By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-10-20 14:44:53
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。
圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋凯尔登·约翰逊于2025年9月29日星期一，在圣安东尼奥举行的球队媒体日上接受记者采访。(美联社图片/Darren Abate)
周五晚上11点，凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 正有要事待办。
一小时前，马刺队刚以 133-104大胜印第安纳步行者队，以全胜战绩完美结束了季前赛。球队周六只安排了轻松的训练，之后将迎来一整天的休息。
约翰逊为他接下来的夜晚制定了宏伟的计划。具体来说，他得回家照看他的山羊。
“它们老是把头卡在栅栏里，”约翰逊摇着头说，“它们就像小孩子一样，一遍又一遍地做着同样的蠢事。”
我们不确定约翰逊是否意识到他这句话在动物学上的准确性——因为小山羊的英文正是“kids”（孩子）。
这位26岁的前锋住在一个距离圣安东尼奥以西45分钟车程的普通牧场里。大约三年前，在签下那份为期四年、价值8000万美元的续约合同后不久，他买下了这片土地。
约翰逊与他那诺亚方舟般的动物大家庭共享着这片空间，其中包括两匹马、四头迷你牛、十一只山羊、三条澳大利亚牧羊犬，以及数量在两到四只之间的鸡。
最后这个数字近几周一直在减少，这在家中引起了不小的忧虑。约翰逊每天结束时都要名副其实地“清点他的鸡”。
“浣熊一直在偷杀它们，”他说。
尽管家中偶尔会发生死亡事件，但这片小小的丘陵地带依然是约翰逊的香格里拉。
“无论在工作中发生什么，当我回到家，那里满是爱，”约翰逊说，“狗狗们不在乎你今天过得怎么样，马儿们也不在乎。它们只想被抚摸。”
等到周三，约翰逊的马儿们就得自己抚摸自己了。
它们的主人将在达拉斯开启他为马刺效力的第七个赛季，这也让约翰逊继续保持着队内效力时间最长球员的纪录。
这是一个他非常珍视的标签。
“我爱这座城市，”约翰逊说，“当我把‘圣安东尼奥’或‘马刺’穿在胸前时，这不仅仅是篮球。我感觉我代表着某种有意义的东西。”
这样一番话，如果从另一支球队的另一位球员口中说出，可能听起来像是虚伪的客套话。但约翰逊是认真的。
约翰逊初到圣安东尼奥时年仅19岁，是2019年选秀大会的第29顺位新秀。他甚至不是那年马刺队选中的最受期待的新人。
这一称号属于卢卡·萨马尼奇 (Luka Samanic)，这位身高6英尺10英寸的克罗地亚球员，球队在第19顺位就选中了他。萨马尼奇在马刺的两个赛季里出场36次，如今已淡出NBA。
而约翰逊已经出战了370场比赛，并且这个数字还在继续增加。他正一步一个脚印地，将自己的名字镌刻在马刺队史中最具“马刺精神”的球员名单上。
“我认为，对于这座城市而言，他比任何人都更能体现马刺精神。”前锋朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 说道。
2025年10月10日，星期五，在圣安东尼奥举行的一场NBA季前赛上半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋凯尔登·约翰逊（中）在犹他爵士队后卫基扬特·乔治（左）之前抢下篮板。(美联社图片/Darren Abate)
银黑军团的坚守者
在马刺队史的赛季坚守者方面，约翰逊距离蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 的19个赛季、托尼·帕克 (Tony Parker) 的18个赛季或马努·吉诺比利 (Manu Ginobili) 的16个赛季，还差一个维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 式的超长欧洲步。
然而，到本周三，约翰逊身披银黑战袍出战揭幕战的次数，将追平科怀·伦纳德 (Kawhi Leonard)、威利·安德森 (Willie Anderson) 和迈克·米切尔 (Mike Mitchell)。
如果没有意外，约翰逊应该能在感恩节前跻身队史出场次数榜的前20名。
“时间过得真快，”约翰逊说，“我仍然能清晰地记起我的新秀赛季，所以现在成为队里的老将之一感觉太疯狂了。”
约翰逊与圣安Tony奥之间的情缘已历经七年。
约翰逊内心是个小镇青年，他出生于弗吉尼亚州切斯特菲尔德，一个位于里士满南部、人口仅3500的乡村社区。他的高中第一年是在一小时车程外的南山镇度过的。
不久后，约翰逊转学到西弗吉尼亚州亨廷顿市的亨廷顿预科学校，随后又前往弗吉尼亚州的威尔逊之口，就读于奥克希尔学院——这所声名显赫的篮球名校，其众多杰出校友中包括凯文·杜兰特 (Kevin Durant)、卡梅隆·安东尼 (Carmelo Anthony)、杰里·斯塔克豪斯 (Jerry Stackhouse) 和拉简·隆多 (Rajon Rondo)。
值得一提的是，这些地方没有一个能被称为繁华的大都市。
当约翰逊在2018年进入肯塔基大学时，列克星敦对他来说简直就像洛杉矶一样。因此，当约翰逊准备在美国第七大城市开始他的职业生涯时，他已经做好了迎接文化冲击的准备。
“我那时对圣安东尼奥一无所知，”约翰逊说。
令约翰逊欣慰的是，他发现圣安东尼奥这座大城市在某些方面让他想起了童年时弗吉尼亚的小镇。
“这里的每个人在某种程度上都互相认识，”约翰逊说，“相同的是那种爱，那种对彼此的关怀，那种愿意多走一英里以确保每个人都安好的心意。这一切都是爱。”
在约翰逊职业生涯的这个阶段，很难想象这支马刺队没有他会是什么样子。
在过去的六年里，约翰逊一直是马刺训练馆里声音最洪亮的人。
他最大声，最有感染力，也最乐天。
在客场，约翰逊是球队更衣室和力量房的音乐总监，播放着从AC/DC到Brooks and Dunn，再到时下流行的嘻哈金曲等各种风格的音乐。
在球队年度银黑对抗赛结束后，球员们在霜降银行中心的球场上为新秀和二年级生举办了一场即兴卡拉OK大赛，约翰逊自然而然地成为了主持人。
“他就是那么真实，”前锋杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) 说，“他从不戴面具，他只是做自己。”
这一点也体现在约翰逊的时尚品味上。
在当今这个NBA时代，每位球员进入球馆都像是走奥斯卡红毯，而约翰逊却摒弃了路易威登，钟爱他那顶可靠的斯泰森牛仔帽。
“在篮球之外，他完全就是个牛仔，”尚帕尼说，“无论我们去哪里，他都打扮得像个牛仔。他是真材实料的。”
2025年10月6日，星期一，在霜降银行中心，圣安东尼奥马刺队的凯尔登·约翰逊（3号）在对阵广州龙狮队的季前赛揭幕战中寻找传球机会。
约翰逊并不是在角色扮演美剧《黄石》中的人物。
那顶似乎在他不上场时就永久固定在他头上的无处不在的黑色牛仔帽？
它不是在第五大道或罗迪欧大道上买的，而是在莱昂谷的Boot Barn（一家靴子专卖店）买的。
约翰逊到哪儿都戴着它，包括但不限于上赛季马刺队巴黎之行时在埃菲尔铁塔前的合影。
约翰逊自称是个彻头彻尾的“乡下小子”。
他到底有多“乡下”？
“我就是这么乡下，”约翰逊说，“我有20条牛仔裤，但我只穿其中两条。”
不知为何，这个笑点听起来却合情合理。
约翰逊的真实性也体现在篮球场上，他那富有感染力的热情让他成为了球迷的宠儿。
“当你上场比赛时，你永远不知道在任何一个晚上会影响到谁，所以你不能把任何事视为理所当然，”约翰逊说，“我觉得最超现实的时刻，是看到人们穿着我的球衣，或者孩子们尖叫着说他们想成为我这样的人。”
“我不知道在其他城市是什么样子，”约翰逊说，“但我觉得，能为这些球迷打球，我拥有了世界上最棒的工作。”
伟大的第七年
在球场上，约翰逊的职责在过去几年里发生了变化。
周三在达拉斯，他将以替补身份开启他的第七个赛季。这也解释了为什么他能成为马刺文化如此宝贵的火焰守护者。
在2020年至2023年的三个赛季里，约翰逊是雷打不动的首发球员，在此期间的207场比赛中仅替补出场过3次。
2022-23赛季，约翰逊首发63场，表现出色，以场均22分成为马刺队的得分王。
2023-24赛季中期，时任主教练格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 将约翰逊调至第二阵容，希望这位身高6英尺5英寸的前锋能以其不懈的活力为替补阵容注入得分火力。
自这一改变以来，约翰逊的数据可以理解地有所下降，尽管他在篮下的技术水平和技巧性无疑有所提升。
“在这里待了七年，我注意到的一件事是，你的付出终有回报，”约翰逊说，“如果你全心投入到这种文化中，你会收获很多。如果你不这样做，那会很艰难。这就是我与每个人分享的。它可能在表面上不那么吸引所有人，但他们为你制定了计划。我就是活生生的证明。”
2025年10月6日，星期一，在霜降银行中心，圣安东尼奥马刺队的维克托·文班亚马（1号）在凯尔登·约翰逊（3号）进球后向他表示祝贺。
约翰逊毫无怨言地牺牲个人数据的意愿，让他深受马刺教练组的喜爱。
“你看，一个在这个联盟里场均能得到22分的球员，这可不是闹着玩的，”教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 说，“他的角色演变了很多次，但他在投入度和对这里的热情方面从未动摇。我认为这比我能说的任何话都更有说服力。”
在马刺队季前赛收官战结束后，约翰逊回到更衣室，思考着将他带到今天这一步的漫长而奇特的旅程。
他效力的第一支马刺队拥有德玛尔·德罗赞 (DeMar DeRozan)、拉马库斯·阿尔德里奇 (LaMarcus Aldridge)、鲁迪·盖伊 (Rudy Gay)、德章泰·穆雷 (Dejounte Murray) 和德里克·怀特 (Derrick White) 等球员。他经历了随后那些毫无结果的赛季，在那些赛季里，他的角色越来越重要，而球队的胜场数却直线下降。
现在，约翰逊正亲历文班亚马时代的初期，并且——他希望——能见证马刺最终重返辉煌。
“这是我生命中最美好的七年，”约翰逊说，“这期间确实有起有落，但我不会用它来交换世界上的任何东西。”
约翰逊迄今为止的六个赛季，恰逢球队历史上最长的季后赛空窗期。他的目标是当这段干旱期结束时，他仍然在这里。
约翰逊说，无论未来十年发生什么，他都计划在退役后住在圣安东尼奥。他说，他与这座城市建立的纽带是牢不可破的。
“这里就是我的家，”约翰逊说，“无论未来命运如何，当一切尘埃落定时，我都会留在圣安东尼奥。”
说完这些话，约翰逊结束了今晚的采访。他终于要离开霜降银行中心了。
毕竟，这是周五。夜色尚浅，他还有重要的安排。
不到一个小时，约翰逊将驾车驶入他那片丘陵绿洲的前门。他早已知道，马儿们将是第一个迎接他回家的。
“它们知道我才是管饭的那个，”约翰逊说。
2025年10月6日，星期一，在霜降银行中心，圣安东尼奥马刺队的凯尔登·约翰逊（3号）在对阵广州龙狮队的季前赛揭幕战中与对方球员李翔博（12号）对抗。
点击查看原文：How 'country boy' Keldon Johnson became keeper of the Spurs' culture
How ‘country boy’ Keldon Johnson became keeper of the Spurs’ culture
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson speaks to reporters during the NBA basketball team’s media day in San Antonio, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
It is 11 o’clock on a Friday night, and Keldon Johnson has places to be.
The Spurs are an hour removed from polishing off an unbeaten preseason with a 133-104 victory over the Indiana Pacers. The team has scheduled only a light practice for Saturday, with a full day off to follow.
Johnson has big plans for the rest of his evening. Namely, he has to get home to check on his goats.
“They keep getting their head stuck in the fence,” Johnson said, shaking his own. “They’re just like kids, doing the same dumb stuff over and over.”
Whether Johnson realizes the zoological correctness of statement – baby goats are, in fact, kids – is not entirely clear.
The 26-year-old forward lives on a modest ranch 45 minutes west of San Antonio. He purchased the property about three years ago, not long after signing a four-year, $80-million contract extension.
Johnson shares the space with a Noah’s ark menagerie of animals that includes two horses, four miniature cows, 11 goats, three Australian shepherds and somewhere between two and four chickens.
That last number has been dwindling in recent weeks, a cause of much consternation at home. Johnson ends each day by literally counting his chickens.
“The raccoons keep killing them,” he said.
Despite the occasional death in the family, this little piece of Hill Country land is Johnson’s Shangri-La.
“Regardless of anything that happens here at work, when I go home it’s all love,” Johnson said. “The dogs don’t care about what kind of day you had. The horses don’t care. They just want to get pet.”
Come Wednesday, Johnson’s horses will have to pet themselves.
Their owner will be in Dallas to open his seventh season with the Spurs, perpetuating Johnson’s run as the longest tenured player on the team.
It is a label he does not take lightly.
“I love this city,” Johnson said. “When I put San Antonio across my chest or the Spurs across my chest, it’s more than just basketball. I feel like I’m representing something that means something.”
It is a sentiment that might sound like hokey lip service coming from another player on another team. Johnson means it.
Johnson was 19 when he first arrived in San Antonio, the 29th pick in the 2019 draft. He wasn’t even the most anticipated rookie the Spurs selected that year.
That designation belonged to Luka Samanic, the 6-foot-10 Croatian the team drafted 10 spots earlier. Samanic appeared in 36 games over two seasons with the Spurs and is now out of the NBA.
Johnson has played in 370 and counting, slowly but surely solidifying his place on the list of Spurs-iest Spurs who have ever Spurred.
“More than anybody,” forward Julian Champagnie said, “I think he embodies the Spurs to this city.”
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson, center, grabs the rebound ahead of Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George, left, during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Silver & Black stalwart
In terms of Spurs season-by-season stalwarts, Johnson is still a Victor Wembayama-length Eurostep away from Tim Duncan’s 19 seasons with the club, or Tony Parker’s 18 or Manu Ginobili’s 16.
By Wednesday, however, Johnson will have slipped into silver and black for as many opening nights as Kawhi Leonard, Willie Anderson and Mike Mitchell.
Barring something unforeseen, Johnson should crack the top 20 on the club’s all-time games-played list before Thanksgiving.
“Time flies,” Johnson said. “I can still vividly remember my rookie year, so being one of the older guys now is crazy.”
The love affair between Johnson and San Antonio has been seven years in the making.
A small-town kid at heart, Johnson was born in Chesterfield, Va., a rural bedroom community of 3,500 south of Richmond. He spent his freshman year of high school an hour away in the hamlet of South Hill.
Johnson soon relocated to Huntington Prep in Huntington, W. Va., then moved to Mouth of Wilson, Va., to attend Oak Hill Academy, the prestigious basketball factory that counts Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Jerry Stackhouse and Rajon Rondo among its myriad notable alumni.
It should be noted that none of those burgs would be considered bustling metropolises.
When Johnson matriculated to the University of Kentucky in 2018, Lexington might as well have been Los Angeles to him. As Johnson prepared to begin his professional career in the seventh-largest city in the United States, he braced for culture shock.
“I knew nothing about San Antonio,” Johnson said.
To Johnson’s relief, he found in San Antonio a big city that in ways reminded him of the small-town Virginia of his childhood.
“Everybody here knows everybody in certain ways,” Johnson said. “What is the same is the love, the caring for each other, the willingness to go the extra mile to make sure everyone is good. It’s all love.”
At this point in Johnson’s career, it would be difficult to envision this version of the Spurs without him.
For the past six years running, Johnson has been the loudest voice in the Spurs’ practice gym.
He has been the most boisterous. The most infectious. The happiest-go-luckiest.
On the road, Johnson is the maestro of the music playlist in the team’s locker and weight rooms, spinning anything from AC/DC to Brooks and Dunn to hip-hop hits of the day.
When players staged an impromptu karaoke contest featuring rookies and sophomores on the court at the Frost Bank Center following the team’s annual Silver & Black scrimmage, Johnson was a natural to emcee it.
“He is just authentic,” forward Jeremy Sochan said. “He doesn’t put a mask on. He is just himself.”
That goes for Johnson’s fashion sense as well.
In an NBA era in which each player’s entrance to every arena is given the Oscar night red-carpet treatment, Johnson eschews Louis Vuitton for his trusty Stetson.
“He’s a complete cowboy outside of (basketball),” Champagnie said. “Everywhere we go, he’s dressed as a cowboy. He’s the real deal.”
San Antonio Spurs Keldon Johnson (3) looks to pass in a Spurs preseason opener vs. Guangzhou Loong-Lions on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025 at Frost Bank Center.
Johnson isn’t just cosplaying a character from Yellowstone.
That omnipresent black cowboy hat that appears to be permanently fastened to Johnson’s head when he isn’t on the court?
It was not purchased on Fifth Avenue or Rodeo Drive, but at Boot Barn in Leon Valley.
Johnson wears the thing everywhere, including but not limited to the team photo in front of the Eiffel Tower during the Spurs’ trip to Paris last season.
Johnson is a self-described “country boy” through and through.
How country is he?
“This is how country I am,” Johnson said. “I own 20 pairs of jeans. And I only wear two pairs of jeans.”
Somehow, that punchline makes perfect sense.
Johnson’s authenticity translates to the basketball court, where his communicable enthusiasm has transformed him into a fan favorite.
“As you go out there and play, you may never know who you affect on any night, so you can’t take anything for granted,” Johnson said. “I feel like the most surreal moments are seeing people wear my jersey or kids screaming, saying they want to be like me.
“I don’t know how it is in other cities,” Johnson said. “But I feel like I’ve got the best job in the world being able to play for these fans.”
The magnificent seven
On the court, Johnson’s job description has changed over the years.
Wednesday in Dallas, he will open his seventh season coming off the bench. This too helps explain why he has become such an invaluable flame-keeper of the Spurs’ culture.
For three seasons between 2020 and 2023, Johnson was an every-night starter, coming off the bench only three times in 207 games during that span.
In 2022-23, Johnson started 63 games and was good enough at it to lead the Spurs in scoring at 22 points per outing.
Midway through the 2023-24 campaign, then-coach Gregg Popovich shifted Johnson to the second unit, hoping the 6-5 forward’s relentless energy could bring a scoring spark to the reserve group.
Johnson’s statistics have understandably decreased since the change, even as his skill level and craftiness around the basket has undeniably gone up.
“Being here seven years, one thing I’ve noticed is you get what you put into it,” Johnson said. “If you buy into this culture, you will get a lot out of it. If you don’t, it’s hard. That’s what I share with everybody. It may not be aesthetically pleasing to everybody, but they have a plan for you. I’m living testament to that.”
San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama (1) congratulates San Antonio Spurs Keldon Johnson (3) after a basket in Spurs preseason opener vs. Guangzhou Loong-Lions on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025 at Frost Bank Center.
Johnson’s willingness to sacrifice personal numbers without complaint has endeared him to the Spurs’ coaching staff.
“You see a guy that averaged 22 points a game in this league, that’s nothing to sneeze at,” coach Mitch Johnson said. “His role has evolved numerous times, and he has never wavered in terms of his commitment and enthusiasm to be here. I think that speaks more than anything I can say.”
Back in the locker room after the Spurs’ preseason finale, Johnson is contemplating the long, strange trip that has led him to this point.
His first Spurs team included the likes of DeMar DeRozan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay, Dejounte Murray and Derrick White. He lived through the fruitless seasons to follow, in which his role increased as the team’s win totals took a nosedive.
Now Johnson is here for the early stages of the Wembanyama era and – he hopes – the Spurs’ eventual return to glory.
“It’s been the best seven years of my life,” Johnson said. “It’s definitely had its ups and downs, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”
Johnson’s six seasons to date have coincided with the longest playoff hiatus the franchise has ever known. His goal is to still be here when that drought ends.
No matter what happens over the next decade, Johnson says he plans to live in San Antonio after retirement. The bond he has forged with the city, he says, is unbreakable.
“This is home for me,” Johnson said. “Where ever the dice roll or the cards play, when it’s said and done, I’ll be here in San Antonio.”
With those words, Johnson is done for the night. It is time for him to at last leave the Frost Bank Center.
After all, it is Friday. The night is young. He has big plans ahead.
In less than an hour, Johnson will drive through the front gate of his Hill Country oasis. He already knows the horses will be the first to welcome him home.
“They know I’m the food guy,” Johnson said.
San Antonio Spurs Keldon Johnson (3) battles Li Xiangbo (12) of the Guangzhou Loong-Lions in a Spurs preseason opener vs. Guangzhou Loong-Lions on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025 at Frost Bank Center.
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News