我来这里的时间不长。我相信会有更多……会有更多东西可以看。明天……想想汤姆·奥斯本……明天我会看到马刺……如果汤姆·奥斯本在巴黎，他会用 sights and sounds 和……史诗般的完整故事来款待我们。

我来这里才几个小时，我必须去工作。

好的。如果我们三天后再做这个播客，我可能会有各种各样的故事要告诉你。

那么听众们应该期待下周的节目。那应该会很棒。

好吧。现在我必须去冒险了。

是的。是的。好吧。去看看……我们总是以……杰夫得去睡觉了，我想，或者出去逛逛。我想他欠我一个故事。

你应该在那里。对不起。

好的。那个……让我们……我不知道现在是什么时间。我想我可能是在你的时间凌晨4点左右提交的。

真是的。本周报纸上，杰夫一直在写一篇关于法国篮球的文章，这是一件大事。你能给我们一些你对法国篮球界名人的多次采访的重点内容吗？也许还有这篇……这篇关于法国崛起成为篮球王国的分析的中心论点？

是的，我的意思是，我想回答这个问题。这不是一个新问题，但你知道，为什么法国突然成为了篮球的中心，至少在北美之外？为什么是法国而不是德国，或者法国而不是斯洛文尼亚，或者法国而不是……说出你想到的其他欧洲国家？为什么……是什么让法国与众不同？卢森堡？

是的。是的。是什么让法国与众不同，你知道，他们有两个……连续两届选秀的状元秀。去年，他们有三个前十顺位的球员。还会有更多球员出现。他们连续两届……奥运会都进入了金牌争夺战，两次都获得银牌。为什么……为什么……为什么崛起？它……它实际上可以追溯到400年前的……你知道，法国殖民主义，说实话。迈克·梦露(Mike Monroe)当时在报道篮球吗？

是的，他们叫他爷爷。对不起，迈克·梦露，他正在收听。他是马刺内幕的忠实听众。非常，非常……伟大的人。但是，是的，有很多……有很多因素，你知道，当时的法国人……占据了很多领土，建立了他们的帝国，然后所有这些……这只是……400年后，这扩大了……你知道，他们的篮球人才库的边界，以及他们可以从中挑选的球员。基本上，所有被选中的球员，如果你看看他们，他们都有祖先的根，至少在那些法国在非洲和西印度群岛的殖民地。而且，你知道，法国有一个非常好的国家项目，所有体育项目都是如此。很长一段时间以来，足球一直是王者，现在仍然是法国的王者，但是……在90年代，篮球真的抓住了……法国的国家项目真的……开始专注于篮球。就是这个INSEP学院，托尼·帕克去过。托尼·帕克和鲍里斯·迪奥(Boris Diaw)在那里是同学，然后他们培养了各种各样的其他……NBA球员。所以就是这种结合，你有……有运动天赋的人，你现在……把他们放在这些项目中。他们就这样源源不断地培养出NBA球员。很多……你知道，有很多国家项目……每个国家都有，但如果你和关注欧洲篮球的人交谈，他们会说没有哪个项目比得上INSEP。所以就是这两个因素，然后……然后托尼·帕克本人就是一个……一个巨大的……因素，基本上对整个这一代的……法国球员来说都是如此。如果你和他们中的任何一个人交谈……他的名字会……会出现。托尼就是那个告诉我们这是可能的人。你可以从法国俱乐部球队进入NBA，不仅成为一个角色球员，而且如果你的能力足够强，他们就会信任你，你可以成为一名球星。所以，再一次，有很多因素导致了这种情况，这是一篇……一篇即将在《快报新闻》上发表的文章。

那么这个怎么样？主持人引导性地问道。谁是第一个……进入NBA的法国篮球运动员？

他的名字是……奥利维尔·圣让(Olivier Saint-Jean)。

奥利维尔·圣让。是的，我听说他进入了NBA，然后他改名为塔里克·阿卜杜·瓦哈德(Tariq Abdul-Wahad)。

所以，为了写这篇文章，你应该采访他。

伙计，我希望我采访了。我采访了。我采访了。

你采访了。他几乎就是这篇报道的主角。

我采访了。等等。我采访了。塔里克·阿卜杜·瓦哈德现在在哪里？

他……我想他在加利福尼亚……执教篮球。

你喜欢和他交谈吗？我和他进行了一次非常愉快的交谈，是的。这……这很有趣。他的情况是……当你是第一个做某事的人时，这……这很酷，但这从来都不是那么酷。他把自己描述成一个试管婴儿，一个……法国人来这里的碰撞测试假人。他会比任何人都更艰难。你知道，他没有这么说，但他为后来到来的托尼那一代人铺平了道路。就像你……你必须……你必须……我不知道。你必须先把碰撞测试假人清除掉，然后才能……才能继续前进。

我希望……我的老板，尼克·塔尔博特，能 appreciate 我有多努力……

SAEN · 2025 年1 月 22 日 01:02

点击查看原文：The Spurs will always have Paris

The Spurs will always have Paris

Columnist Mike Finger and Spurs beat reporters Jeff McDonald and Nick Talbot discuss the Spurs’ upcoming trip to Paris, the Spurs recent slump and if Stephon Castle will take the next step in his development.

Suggested reading:

As Spurs go to France, Wemby living up to his proclamation

Johnson mourns loss of Sonics great, family friend

Spurs focus on business over pleasure in Paris

Back-to-back losses to Grizzlies underscores Spurs’ pace problem

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Here is the transcript of the podcast:

From a highly secure network of top-secret locations across the northern hemisphere, this is the Spurs Insider International Edition. We’re in a winter wonderland here in South Texas. I am Mike Finger, joined by Express-News sports editor Nick Talbot and from Gay-Pari, France, it’s Jeff McDonald, Express-News Spurs beat writer. He’s had quite an adventure making it to the Spurs Insider podcast today to his top-secret location. We’re very grateful that he’s made it. Glad to hear from you, Jeff. Are you doing okay?

I’m glad you specified Paris, France instead of the other one.

Well, I know that you have you’ve had travel issues, and I wouldn’t have been surprised at all to find out that your planes, trains, Ubers, subways—I wouldn’t have been surprised if that led you to Paris, Texas. So, mission one, get to the right Paris, you have accomplished. We are recording this Tuesday morning, Texas time, Tuesday evening, Paris time. You’ve had I’m just going to let you take over the podcast here and uh and let the the viewers, listeners back home know what your day’s been like. You went and saw Victor Wembanyama, did you not?

I did. Landed uh here in Paris, France about uh 6:55 a.m. local time. And by the time we got situated, it was time to get out to uh Les Chesnay, I guess this is how you pronounce it, which was where Victor was born and raised. And uh what he did out there today was um he has uh basically, this has been a project about—I learned today—about four months in the making, four or five months in the making, that Victor decided when the Spurs go back to Paris, he wanted to have built some outdoor um basketball courts for the kids next to the gym that, you know, he grew up playing basketball in. So that’s today was the dedication of it. Uh went out there today, the the mayor of the town was there. Um Tony Parker was in attendance, a bunch of Spurs teammates were in attendance, and Victor was there to sort of um unveil um the court that apparently he designed. Brian Wright was talking today like this first came to fruition in his office when Victor drew on a whiteboard like his vision of what he wanted these courts to look like. And uh now they’re here. So that’s what that’s what I did immediately upon arrival. And then uh and then it was a two-hour Uber ride back um covering like 20 kilometers. It was the most It was the craziest traffic I’ve ever seen in my life. Worse than any of that any of that like LA like getting to Santa Monica from downtown. Worse than any of that. It was crazy.

Well, you know, I I want it on the record that that I I did not recommend the uh the Uber, you know. You did get some travel recommendations.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I learned a lesson. The the prob the I guess the issue I had was uh Victor Wembanyama’s hometown isn’t exactly on the rail line, like you can get close. So I thought if I’m going to get in an Uber anyway, might as well just take the Uber. Uh but it turns out that that’s not the way to go because um and then out going out there was 45 minutes with with some, you know, some traffic, but 45 minutes, it wasn’t it wasn’t bad. So I I didn’t assume it would be a two-hour return trip. That that seemed a little little off. But nobody wants to hear about my uh my travel troubles, you know.

Like uh like uh you you you took part in Express-News tradition um when uh when the host of this podcast made it out to the Olympics this summer. His his flight there was delayed by a whole day. You got there I I got there a day later than I wanted to. Stayed 20 days instead of 21. And your flight to Paris was delayed by a whole day because of uh what was it? Because of the storms we had back here in the United States? Is that what—

I mean, no, not really. It was just It was just a run-of-the-mill maintenance issue. That was it. But you got there.

What I got there. I did get to spend uh I did get to spend a got a night in D.C. though on the way.

Uh-huh. Nothing was going on.

Nothing was happening in D.C. Nothing was happening?

Yep. There’s a lot of red hats for some reason. I didn’t understand it, but—

Well, the Nationals play there, Jeff. Um By the way, the um the the team that you cover, the team that you were sent to Paris by sports editor Nick Talbot, who’s on this podcast, uh the team that you were that he sent you there to cover, uh things are uh falling apart. Not gone that swimmingly since our last podcast when uh I think you were the uh the low man predicting a one-and-two week. A couple of us might have gone as high as two-and-one. All of us overshot it. Two rough rough home games against the Memphis Grizzlies. I don’t know I don’t know if you have much to say about uh about that last week.

Remember remember last week when you were asking about the uh momentum the Spurs had gained by beating the Los Angeles Lakers?

Yeah. I I don’t think they gained any momentum. That’s just—They did not. Three blowout losses in a row. Um two against a team that a Memphis team that they just can’t beat. Like that’s that’s that Memphis team seems like it’s going to be a problem for the Spurs for a while. I think it was 14 out of 15 games they’ve lost to that team. Um Miami was kind of a mess. It has been a mess for a month or two with the Jimmy Butler situation. Um He’s back. He didn’t play that great, but the the Spurs could not keep it close in a matinee on the Biscayne Bay. And uh and now uh you know, you said you saw the Spurs at Victor’s unveiling of his new courts. His teammates were there, the the the the the members of the front office were there. What’s going on with that team? Are they going to turn it around against By the way, I also want to mention, I think in passing on the last podcast, I had committed a huge faux pas. Is that French?

That is French. By speculating that the the home crowd at Bercy Arena, Accor Arena in in Paris were were going to lift the Spurs to to two victories over the Indiana Pacers. Like the Pacers are one of the hottest teams in the league. They’ll be This This is not a great opponent to get fat against, to make hay against. Um These these games could be tough. And they’re they’re they’re a fast-paced team, which has given the Spurs issues recently. Um What what do you make of the games that you are in Paris to cover, Jeff?

It’s concerning that the Spurs keep getting blowed out. Like like that was a thing for a while. Like even when they’d lose, they were competitive. I I remember when the Spurs got blown out in Milwaukee earlier this month. Uh Mitch Johnson made a point that like, hey, we had, you know, we got our butts kicked tonight in Milwaukee, but we haven’t got our butts kicked a lot this year. Like that maybe that that that part of it is behind us. And then boy howdy, they just keep getting their butts kicked every single night. All their losses are double digits. Yeah, lately, like all of them. Even in Miami. So to me that’s that’s concerning. I It it’s It’s just interesting what a difference a week makes. We come out of that Lakers game thinking the Spurs might have, you know, I kind of pooh-poohed the notion of momentum, but I also didn’t envision them going and just getting annihilated three games in a row either. So just just the idea that they they can look so good in against the Lakers and then just so bad for parts of these games against these other teams. I I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know if it’s just the dog days of summer. I don’t know if other teams have figured stuff out. Summer. Dog days of the season. I don’t know if other teams have figured something out. I don’t know if they’re just slumping. Um Defensively, they’ve been awful. Like all these losses, they’re giving up not just 100 points, not just 110 points, not just 115 points, but 120 points in just about all these losses here in this last streak. So I guess there’s clearly there’s clearly issues on the defensive end that have to be ironed out. Um And I just think the team as can happen with a young team, you go from like being really confident to like really unconfident. They don’t look like a very confident team to me right now, and I don’t know how to get that back besides just playing better and winning.

As always, context can be key. Um It’s sort of we have recency bias. If you would have gone back three months ago to preseason Spurs podcasts, and uh if we had mentioned that the uh the local cagers would head to Paris with what a 19-and-22 record, um that would have been ahead of pace. That would have been ahead of our expected pace. I think we were all expecting in our preseason predictions somewhere in the mid-30s and victories, and that’s the Spurs are sort of ahead of that now, or right right on it. Um So it’s important to remember that this season wasn’t necessarily supposed to be about playoffs. Wasn’t supposed to be about working until June. But uh the those hopes were higher a week or so ago. Now uh is is has it changed kind of your realistic expectations for where this season is going? Are are you back to this is all about just showing moderate improvement, forgetting about playoff, forgetting about play-in, just kind of get those 35 wins and see what you have for next year? Or is there still kind of a hope in your mind that uh that that there could be something interesting to cover in later—

I mean, I think they can still remain in in the in the play-in hunt, on the fringes of it. I don’t I don’t know if they’re going to fall completely off the table. Um But they’re going to have to win some games, and I don’t know when those when the wins are coming right this second. And like the defensive slippage has been interesting because when when they were playing well and they were two games over 500, they were they were one of the better defensive teams in the league. They were right around a top-10 team, and then now they’re giving up 120 a night. Um And for a while, it was well, when you know when Victor’s on the floor, they’re a great defensive team, but but when he you know, the slip slippage happens when he comes off the floor, but they’re just getting waxed um you know, in in big portions of the game, the games now.

I’d have to say the first Memphis game. I guess both of them. Um I lost track, but both of those were nasty to watch. But one of them in particular, um the the game-changing run came when Victor came into the game in the in the late third quarter. Just It was like a 13-0 run after Victor checked in. And that’s not something we’re used to seeing. Uh like you said, it’s it’s we’re used to seeing those runs happen when he’s on the bench. So that was sort of a dispiriting development for the Spurs. Um One thing that partly explains this slump is uh they played a bunch of teams Memphis in particular, Chicago in this stretch of six losses in seven games that really pushed the tempo, and that has not been the Spurs’ strength this year. Those those teams that really play with pace have given the Spurs problems. Indiana, as I mentioned earlier, is part of that group. Uh when you look at the top-paced teams in the league, Memphis is on it, Chicago’s on it, Indiana’s on it, and uh and those teams have given the Spurs problems. So when you look ahead to how they’re going to get well, um that’s sort of a uh uh uh an aspect of this that makes you a little skeptical that it can happen soon. Um But the upside is, I think you’re going to get Victor Wembanyama at his best in these France games. He he’s going back to his uh early days, to his pre-NBA days. He’s a guy who lives up to the moment, and I really do expect him to live up to these moments in these Paris games. Um Whether that turns into Spurs victories or not, I’m not sure, but I don’t think we’re going to see uh uh underwhelming Victor in these games.

Yeah, he’s he’s um he’s in his element here. Just from the little bit I even saw him this afternoon, and uh one thing RC was talking about today is it was really important for Victor coming out here to to Paris to sort of like show the guys around and show everybody his old stomping grounds. And they’ve been doing They had a practice you know, they they’ve been doing practices, and they’re going to do shootarounds in in the various uh gyms that that Victor has played in and practiced in um you know, growing up here. And I it was it was really important for him today to have, you know, teammates out there in in his hometown. Um along with like friends and family and like all those groups mingling together in his life, all those little parts of his life mingling together. Um You could tell he was really, really um jazzed up by that. So he’s in his element here. Uh You know, I think he’s a guy that can compartmentalize, but you could see how this could be also be a distraction, you know, this is such a different thing um than your normal NBA game. You could see how the games almost become sort of the sidelights to the whole trip. I mean, they have the spread They have the Spurs doing stuff like every single day here in the community and um touristy type stuff. So you can see how it can be difficult to treat it as a business trip, but I don’t think Victor has that problem. I think he’s pretty good at um he’s pretty good at you know, playing turning it on when it’s time for the when the ball goes up.

Well, I think one key part of this is when you go back to those 20 days that I spent in Pari in in France this summer, I saw Victor Wembanyama who was under about as much pressure basketball pressure as any basketball player ever has been under. And and you could tell there were days that it sort of weighed on him because the Olympics were in his home country. Um The locals expected a gold medal, whether that was It obviously wasn’t realistic, but whether it was realistic or or not, they saw this as their chance to beat mighty Team USA. And they saw this then 20-year-old kid as the key to it all. And it was just I I don’t know how he could have possibly enjoyed himself during that stretch. And uh I think that’s what’s a little different this time. You can speak to this, but it seems like with all the stuff the Spurs are doing out in Paris and the surrounding communities, um it seems like he’s able to have more fun, and it’s not like the weight of a whole country is resting on his ability to beat the Indiana Pacers this week. And so maybe that will make it more of a fun trip for him. As as he mentioned to us in his post-game uh last post-game in San Antonio last week, like he still considers this a business trip. He still thinks that winning is the most important thing with this trip, but it it I don’t think it’s as um the the the consequences don’t seem as as momentous as they did back then. And uh and maybe that will uh make this more enjoyable for him.

Yeah, Spurs fans don’t want to hear it, but it ain’t the Olympics.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, there’s a big difference between playing for the number-10 spot in the NBA and trying to win a gold medal for your country. By the way, maybe more realistically, they can win it The French can win it on American soil. They might be the the French might be the favorites in 2028.

I might think so. That’s not—Who the Who’s going to be on Team USA?

Yeah, but I mean the the all the neither Durant, Curry, LeBron, those guys probably gone by then. Um And then you have uh like the entire—all these all these recent top picks along with Nolan Threory, who is uh the he plays the position that was missing from France this—I can’t believe this is turning into an Olympic 2028 podcast, but um Nolan Threory is a is a huge point guard prospect. And I’m And sorry if I botched that pronunciation, but the you know, the Spurs are aware of him. And uh you know, that much like the French needed a point guard last summer, the Spurs still could use someone who plays that position after the Chris Paul era. So who knows? Maybe the Spurs will have a a big French representation for 2028 Olympics.

Much like Hugh Jackman in in Marvel, they’re going to use Chris Paul until he’s 90.

There you go. That that’s Nick Talbot helping us out with the demographic that uh Jeff and I don’t always reach. So maybe that will improve the ratings.

Have you all I’m probably the only one in here that’s seen Wolverine and Deadpool, which it’s kind of weird. But I would not I would remove the word probably from that. Anyway, uh But I’ve seen I’ve seen I’ve seen the movie Wolverine, and I’ve seen the movie Deadpool, but I’ve not seen the movie Wolverine and Deadpool.

You should see it. You should see it, both. It’s on Disney+. It’s quite good. Okay. Back to the Spurs. Back to the Spurs. The um And yeah, like like I’m I’m so thrown by all this stuff that like us reaching the kids that uh I I forgot where I was headed. Is there anything else we need to mention Paris-wise, Jeff? You you enjoying you you’ve only been there You’ve been there less than what? Haven’t really had—

24 hours.

Yeah. Yeah. This should be a good trip for you.

Thank you. I I hope you enjoy yourself much like I hope Victor enjoys himself.

I found a Chipotle.

What’s that? I found a Chipotle.

Yeah, that’s uh that should be good. I think I think they call it La Chipotle, but I I found one.

Is it like when I uh when I saw Dwayne Wade coming out of a KFC in Lille, France this summer? That was fun.

I I saw the Chipotle. I was going to tell Julian Champagnie about it because that’s his uh that’s his pre-game uh go-to. And after the last shootaround at home, when we were talking about France, I said, I bet you’re not going to be able to get your Chipotle though. And I was wrong. He can get it. They have it here.

Who is Julian Champagnie? That’s a uh that’s a segue into a discussion of uh

I think he has to come from the Champagne region of France to actually be called Champagnie, though.

I see. Um Midseason stock update on uh just some of these guys who had really good starts. Like Julian’s one of them. There was a podcast not too long ago when Jeff was talking about how he had become convinced that Julian Champagnie could be a productive rotation player for a playoff team. Long-term fit. Do you Do you still will start right there with Mr. Chipotle. Is he still uh is he still making you a believer?

Yeah, sure. It’s It’s It’s hard to be up on a lot of these guys at this like you have to you have to take the longer view. Like right now, like with the in the past week, it just seems like everybody’s bad. Well, we this podcast really suffers from a lack of optimism without Tom Osborn.

That’s a good point. That’s true. That’s sure is about the best we get. Stephon Castle. Little bit of news this past week uh a very rare occasion a San Antonio Spur is going to participate in the slam dunk contest at All-Star Weekend. Um Which should be entertaining.

The slam dunk contest is never that entertaining.

Yeah. Well, you know—Not since Dr. J, or maybe—I’ll be the old guy and say that it hasn’t been good since Jordan’s been in it, or maybe Blake Griffin jumping over the car.

I think uh I think uh Stephon Castle is uh can can be about as entertaining as anybody. Like he’s had some pretty fun in-game dunks this year. He might be one of the bigger names in it, which you know, I think that’s where where it’s suffered over the years, you know, not getting all-star conversation since I keep shifting the conversation to Olympics and Marvel and All-Star Weekend now. Uh But yeah, there’s just a lack of names usually. Like you don’t know who those guys are. It’s like, oh, it’s the guy from the G League winning the dunk contest. Like, okay. That kid that went to Texas Tech, I can’t remember his name last year.

Mac McClung. Mac McClung. There we go. Um But Stephon Castle the the player uh has gone through some ups and downs. It seems like every week he goes through ups and downs.

Almost like he’s—I am still on the bandwagon of uh he’s he he has a chance to be the best player in that whole draft. Not just this year, but uh but moving forward. I think we got to look at Zach Edey, the the front-runner for for Rookie of the Year last week against Memphis. Um Still think that he might be slightly ahead of uh of Castle in the Rookie of the Year race, but—

He’s probably going to win it. I think that’s that kind of goes, you know, just with playing time. And Castle’s not going to be in the starting lineup maybe once everyone’s healthy if that ever happens. But there was a stretch during that Memphis game, they get the doors blown off them, but the the second quarter where Castle just went off. It was like three or four dunks in like a five-minute stretch. And he’s just like, wow, this is going to be a guy. You could just see the oozing potential where he was He was taking over the game for a bit. Uh I mean, like, wow, this is Spurs are really going to have that Area 51 uh franchise locked down. That’s going to happen. I think He does that. He just looked like star potential for about five minutes, and then the game got away from everyone, so.

He does that, and he’s had stretches like that um many times this year, and it’s it it’s even and this goes with being a rookie, even during games. It’s not just game to game, week to week. There can be It can be quarter to quarter sometimes, and he followed a really good quarter with a quarter or two where he looked like a rookie. And that goes with being a rookie, I suppose, but I still think uh the Spurs feel great about having him around. Um Yeah. Jeff, I I I wanted to I I remember something I wanted to ask you uh you you mentioned talking to Brian Wright this morning. Um I think there was a bit of news, and maybe that’s a stretch to call it news, but RC addressed the Gregg Popovich situation at Victor’s uh in Victor’s hometown today. Is that correct?

Well, yeah, the French asked him or or one French guy asked him twice about Pop’s situation, and I mean the basic answer was uh can’t really comment on specifics. We expect him back at some point, but don’t know when.

Yep. Still expect him back.

So basically what they’ve been saying all along.

Yep. Yep. Well, boy, that you you you really don’t know how to pad out a podcast segment, do you?

No, I do not. Uh That leads to current acting head coach Mitch Johnson. This this to me seems like uh a a test of of a head coach. Whenever a team goes through a a week like the Spurs have just had, I mean, throw France out of the equation, it’s it’s three blowout losses in a row. How do you sort of get your team to respond to that? Um It’s not about necessarily motivational speeches, but like uh this is this is when uh a head coach is tested a bit. Can can you stop the bleeding? Um What what is it about Mitch’s personality, about the way he goes about his business, that you think uh will will have a say in in how the Spurs do uh respond to this?

I mean, it it will be interesting to see, right? Like I don’t I We we don’t know that there hasn’t been this kind of um this kind of strike level of strife in the Mitch Johnson era yet. I mean, they’ve had losses, and they’ve had bad losses, but not something in a row. So it’s kind of like the jury is out. And like you said, it’s a test of of a head coach, and we’ll we’ll see how he passes it. I mean, I think I think the players respect him, and the players have um bought into what he’s what he’s preaching. And a lot of it is the same stuff that Pop was preaching, but um you know, Pop being Pop is a guy that has had gravitas in these sort of situations. Um And you know, and it has a good feel for how to handle a team under duress. Sometimes it’s with like a the stick, and sometimes it’s with the carrot. Um And we’ll just I really I don’t have an answer for you about what Mitch will do or how he’ll handle it. We’ll we’ll have to see how he comes through it. And that will be some kind of something interesting worth worth watching and monitoring here in here in Paris and and beyond even.

What had really impressed me about There were a lot of things that impressed me about um the way Mitch Johnson handled taking over a team in the middle of the season. But um in that stretch when the Spurs were playing really well, one thing that was their calling card for a while was just coming out of halftime and playing tremendous third quarters, which was their weak point last year. They were They got in this habit of just getting blown out in third quarters and letting games get away from them. And I thought that was a testament to the ability of a head coach to make adjustments and to to have a plan going into the second half of a game. And for a while, looked like Mitch Johnson was really doing well at that. And then this past week, it’s been three really bad third quarters in a row. So he hasn’t mastered that yet. But I I think that’s just another example of how you never really have the NBA figured out. You never have basketball figured out. There’s always danger looming around the corner, and uh that will be something to monitor moving forward is can he keep making the adjustments? Can the Spurs keep uh figuring out how to handle the second half, which has not been good for them lately. Um Again, we we will see. But have you noticed anything Did did did some of these third quarters remind you of the of the terrible ones last year, Jeff?

Yeah. Yeah, the terrible ones did. There’s something We first of all, we miss Tom Osborn. We we just did just he had travel issues getting back from Miami. Uh Wish he was here to fill just the dead air after Jeff McDonald’s rough Popovich-like answers. And and Tom’s just a pleasant guy. We miss him. Also like to defend Jeff a little bit, like he’s slept three hours the past 40, right? So uh like uh if he’s not as entertaining as he usually is, maybe there’s an excuse for that. But uh like I’m still hoping for a little more insight, Jeff.

I don’t know what—I I don’t I don’t I don’t I can’t you know—Maybe it’s something as a host. I’m asking bad questions. I’m steering the conversation in a not-great way. But uh man, you’re in Paris. One one of the great cities of the world, City of Lights.

Nolan, I’m talking to you.

Yeah, it’s nighttime over there. You could be enjoying the Paris lights. Not but here he is. I can see him from my window. That’s the way of the sports writer, though, isn’t it? It’s like I don’t really see these things.

Exactly. What’s What What’s on the agenda? What are you going to see non-basketball-related this week? You going to go to the Louvre?

I would love to go there. That would be awesome. I did uh I did drive past that big tower that they have here. Or I didn’t. The Uber guy did. Was that—We We inched by it.

Did you marvel? Did you Did you uh Did Did it make you think of uh history and all the all the the the the souls?

It made me think of It made me think of Las Vegas. Who have gazed at that same sight. It made me think of Las Vegas. Did you uh did you did you take a pause, take a brief look at the Seine? Seine’s nice.

Yeah, yeah. Didn’t you just drive alongside the Seine?

We did. Or we The Uber guy did.

Yeah. Well, it’s a nice river. I haven’t been here long. I’m sure there’ll be more There’ll be more to see. Um Tomorrow—Just thinking about Tom Osborn—Tomorrow I’ll see the Spurs—If Tom Osborn was in Paris, he would be regaling us with with sights and sounds and uh full epic tales.

I’ve only been here a few hours, and I had to go to work.

Okay. If we’re doing this podcast, you know, three days from now, I might have all kinds of sorted tales to tell you.

Well, then the the listeners should look forward to next week. It should be a great one.

All right. Now I have to have adventures and stuff.

Yes. Yeah. All right. Um Go look at the—We always close uh he’s Jeff’s got to get to bed, I guess, or out to the streets. I think he owes me a story.

Well, you should be in there. Sorry.

Okay. Um The Uh let’s let’s give—I don’t know what time things are. I think I probably filed it like 4 a.m. your time.

That’s something. The uh the in in the newspaper this week, a story that Jeff has been working on for a while is about French basketball and what a big deal that is. Can you give us some highlights of your many interviews with French hoops luminaries and uh maybe the thesis statement of this uh of this analysis of France’s ascension into basketball royalty?

Um yeah, I mean, I sort of wanted to answer that question. It’s not a novel question, but you know, why why is France all of a sudden the center of the basketball universe, you know, at least outside of North America? Why France and not Germany, or France and not Slovenia, or France and not name your other European country? Why is What is specific to France? Luxembourg?

Yeah. Yeah. Um What is What is specific to France that, you know, they had the They had the two number-one, you know, the the number-one draft picks in two consecutive drafts. Um Last year, they had three top-10 picks. Um There’s going to be more to come. They’re They’ve made, you know, back-to-back uh gold medal games in the Olympics, finishing silver both times. Like why why why the rise? And um it’s it’s a like it actually goes back 400 years to uh you know, French colonialism, to be honest. Was Mike Monroe covering basketball back then?

Uh yeah, they they called him Gramps. I’m sorry to Mike Monroe who’s listening. He’s a loyal Spurs Insider listener. Very, very great great great great man. But yeah, there’s a lot There’s a lot of factors, you know, that the the the French back in the day uh you know, assumed a lot of territory, building their empire, and then all those that that just sort of uh pushed the you know, 400 years later, that pushes the boundaries to of uh you know, their basketball pool and the players they can draw from. And basically, all the players that are getting drafted, if you look at them, they all have ancestral roots at least in those French colonies in in Africa and the West Indies. Um Also, you know, France has has uh a really good national program, really with all sports. And it had been soccer for the longest time had been the king, and it’s still the king in France, but but um in the in the in the in the '90s, um basketball really took hold of uh the the national program of of France really um began to focus on basketball. And it’s this INSEP academy that um Tony Parker went to. Tony Tony Parker and Boris Diaw were um were classmates there, and then they produced all kinds of other uh NBA players to boot. And so it’s that combination of you have like people with athletic gifts that you’re now um putting in these programs. And it just they’ve been just churning out NBA players that way. And a lot of all, you know, there’s national programs that a lot of uh you know, every country has something, but if you talk to people who follow European basketball, they say there’s nothing like INSEP. Um So it’s it’s those two factors, and then um and then just Tony Parker himself was a was a huge um factor to basically this entire generation of of French players. If you talk to any of them, um his name will came will come up. Like Tony’s the guy that showed us this was possible. That you could go from a a French club team to the NBA and not not just be a role player, but they’ll trust you if you’re good enough, and you can be a star. And so again, there’s a whole generation of um Victor Wembanyamas who grew up knowing that if that if you’re good enough, you can start in the NBA, and it wasn’t it wasn’t a it it wasn’t a crazy dream. It was a realistic dream. So there’s a lot of factors that go into that, and that’s a that’s a story that will be coming out in the Express-News shortly.

Well, how about this? The host asks leadingly. Who was the first uh French basketball player in the NBA?

Uh his name was uh Olivier Saint-Jean.

Olivier Saint-Jean. Yeah, I’m told he got to the NBA, and then he changed it to Tariq Abdul-Wahad.

So that would just seem like somebody you should have talked to for the story.

Man, I wish I would have. I did. I did. I did.

You did. It’s almost like he’s the lead of this story.

I did. Hold on. I did. Where is Where is Tariq Abdul-Wahad today?

Uh he’s uh I think he’s in California um coaching basketball.

Did you enjoy your conversation with him? I had a very good conversation with him, yeah. It was uh it was It was kind of interesting. Um His his deal is like when you’re the first of something, it it’s it’s cool, but it’s never it’s never that cool. Like he he he described himself as like a test-tube baby, a uh crash-test dummy for French coming over here. Like he was going to have it rougher than anybody. And you know, he didn’t say this, but he kind of paved the way for the Tony generation to come a little bit later. Like you you got to have You got to get you got to I don’t know. You got to get the the crash-test dummies out of the way before you can you can move on to the to the rest of it.

I hope that uh my boss, Nick Talbot, appreciates how hard