By Mike Finger | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-11-08 15:43:30
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。
在2025年11月7日圣安东尼奥举行的一场NBA比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) (1号) 在下半场与后卫德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) (24号) 庆祝一次精彩表现。圣安东尼奥最终以121-110击败休斯顿火箭队。
可怜的阿尔奇·曼宁 (Arch Manning) 这次可是毫无机会。
顺便说一句，这并非对他有任何不敬。当这位年度最受瞩目的大学橄榄球运动员于周五深夜在马刺队霜冻银行中心更衣室外的走廊驻足，参与一次注定会引爆搜索引擎的合影时，维克托·文班亚马的态度可谓再谦逊不过了。
但对于一个在法国长大的孩子来说，美国橄榄球界的“四分卫皇族”这一概念，其共鸣程度大概就和丹麦王室差不多。因此，当晚文班亚马被介绍给两位来自奥斯汀的知名人士时，真正让他喜笑颜开的并非那位头发浓密的大学生，这一点也毫不出人意料。
毕竟，在令人敬畏的名人光环方面，东南联盟传球榜第七位的球员又怎能与那位曾被称为“世界最强壮男人”的家伙相提并论呢？
“我从小就知道马克·亨利 (Mark Henry)，但已经有一段时间没听到他的名字了，”文班亚马说。“当我听说他在这里时，我非常兴奋。”
现年54岁的亨利，这位从奥运会举重选手转型为职业摔角手，同时也是德克萨斯大学体育项目的长期支持者，显然无论是在文班亚马观看电视的青少年时期，还是在周五的那个晚上，都给他留下了极为深刻的印象。
当有人开玩笑说，至今仍保持着世界无禁药举重联合会935磅深蹲纪录的亨利，或许能给这位身高7英尺4英寸、双腿修长的马刺中锋一些力量房训练的建议时，情况又如何呢？
“事实上，”文班亚马说，“他确实给了。”
问题在于，亨利或许真的说到点子上了。尽管文班亚马在因血栓诊断而休战八个月后重返NBA赛场的表现令人印象深刻，但过去一周的情况表明，他的比赛中仍然存在一个弱点。
而目前来看，这个弱点恰恰在于——力量。
公平地说，这在某种程度上是刻意为之。那些自文班亚马年少时就与他共事的人始终强调，保持他的柔韧性和灵活性，远比雕刻出德怀特·霍华德 (Dwight Howard) 那样肌肉虬结的体格重要得多，而马刺队也基本认同这一点。
NBA历史上，饱受脚部和腿部伤病困扰的七尺长人不胜枚举，因此让文班亚马保持脚步轻盈以延长其职业生涯的想法并非天方夜谭。
但即便在经历了一个夏天的艰苦训练——据他本人所说，这些训练旨在发展其核心力量——之后，针对文班亚马的球探报告中的一个重要部分依然没有改变。
对手们仍在试图用身体对抗将他挤出自己的攻击位置，即便是像湖人队的马库斯·斯马特 (Marcus Smart) 和道尔顿·克内克特 (Dalton Knecht)，以及火箭队的约什·奥科吉 (Josh Okogie) 和里德·谢泼德 (Reed Sheppard) 这样的身材偏小的防守者也不例外。
是的，这些球员身后通常都有队友协防。是的，击败这些防守并不总是像文班亚马用力量碾压小个子球员那么简单。而且，是的，他在那些情况下也常常能做出正确的传球选择。
但正如休斯顿主教练伊梅·乌度卡 (Ime Udoka) 周五所指出的，文班亚马正面临着其他高瘦型得分手曾经经受过的同样待遇，而NBA可不是一个以仁慈著称的联盟。
“凯文·杜兰特 (Kevin Durant) 早期也面临同样的处境，”乌度卡说。“在你练出足够的力量之前，所有人要做的第一件事就是用身体来对付你。”
面对奥科吉、谢泼德和火箭队，文班亚马找到了解决办法。在经历了上半场仅得4分的又一次慢热开局后，他在最终以121-110取胜的比赛末段展现出了更强的决断力和侵略性。
正如马刺教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 所指出的，文班亚马在下半场的反弹并非“什么顿悟之类的”。按照约翰逊的解释，文班亚马只是“顺应场上局势的变化”并做出了明智的决策。
但杜兰特——文班亚马的儿时偶像，也是这位法国天才的球技和态度的公开赞赏者——可以从自身经验出发，谈论当对手用强硬的身体对抗不断冲击你时，聪明的打法作用是多么有限。
当然，杜兰特从未试图模仿霍华德或扬尼斯·阿德托昆博 (Giannis Antetokounmpo) 的健身习惯。他至今仍被称为“死神”是有原因的。然而，他的职业生涯确实达到了一个转折点，那时他清楚地意识到，自己不能再任人欺凌了。
所以，这或许是文班亚马周五晚上能与一位长角牛队成员（指德州大学校友）感受到的共鸣之一。如果说他与曼宁有什么共同点，那大概就是Z世代网络名声所带来的无处不在的关注了。
但他已经和杜兰特见过很多次了，而一个大学四分卫暂时还没什么可以教给他的。
因此，如果文班亚马在周五晚上选择只从一位奥斯汀名人的话语中汲取灵感呢？
曼宁不该因为那个人是亨利而感到被冷落。而如果那些力量房的建议真的开始奏效，马刺队也同样应该为此感到高兴。
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) puts up a finger roll during the second half of an NBA game with the Houston Rockets in San Antonio, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. San Antonio beat Houston 121-110.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) fights for a rebound with Houston Rockets center Steven Adams (12) and forward Tari Eason (17) during the second half of an NBA game in San Antonio, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. San Antonio beat Houston 121-110.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) fights for a loose ball with Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) during the first half of an NBA game in San Antonio, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. San Antonio beat Houston 121-110.
San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson talks to forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half of an NBA game with the Houston Rockets in San Antonio, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. San Antonio beat Houstoh 121-110.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) takes the floor during player introduction prior to the start of an NBA game with the Houston Rockets in San Antonio, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.
点击查看原文：Wembanyama take inspiration from 'world's strongest man WWE Mark Henry
Wembanyama take inspiration from 'world’s strongest man WWE Mark Henry
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates a play with guard Devin Vassell (24) during the second half of an NBA game with the Houston Rockets in San Antonio, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. San Antonio beat Houston 121-110.
Poor Arch Manning didn’t have a chance.
This is no knock on him, by the way. When the most scrutinized college football player of the year stopped by the hallway outside the Spurs’ Frost Bank Center locker room late Friday night for a photo opportunity destined for search-engine optimization, Victor Wembanyama couldn’t have been more gracious.
But to a kid who grew up in France, the concept of American quarterback royalty resonates about as deeply as, say, the monarchy of Denmark does. So it should have come as no surprise that on the night Wembanyama was introduced to two notable residents of Austin, it was not the bushy-haired college student who had him beaming.
After all, in terms of awe-inspiring celebrity, how can the Southeastern Conference’s seventh-leading passer compete with the guy once known as the "world’s strongest man?”
“I’ve known (of) Mark Henry since I was a kid, but I hadn’t heard his name in a while,” Wembanyama said. “When I heard he was here, I was excited.”
Henry, the 54-year-old Olympic powerlifter-turned-professional wrestler who’s been a longtime supporter of University of Texas athletics, apparently made quite an impression on Wembanyama, both during his TV-watching youth and on Friday night.
And when someone joked that Henry – who still holds a World Drug-Free Powerlifting Federation record with a 935-pound squat – might have some weight-room tips for the spindle-legged 7-foot-4 Spurs’ center?
“Actually,” Wembanyama said, “he does.”
The thing is, Henry might be onto something. As impressive as Wembanyama’s return to NBA action has been after an eight-month layoff precipitated by a blood-clot diagnosis, the past week has shown there’s still a weak spot in his game.
And for now, that weak spot is all about, well, strength.
To be fair, part of this is by design. Those who’ve worked with Wembanyama since his youth always have stressed that maintaining his flexibility and dexterity is far more important than sculpting a bulging Dwight Howard-esque physique, and the Spurs generally agree.
There’s a long NBA history of 7-footers plagued by foot and lower-leg injuries, and the idea that keeping Wembanyama light on his toes might extend his career isn’t a crazy one.
But even after spending a summer putting himself through grueling workouts that he said were designed to develop his core strength, a big part of the scouting book on Wembanyama hasn’t changed.
Opponents are still trying to bully him off his spots, even with undersized defenders like the Lakers’ Marcus Smart and Dalton Knecht and the Rockets’ Josh Okogie and Reed Sheppard.
Yes, those guys usually have help waiting behind them. Yes, beating those defenses isn’t always as simple as Wembanyama outmuscling smaller players. And yes, he often chooses the right pass in those situations.
But as Houston coach Ime Udoka noted Friday, Wembanyama is dealing with the same treatment other tall, skinny scorers have endured, and the NBA isn’t a league known for its mercy.
“Kevin (Durant) was in the same boat early,” Udoka said. “Until you get that strength, the first thing that everybody’s going to try to do is be physical with you.”
Against Okogie, Sheppard and the Rockets, Wembanyama figured out a solution. After being limited to four points in the first half – his third slow start in a row – he showed much more decisiveness and aggression down the stretch of a 121-110 victory.
As Spurs coach Mitch Johnson noted, Wembanyama’s second-half bounce back wasn’t “some epiphany or anything.” The way Johnson explained it, Wembanyama simply “allowed the reads to unfold” and made the smart plays.
But Durant, a childhood idol of Wembanyama’s who’s been an outspoken admirer of the Frenchman’s talent and approach, can speak from experience about how a cerebral approach goes only so far when big dudes are beating the heck out of you.
Durant, to be sure, never tried to emulate the body-building habits of Howard or Giannis Antetokounmpo. There’s a reason he’s still known as the “Slim Reaper.” He did, however, reach a point in his career when it became clear he couldn’t be bullied anymore.
So that’s one connection Wembanyama might have felt to a Longhorn on Friday. If he shared one with Manning, it probably was regarding the omnipresent glare of Gen-Z internet fame.
But he’d met Durant plenty of times already, and a college quarterback doesn’t have much to teach him yet.
So if Wembanyama chose to be inspired by words from only one Austin celebrity on Friday night?
Manning shouldn’t feel slighted that it was Henry. And if those weight-room tips really do start to pay off, the Spurs should be happy about it, too.
By Mike Finger, via San Antonio Express-News