By Tom Orsborn, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-03-23 11:09:55
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。
金州勇士队的费斯图斯·埃泽利与多伦多猛龙队的俾斯麦·比永博在2015年10月5日于加利福尼亚州圣何塞SAP中心举行的NBA季前赛第一节中争夺篮板球位置。
多伦多——圣安东尼奥马刺队中锋俾斯麦·比永博(Bismack Biyombo)将多伦多这座多元文化之都列为他最喜欢的城市之一。
这位来自刚果民主共和国的球员说：“这座城市汇集了来自世界各地的人们。”
根据加拿大统计局进行的人口普查显示，多伦多市政府网站的数据显示，2021年多伦多有128万移民，占其人口的46.6%。超过200个民族将多伦多视为家园，这座城市使用超过160种语言。
比永博在谈到安大略省的省会时说：“这里非常包容。他们很少谈论种族，这非常有趣。无论你走到哪里，总会有人谈论种族。这里白人多，这里黑人多，这里拉丁裔多。但在多伦多，人们只谈论人类和人。”
2015-16赛季，比永博爱上了多伦多，那个赛季他表现出色，帮助猛龙队队史首次闯入东部决赛，当时猛龙队建队仅21年。那是比永博在多伦多度过的唯一一年，他将其视为他14年职业生涯中的一段特殊时光。
比永博说：“进入季后赛时，我们整个心态是，我不知道过去发生了什么，但现在我在这里，我来这里是为了改变历史。”
这位32岁的大个子于周日晚上重返丰业银行球馆——当他效力于猛龙时，这里还被称为加拿大航空中心——马刺队与猛龙队在本赛季的两场比赛中首次交锋。双方将于4月13日在霜冻银行中心进行本赛季最后一场比赛。
九年前的这个时候，比永博正处于常规赛的冲刺阶段，他场均上场22.0分钟，得到5.5分，抢下职业生涯最高的8.0个篮板，并以场均1.6个盖帽领跑全队，同时成为当年猛龙队唯一一位打满82场比赛的球员。
比永博说：“我当时没有生活。我去健身房，回家，看比赛录像，接受治疗。我的整个生活就像，‘一切都要以篮球为中心。’”
这种投入在季后赛中得到了回报，比永博打出了他职业生涯中最好的一些比赛，包括在第二轮抢七大战中以116-89击败迈阿密的比赛中，出场41分钟，得到17分、16个篮板和2次盖帽。在东部决赛中，比永博在99-84战胜由勒布朗·詹姆斯和凯里·欧文率领的克利夫兰骑士队的比赛中，出场39分钟，抢下26个篮板，送出4次盖帽。
26个篮板仍然是与哈基姆·奥拉朱旺和德怀特·霍华德共同保持的季后赛单场篮板纪录。那个赛季，他在20场季后赛中首发10场，场均得到6.2分、9.4个篮板和1.2次盖帽，帮助多伦多队以7场大战分别战胜印第安纳和迈阿密，之后在6场比赛中输给骑士队，后者在总决赛中以7场大战击败金州勇士队。
猛龙队与骑士队的系列赛变得非常激烈，其中包括俾斯麦·比永博在多伦多周六晚上第三场胜利的第四节中对勒布朗·詹姆斯的恶意犯规。
猛龙队以东部第二的身份晋级季后赛，仅次于克利夫兰，常规赛战绩为56胜26负。但在之前的七个赛季的季后赛中，有六个赛季都在首轮失利后，很少有人认为多伦多队能走得很远。
比永博说：“所有的赔率都不利于我们，我们的心态是，我们只需要努力比赛，享受乐趣，享受篮球比赛。我很高兴我们是不被看好的一方。当每个人都说我们无法通过第一轮时，我们有机会去竞争。”
在一支由德玛尔·德罗赞和凯尔·洛瑞领衔的球队中，比永博做着脏活累活，这使他深受教练、队友和球迷的喜爱。
费城主教练尼克·纳斯说：“他是个很棒的家伙，他在2019年带领由科怀·伦纳德率领的猛龙队赢得了队史唯一一座NBA总冠军，他在2013年以助理教练的身份加盟猛龙队，当时的主教练是德韦恩·凯西。”
纳斯在谈到比永博时说：“他真的非常非常关心球队，他在夏洛特度过了他的前四个赛季后与猛龙队签约。”
纳斯说：“他总是非常努力地训练，总是非常努力地工作，总是完全理解比赛计划，总是一个超级鼓舞人心的领袖，并且真的很好地发挥了自己的作用。他打出了一些非常非常精彩的比赛。我记得他在季后赛中保护篮筐并封盖了勒布朗·詹姆斯的大量投篮。”
纳斯补充说：“有一次，(比永博)在比赛后期站上了罚球线，观众高呼‘MVP，MVP’。这很有趣，但也很酷，非常酷。”
比永博在多伦多不情愿地因为经济原因让他离开后，与奥兰多签约，在马刺队以128-120击败费城76人队的周五晚上，他拜访了纳斯和洛瑞。
比永博说：“凯尔是我的兄弟。凯尔、德玛尔、科里·约瑟夫、德玛雷·卡罗尔，以及所有那些相信努力比赛、努力防守的队友，他们都很依赖我。”
“这座城市拥抱了我，我们在凯西教练和(助理教练)尼克·纳斯、安迪·格里尔、雷克斯·卡拉米安的带领下，建立了一个伟大的体系。所有的碎片都拼在了一起。”
Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2), who scored 30 points Friday in Toronto, drives past Raptors center Bismack Biyombo (8) and forward DeMarre Carroll.
San Antonio Spurs Jeremy Sochan listens to Bismack Biyombo (18)San Antonio Spurs v Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, March 21,2025 at the Frost Bank Center.
San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul (3) celebrates a three-point basket with Spurs center Bismack Biyombo during the first half of their NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
San Antonio Spurs center Bismack Biyombo (18) and guard De’Aaron Fox (4) look over a stat sheet together as the Spurs play the Charlotte Hornets at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, on Friday, March 14, 2025. The Spurs fell to the Hornets 145-134.
点击查看原文：Biyombo has fond memories his time in 'inclusive' Toronto
Biyombo has fond memories his time in ‘inclusive’ Toronto
Golden State Warriors’ Festus Ezeli battles Toronto Raptors’ Bismack Biyombo for rebound position in 1st quarter during NBA preseason game at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, October 5, 2015.
TORONTO – Spurs center Bismack Biyombo lists the multicultural village that is Toronto as one of his favorites cities.
“It’s a city where you have people from all over the world,” the native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said.
According to a census conducted by Statistics Canada, there were 1.28 million immigrants in Toronto in 2021, or 46.6 percent of its population, per the City of Toronto website. More than 200 ethnic groups call Toronto home and more than 160 languages are spoken in the city.
“It’s very inclusive,” Biyombo said of Ontario’s capital. “They don’t talk a lot about race, which is one of the things that’s very interesting. Everywhere you go, there’s always a conversation about race. There’s more white here, there’s more Black here, there’s more Latino here. They just talk about humans and people in Toronto.”
Biyombo fell in love with Toronto in 2015-16 when he enjoyed one of his best seasons while helping the Raptors reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in the franchise’s then-21-year history. It was Biyombo’s lone year in Toronto and he counts it as a special time in his 14-year career.
“Going into the playoffs, our whole mindset was, I don’t know what happened in the past, but I’m here now, and I’m here to change history,'” Biyombo said.
The 32-year-old big man returned to Scotiabank Arena – it was called the Air Canada Centre when he played there – Sunday night when the Spurs faced the Raptors in the first of two games between the teams this season. There will be a rematch April 13 at the Frost Bank Center in the season finale.
Nine years ago at this time, Biyombo was in the stretch run of a regular season in which he averaged 22.0 minutes, 5.5 points, a career-best 8.0 rebounds and a team-high 1.6 blocks while becoming the only member of the Raptors that year to play in all 82 games.
“I had no life then,” Biyombo said. "I was going to the gym, coming home, watching film and getting treatment. My whole life was just like, ‘It is going to be about basketball.’ "
That commitment paid off when Biyombo had some of the best games of his career in the playoffs, including finishing with 17 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks in 41 minutes of a 116-89 win over Miami in Game 7 of the second round. In the conference finals, Biyombo had a 26-rebound, four-block outing in 39 minutes in a 99-84 win over the LeBron James-Kyrie Irving-led Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3.
The 26 rebounds still stands as a single-game playoff record shared with Hakeem Olajuwon and Dwight Howard. In 20 playoff games, including 10 starts, that season he averaged 6.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while helping Toronto record seven-game victories over Indiana and Miami before falling in six games to the Cavaliers, who went on to beat Golden State in seven games in the Finals.
The Raptors-Cavaliers series has taken a physical turn, including Bismack Biyombo’s flagrant foul on LeBron James during the fourth quarter of Toronto’s Game 3 victory on Saturday night.
The Raptors advanced to the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the East behind Cleveland after finishing the regular season 56-26. But after losing in the first round of the playoffs in six of their previous seven postseasons, few observers picked Toronto to have a deep run.
“All the odds were against us and our mindset was we’re just going to play hard and we’re going to have fun and we’re going to enjoy the game of basketball,” Biyombo said. “I was in a space where I enjoyed that we were the underdog. We got to compete while everyone was saying we couldn’t get past the first round.”
On a team led by stars DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, Biyombo did the dirty work, making him a favorite of his coaches, his teammates and the fans.
“Great guy,” said Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse, who guided the Kawhi Leonard-led Raptors to their lone NBA title in 2019 after joining the franchise as an assistant under Dwane Casey in 2013.
“Really a great super high care factor,” Nurse said of Biyombo, who signed with the Raptors after spending his first four seasons in Charlotte.
“Always, always practicing hard, always working hard, always right on top of the game plan, always a super encouraging leader out there and really played his role really well,” Nurse said. "And he had some great, great games. I remember him in the playoff games protecting the rim and blocking a bunch of LeBron James’ shots.
Added Nurse, “One time (Biyombo) got to the free throw line late and the crowd was chanting ‘MVP, MVP.’ Pretty funny, but pretty cool, pretty cool.”
Biyombo, who signed with Orlando after Toronto reluctantly let him go for financial reasons, visited with Nurse and Lowry on Friday night when the Spurs beat the Sixers, 128-120, in San Antonio.
“Kyle is my guy,” Biyombo said. "Kyle, DeMar, Cory Joseph, DeMarre Carroll, all the guys that were on that team who just become believers in playing hard, playing defense, and they kind of relied on me a lot.
“The city embraced me and we had a great system with coach Casey and (assistants) Nick Nurse, Andy Greer, Rex Kalamian. The pieces just came together.”
By Tom Orsborn, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News