By Jared Weiss | The Athletic, 2025-11-17 11:32:22
由生成式 AI 翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
圣安东尼奥电 — 德阿龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 不想再当那个独一无二的核心了。
在他人生的大部分时间里，这都是他的角色。他曾是那道充满活力的闪电，引领着球队强大的进攻火力；他曾是防守端的“牛皮糖”，能以一己之力发动快攻；他曾是年度关键球员，总是在最后时刻终结比赛的那个人。
但如今，他的职业生涯和人生都进入了一个不同阶段。现在，他想成为另一位伟大的球员，而不是球队的门面。
福克斯在这个休赛期签下了一份顶薪续约合同，巩固了自己在这支圣安东尼奥马刺队中老将领袖的地位。但他并不活在幻想中，他清楚地知道，这是属于维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 的球队。
这本可能让他感到不适，或让他急于证明自己才配得上聚光灯。但整个赛季以来，福克斯传递的信息始终如一：他来这里是为了辅佐文班亚马。他是“副手”，并以此为傲。
当被问及为何在赛季初的几周就想传递这一信息时，他睁大了眼睛。
“我的意思是，他可是文班亚马啊，”福克斯说。“我们都看到了他所拥有的天赋，也知道他有潜力成为最伟大的球员之一。但在他努力达到那个高度的过程中，你不可能独自一人走完这段路。”
“我认为所有伟大的球员都曾与其他伟大的球员并肩作战。”
这正是福克斯融入马刺队宏伟蓝图（字面意义上的“宏伟”）的关键所在。文班亚马经常将马刺队比作一幅拼图。虽然他是其中最大的一块，但福克斯也紧随其后。
福克斯面临的挑战在于，如何在扮演好“二当家”角色的同时，仍然保持自我。他极具侵略性，从不畏惧投出最关键的球。周五晚上对阵金州勇士队时，他投失了最后一球，导致球队惜败。但在周日晚上对阵他的前东家萨克拉门托国王队时，他又命中数记关键球，在文班亚马因小腿紧张缺阵的情况下，带领圣安东尼奥以123-110取胜。
那么，福克斯该如何既扮演好他一贯的关键球大师角色，又为文班亚马的崛起铺平道路呢？
毕竟，在本赛季初福克斯缺阵时，马刺队也打得不错。上赛季的最佳新秀斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 正展现着他的进步。文班亚马则整晚忙于应对双人包夹，已然成为球队的进攻枢纽。迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 也迅速证明了为何他会是球队未来的主控。福克斯必须证明，在不阻碍年轻队友发展的前提下，他是这支球队实现目标不可或缺的一员。这是一项艰难的平衡之术。
不过到目前为止，福克斯一直笑容满面。自从休赛期腿筋拉伤复出以来，这种全身心的投入帮助他无缝融入了这支战绩9胜4负的马刺队，尽管他仍在摸索如何适应这个初具雏形的进攻体系。胜利的感觉远比大权独揽要美妙得多。
“他想留在这里的投入度和决心是显而易见的。我们很清楚，球队已经有了自己的门面人物，而（福克斯）对此安之若素，他身边的每个人也是如此，”马刺队教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 说道。“我认为，德阿龙在加入我们之前曾是他所在球队的门面之一，但他真心想来到这里并展现出这种渴望，这有助于为其他所有人定下基调。因为他有过类似的经历，也曾是球队的顶薪球员和团队领袖。”
“所以，当你的核心球员拥有这种心态时，这真的给了我更大的底气去严格执教他们，并让他们承担起责任。”
周日对阵老东家时，福克斯短暂地重温了单枪匹马的感觉。下半场开始时，马刺进攻端的另外三位核心都不在场——文班亚马赛前临时缺阵，哈珀因同样的小腿拉伤将缺席一段时间，而卡斯尔则因臀部问题在半场时离场。就像他身穿国王队球衣时那样，福克斯手握进攻大权并接管了比赛，砍下全场最高的28分和11次助攻。
国王队曾将他作为建队核心控卫选中。他们一直支持他，甚至为了得到多曼塔斯·萨博尼斯 (Domantas Sabonis) 而交易了泰瑞斯·哈利伯顿 (Tyrese Haliburton)。他们相信福克斯是能够带领球队前进的人。
但他们也始终无法长期留住一位教练，也无法给球队带来夺冠的希望。最终，他们放弃了福克斯。
“有时候，当你的选择更少时，反而能让你从决策中解脱出来，”约翰逊说。“你需要照顾好那个大个子（文班亚马），斯蒂芬（卡斯尔）在场时也一样，所以（福克斯）今晚或许可以打得更有侵略性一些，不必那么‘客气’。”
福克斯很擅长打得“客气”。他在采访中总是将赞美归于队友，几乎不展露任何自负。他那自信中更锐利的一面，更多是在享受比赛乐趣时显露，而非全神贯注之时。
在当前的环境下，享受乐趣是件容易的事，因为马刺队正处在一个成功的赛季开局，乘着一股良好氛围的浪潮。球队前进道路上的颠簸都已平稳度过。他们的四场失利中有三场都激战到了最后一分钟。他们的净效率值在全联盟排名第六。
情况已经改变。福克斯现在是文班亚马身边的首发控卫，而后者正是像他这样的球员梦寐以求的内线搭档。马刺队给予了福克斯充分的信任，让他以一种特殊的方式来领导球队——为文班亚马扫清前路，让后者能紧随其后，并最终接管联盟。
福克斯已经独自走过了那段路。他剩下唯一需要证明自己的，就是在五月和六月的季后赛舞台上。他深知，自己需要成为那位最伟大球员身边的另一位伟大球员。他口头上已经做到了。
现在，他必须用行动来证明这一点。
点击查看原文：How De'Aaron Fox is embracing being Victor Wembanyama's sidekick
How De’Aaron Fox is embracing being Victor Wembanyama’s sidekick
SAN ANTONIO — De’Aaron Fox doesn’t want to be the guy anymore.
Most of his life, that was his role. He was the dynamic lightning bolt who spearheaded powerful offenses. He was a defensive pest who could be a one-man fast break. He was the Clutch Player of the Year, the guy who closed games out every time.
But he’s in a different phase of his career and his life. Now, he wants to be the other great player, not the face of the franchise.
Fox signed a maximum contract extension this offseason, cementing himself as the big dog among the vets on this San Antonio Spurs team. But he’s not delusional. He knows this is Victor Wembanyama’s team.
That could have made him uncomfortable or made him want to prove he deserves the spotlight. But Fox’s message all season has been consistent: He is here to support Wembanyama. He’s the sidekick, and he’s proud of it.
When asked why he wanted to send that message in his first few weeks of the season, his eyes grew wide.
“I mean, that’s Vic,” Fox said. “We see the talent that he has, and we know that he could be one of the greatest players. But as he’s trying to get there, you don’t go through that on your own.
“I think all great players have played with other great players.”
That’s the key to Fox’s fit in the Spurs’ (literal) big picture. Wembanyama has often referred to the Spurs as a puzzle. While he’s the largest piece in there, Fox is not far behind.
The challenge is for Fox to figure out how to be the sidekick while still being himself. He’s aggressive, not afraid to take the biggest shots. He missed the last one against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night to seal a defeat. He hit several key ones Sunday night against the Sacramento Kings, his former team, to lead San Antonio to a 123-110 win while Wembanyama sat out with calf tightness.
So how does Fox play like the clutch maestro he has been while still facilitating Wembanyama’s ascent?
After all, the Spurs were just fine with Fox sidelined to start this season. Stephon Castle was demonstrating his step forward after winning last season’s Rookie of the Year. Wembanyama was busy taking on double teams all night long, becoming the offensive hub. Dylan Harper quickly showed why he’s the point guard of the future. Fox has to prove he’s mandatory for this team to get where it wants without getting in the way of his younger teammates’ development. That’s a tough balancing act.
So far, though, Fox has been all smiles. That buy-in has helped him fit in cleanly with the 9-4 Spurs since returning from an offseason hamstring strain, even as he figures out how he fits in this nascent offense. Winning feels a lot more special than commandeering.
“The level of engagement and commitment to want to be here, it’s very clear we have the face of our franchise and (Fox is) comfortable with that and everyone around him is,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “I think for De’Aaron to be one of the faces of his franchise prior to joining our group and wanting to really be here and show that desire, it helps set the tone for everybody else. Because he has been someone who’s been in similar shoes, where he’s been the max guy and the big dog with his group.
“So it really empowers me (to) coach them hard and keep them accountable when you have some of the guys at the forefront with that type of mindset.”
Fox got a brief moment to remember what it was like to be all on his own Sunday against his former team. He came out for the second half without the other three ringleaders of the Spurs offense — Wembanyama was a late scratch, Harper is out for a while with his own calf strain and Castle left at halftime with a hip issue. Like so often when he wore a Kings jersey, Fox had the keys to the offense in his hand and took over, notching a game-high 28 points and 11 assists.
The Kings drafted him as their franchise point guard. They stuck with him, trading Tyrese Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis. They believed he was the guy to carry them.
But they also could never keep a coach in place for too long, nor could they provide much hope that a championship was in sight. And they moved on from him.
“Sometimes you can be freed of decision-making when you have less options to choose from,” Johnson said. “You got the big fella to (keep) happy, when Steph plays (as well), so (Fox) probably could be a little bit more aggressive tonight. Not have to play nice.”
Fox does well playing nice. He spins praise back to his teammates in interviews and exudes little ego. The sharper edges of his confidence reveal themselves more when he’s having fun than when he’s locking in.
It’s been easy to have fun in this environment, as the Spurs are riding a wave of good vibes early in a successful season. The team’s bumps in the road have come and gone smoothly. Three of their four losses came down to the final minute. They’re sixth in the NBA in net rating.
Things have changed. Fox is the starting point guard next to Wembanyama, the kind of center with whom players like him dream of sharing the floor. The Spurs have put a level of trust in Fox to lead in a way that clears the path for Wembanyama to trail behind and take over the league.
Fox has already walked his path alone. The only things he has left to prove come in May and June. He knows he needs to be a great player alongside the greatest player. He’s saying the right things.
Now he has to prove he can do it.
By Jared Weiss, via The Athletic