By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-04-12 07:45:11
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。
圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫克里斯·保罗 (3) 在2025年4月8日星期二在加利福尼亚州英格伍德举行的NBA篮球比赛上半场指向球场。(美联社照片/Carrie Giordano)
哈里森·巴恩斯不记得他和克里斯·保罗分享的上次午夜电话的具体内容，仅仅是因为这样的电话实在太多了。
但谈话的大致主题是毋庸置疑的。
如果保罗在半夜给他的马刺队友打电话，那是因为他在某个地方深夜的NBA比赛中看到了有趣的东西，并且觉得这件事不能等到吃早餐时再说。
“他看一切比赛，而且总是谈论它，”巴恩斯说。“没有人比他更热爱比赛了。”
在圣安东尼奥的第一个——也可能是唯一一个赛季的81场比赛中，保罗对比赛的热爱闪耀着光芒。
在周日本赛季结束后，这是否足以让这位12次入选全明星的球员再战一个NBA赛季，还有待观察。
“我认为最重要的是，在这个赛季结束后，我会和我的家人谈谈，然后进行评估，” 保罗说。
去年夏天，当保罗同意以1000万美元的一年合同加入马刺队时，有一个吸引他的地方胜过其他一切。
“有机会上场，打球，竞争，” 保罗在七月份说。
保罗在圣安东尼奥的这个赛季有很多事情的发展都出乎所有人的意料。
马刺队的功勋教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)在赛季开始五场比赛后因中风而缺席。他们的球队核心维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)在二月中旬因血栓问题而缺席。
在交易截止日，马刺队交易来了另一位明星控球后卫达龙·福克斯(De’Aaron Fox)，这造成了后卫线上的拥堵。
尽管如此，马刺队还是兑现了让他们保罗打球的承诺。
在周日于霜冻银行中心（Frost Bank Center）举行的对阵多伦多的赛季收官战中，39岁的保罗将通过出战并首发他的第82场比赛来结束他的第20个NBA赛季。
在NBA历史上，只有一位比保罗更老的球员完成了这一壮举：犹他爵士队的约翰·斯托克顿在2002-03赛季。
保罗已经累计出场2258分钟，并且还在增加，他将成为联盟历史上第二年长的球队出场时间领先者，仅次于40岁的迈克尔·乔丹，后者在2002-03赛季效力于华盛顿奇才队时做到这一点。
可以肯定地说，保罗到目前为止在圣安东尼奥享受了所有的2258分钟。
“你永远不知道你的旅程会把你带到哪里，” 保罗说。“我从未想过我最终会来到圣安东尼奥。如果我结束我的职业生涯而从未到过这里，我仍然会爱波波，我仍然会在某种程度上认识文班亚马、哈里森和所有这些人。能和所有这些人建立联系真是不可思议。”
同样可以肯定地说，马刺队也从他们的交易中受益匪浅。
保罗穿着马刺队球衣成为了NBA历史上助攻和抢断总数第二多的球员。
他对新秀斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)的指导很可能会在保罗的画像挂在奈史密斯篮球名人堂之后很久仍能产生回报。他在关键时刻的稳定发挥帮助年轻的马刺队在学习如何结束比赛方面取得了进步。
保罗的声音，从训练营的第一天到周日的赛季收官战，始终存在，在他离开后肯定会在马刺队的更衣室里萦绕。
“我告诉很多年轻球员，” 巴恩斯说。“当克里斯完成职业生涯，你看到他进入名人堂时，你会看到他的整个职业生涯，对吧？人们会谈论他，你就能说，‘伙计，我每天都和这家伙在一起，他真的投入到了我的职业生涯中。’”
在马刺队本赛季最动荡的两天——11月球队宣布波波维奇无限期缺席，以及2月球队宣布文班亚马赛季报销的诊断——第一个被委派向媒体讲话的不是管理层成员、教练组成员或俱乐部发言人。
而是球队全新的首发控球后卫。
毫无疑问，保罗本赛季在马刺队更衣室中占据着一席之地。他是无可争议的领袖。
“他的个性和他对待比赛的方式是众所周知的，”代理教练米奇·约翰逊(Mitch Johnson)说。“他是不屈不挠的。他是不道歉的。他……很多。我是以最赞赏的方式说的。”
约翰逊会用另一个词来形容保罗在过去九个月里为球队所做的一切：无价的。
“我认为我们的球队比联盟中的任何其他球队都更需要它，” 约翰逊说。“我知道我比任何其他教练都更需要它。”
在周日的终场哨声响起后，保罗的下一步是什么，这是一个悬而未决的问题。
联盟中有些人只有亲眼看到他退役才会相信。
“很难想象像克里斯这样的球员不打球，” 约翰逊说。“克里斯·保罗当教练似乎很陌生。克里斯在NBA Today节目中似乎很奇怪。他属于球场，球在他的手中，对着某人大喊大叫。”
巴恩斯同样期待着他的篮球狂热的控球后卫更多的午夜电话。
自从这个赛季开始以来，他一直在游说保罗再打一个赛季。
“他可能是我在任何级别打过的我最喜欢的队友之一，” 巴恩斯说。
史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)在2023-24赛季执教了保罗一个赛季，他说他没有关于这位控球后卫近期计划的内幕消息，只有一个有根据但坚定的猜测。
圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫克里斯·保罗，左，在2025年4月2日星期三在丹佛举行的NBA篮球比赛下半场与临时主教练米奇·约翰逊商议。(美联社照片/David Zalubowski)
“哦，他明年会打球，” 科尔说。
科尔如此确信他的预测的原因是什么？
“最重要的是，” 科尔说，“他热爱打篮球。”
在本赛季将他39岁的骨头拖到联盟的每个球场上打了82场比赛，为一支连续第六个赛季失利的球队效力后，保罗并没有否认这些说法。
尽管如此，保罗承认他的未来——无论是留在马刺队还是彻底成为一名NBA球员——都是不确定的。
随着福克斯的加入，保罗重返圣安东尼奥可能涉及到转入替补席。这是他在上赛季效力于勇士队时所鄙视的角色。
还有家庭方面的顾虑。保罗的妻子和两个孩子仍然住在洛杉矶，他说一年中要离开他们很长一段时间变得越来越困难。
当NBA最伟大的现役控球后卫考虑他的下一步行动时，最重要的问题是：对比赛的热爱是否足以让他继续前进？
保罗发誓他还没有一个确定的答案。
“我们会看到的，”他说。
但是？
“我知道的是，我喜欢这个，” 保罗说。“我喜欢竞争。我喜欢互动。我喜欢只是坐在板凳上与队友讨论战略，看到他们的成长。日复一日地观看斯蒂芬（卡斯尔）。看到他如何到达我现在无法到达的位置，以及看到他如何发展成为一名传球手和一名领导者。这才是真正有趣的。”
San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes (40) sets a pick as guard Chris Paul (3) moves the ball while defended by Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) shoots between San Antonio Spurs center Bismack Biyombo (18) and guard Chris Paul during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul, left, moves the ball while defended by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, left, defends against San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul (3) shoots between Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) and guard Moses Moody during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
点击查看原文：What's next for San Antonio Spurs Chris Paul? The Point God only knows
What’s next for San Antonio Spurs Chris Paul? The Point God only knows
San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul (3) points down court during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Carrie Giordano)
Harrison Barnes cannot recall the specific subject matter of the last midnight phone call he shared with Chris Paul, but only because there have been so many.
There is no uncertainty about the general topic of conversation.
If Paul is ringing his Spurs teammates in the middle of the night, it is because he saw something interesting in a late-night NBA game somewhere and decided it couldn’t wait until breakfast.
“He watches everything, and he’s always talking about it,” Barnes said. “There’s no one that loves the game more than him.”
For 81 games in his first – and possibly only – season in San Antonio, Paul’s love of the game has shined through.
Whether that will be enough to bring the 12-time All-Star back for another NBA go-round after the current one ends Sunday remains to be seen.
“I think the biggest thing is I’ll evaluate after this season once I talk to my family,” Paul said.
When Paul agreed to a one-year, $10-million deal to join the Spurs last summer, one draw attracted him most of all.
“The opportunity to play, to hoop, to compete,” Paul said in July.
Much about Paul’s season in San Antonio did not go as anyone expected.
The Spurs lost Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich to a stroke five games into the campaign. They lost franchise centerpiece Victor Wembanyama to a blood clot issue in mid-February.
At the trade deadline, the Spurs dealt for another star point guard, De’Aaron Fox, creating a logjam in the backcourt.
Through it all, the Spurs made good on their vow to let Paul hoop.
In Sunday’s season finale against Toronto at the Frost Bank Center, the 39-year-old Paul is set to conclude his 20th NBA campaign by playing and starting in his 82nd game.
In NBA history, only one player older than Paul has accomplished that feat: Utah’s John Stockton in 2002-03.
Having logged 2,258 minutes and counting, Paul will become the second-oldest player in league history to lead a team in that category behind 40-year-old Michael Jordan, who did it with the 2002-03 Washington Wizards.
It is fair to say Paul has enjoyed all 2,258 of his minutes in San Antonio so far.
“You never know where your journey is going to take you,” Paul said. “I would never have imagined I’d end up in San Antonio. If I ended my career never coming here, I would still love Pop, I would have still known Vic somewhat, Harrison and all these guys. It’s been unbelievable to make a connection with all these guys.”
It is also fair to say the Spurs have benefited from their end of the bargain.
Paul became the NBA’s second-leading career assists and steals man wearing a Spurs jersey.
His mentorship with rookie sensation Stephon Castle is likely to produce dividends long after the Paul’s portrait is hanging in the Naismith Hall of Fame. His steady hand in crunch time has helped the young Spurs make strides in learning to finish games.
Paul’s voice, ever present from the first day of training camp to Sunday’s season finale, is sure to linger in the Spurs’ locker room after he is gone.
“I tell a lot of the young guys this,” Barnes said. “When Chris is done and you see him go to the Hall of Fame, you’re going to see his career in total, right? People will talk about him and you’re going to be able to say, ‘Man, I was with this guy every single day and he was really invested in my career.’ ”
On the two most tumultuous days of the Spurs’ season – in November when the team announced Popovich would be out indefinitely and in February when it announced Wembanyama’s season-ending diagnosis – it was not a member of the front office or the coaching staff or a club spokesman who was tasked to be the first to address the media.
It was the team’s brand new starting point guard.
There was no questioning Paul’s place in the Spurs’ locker room this season. He was the undisputed alpha.
“His personality and the way he approaches the game is well known,” acting coach Mitch Johnson said. “He’s relentless. He’s unapologetic. He is … a lot. I mean that in the most complimentary way.”
Another word Johnson would use for all Paul has brought the franchise the past nine months: Invaluable.
“I think our team needed it more than any team in the league,” Johnson said. “I know I needed it more than any other coach.”
What comes next for Paul after the final horn Sunday is an open question.
There are those around the league who will believe he is retiring when they see it.
“It’s hard to imagine a player like Chris not playing,” Johnson said. “Chris Paul as a coach seems so foreign. Chris on NBA Today seems so weird. He belongs on the court, with the ball in his hands, yelling at somebody.”
Barnes likewise is looking forward to more midnight phone calls from his basketball-Jonesing point guard.
He has been lobbying Paul for another season since this one began.
“He’s probably one of my favorite teammates I’ve ever played with at any level,” Barnes said.
Steve Kerr, who coached Paul for one season in 2023-24 at Golden State, says he has no inside information about the point guard’s immediate plans, only an educated but emphatic guess.
San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul, left, confer with interim head coach Mitch Johnson in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
“Oh, he’s playing next year,” Kerr said.
The reason Kerr can be so sure in his prediction?
“More than anything,” Kerr said, “he loves to play basketball.”
After dragging his 39-year-old bones onto every court in the league for 82 games this season to play for a team on its way to a sixth straight losing campaign, Paul isn’t beating those allegations.
Still, Paul concedes his future – with the Spurs or as an NBA player altogether – is uncertain.
With Fox in the fold, Paul’s return to San Antonio would likely involve a move to the bench. It is a role he has despised as recently as last season with the Warriors.
There are family concerns as well. Paul’s wife and two children still reside in Los Angeles, and he says it is getting more difficult to leave them for large swaths of the year.
The overriding question, as the NBA’s greatest active point guard contemplates his next move: Is love of the game enough to keep going?
Paul swears he does not yet have a firm answer.
“We gonna see,” he said.
But?
“What I do know is, I love this," Paul said. "I love the competitiveness. I love the interaction. I love just being on the bench talking to the guys about strategy, seeing their growth. Watching Steph (Castle) night in and night out. Seeing how he gets to spots that I’m not getting to anymore and seeing how he’s developed as a passer and a leader. That’s what’s really fun.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News