By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-11-17 12:27:24
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。
圣安东尼奥马刺队中锋卢克·科内特 (7号) 在NBA常规赛上半场与萨克拉门托国王队的后卫德阿龙·福克斯 (4号) 击掌。比赛于2025年11月16日，周日，在圣安东尼奥举行。圣安东尼奥最终以123-110击败萨克拉门托。
2022年1月，卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 独自坐在缅因州波特兰市的一间酒店房间里，自怨自艾。
此前，他在去年10月的训练营被波士顿凯尔特人队裁掉后，刚刚在NBA与克利夫兰骑士队和密尔沃基雄鹿队连续签下了两份10天短合同。
如今，他又回到了缅因凯尔特人队，回到了G联盟，一切仿佛重回原点。他的篮球生涯似乎毫无起色，这种挫败感正不断啃噬着他，让他难以招架。
“那感觉就像是最后的机会了，”科内特回忆道。
在那一刻，这位未来的马刺队中锋甚至想过要彻底放弃自己的篮球梦。年仅26岁的他，感觉自己已经江郎才尽。
当顿悟降临时，它就像史蒂文·亚当斯 (Steven Adams) 的一记盲侧掩护，猛然撞向科内特：他意识到，自己打球的初衷跑偏了。
“一个重要的视角转变是，我突然意识到，如果你在G联盟打球都感受不到快乐，那么你在NBA也同样不会快乐，”现年30岁的科内特说道。
简而言之，科内特终于明白，快乐应该源于比赛本身，而非比赛能带他去往何方。
可以毫不夸张地说，这一观念的转变彻底改变了科内特的人生轨迹。
“我只是重新审视自己，‘我该如何为球队服务？我的定位在哪里？’”科内特说，“然后就顺其自然，让答案引领你前行。”
如今，从波士顿到圣安东尼奥的球迷们都应该庆幸，科内特重新找回了他的篮球禅境。
他在缅因州待了仅一个多月，便重返波士顿，打完了2021-22赛季的剩余比赛。
身高7英尺1英寸的科内特随后又为凯尔特人队效力了三个赛季，并成长为球队2024年夺得NBA总冠军征程中的关键一员。去年夏天，他与马刺队签下了一份为期四年、价值4100万美元的自由球员合同。
马刺队引进科内特的部分原因，就是为了避免在像周日这样的日子里出现实力下滑——当时，球队的明星中锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 因小腿受伤而缺阵。
球队宣布，周一进行的核磁共振检查显示，文班亚马左小腿拉伤，这位全明星球员在可预见的未来里都将高挂免战牌。
这一消息使得马刺队在七月份签下科内特的决定显得愈发重要。
“他契合我们的篮球风格，”主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 表示，“（没有文班亚马时）场面可能看起来有些不同，但我们不必因此改变我们的打法。”
上赛季最后两个月，当身高7英尺4英寸的文班亚马因血栓问题缺席时，约翰逊在填补中锋位置上并没有太多可靠的选择。
当时，马刺队严重依赖身高6英尺8英寸的老将俾斯麦·比永博 (Bismack Biyombo) 来承担大部分内线球员的上场时间，而身高6英尺8英寸的杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) 则在某些阵容中更多地客串小球中锋。
进入2025年休赛期，马刺队总经理布莱恩·莱特 (Brian Wright) 和他的管理团队明确将为文班亚马寻找“备胎”作为首要目标。
科内特是其中最重要的一笔引援，但莱特随后又加码操作，通过一笔交易将四年级后卫马拉凯·布兰纳姆 (Malaki Branham) 和布雷克·韦斯利 (Blake Wesley) 送到华盛顿奇才队，换来了身高6英尺11英寸的资深中锋凯利·奥利尼克 (Kelly Olynyk)。
“我认为我们今年的阵容足以应对人员的波动，”约翰逊说，“显然，维克托是一块非常重要的拼图，并非所有球员都能等量齐观。当他缺阵时，我们必须继续设法应对。”
在周日马刺本赛季首场文班亚马缺阵的比赛中，科内特和奥利尼克都发挥了重要作用，帮助球队以123-110战胜了国王队。
由于文班亚马将缺席周二主场对阵孟菲斯灰熊队的比赛，并且未来几周的出战状态也不明朗，马刺队可能需要再次重用这对内线组合。
在对阵萨克拉门托的比赛中，顶替文班亚马首发的科内特贡献了13分、11个篮板和2次盖帽，拿下了他加盟马刺队以来的第二次两双。
他全场投篮5投5中，这是他过去四场比赛中第三次做到弹无虚发。
“这得益于我多年的比赛经验，以及对自己如何融入体系的清晰认知，”正迎来个人第九个NBA赛季的科内特说道，“我的比赛风格一直都是努力让场上每个人的比赛变得更轻松。”
圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋凯利·奥利尼克 (8号) 在NBA常规赛下半场与裁判格迪米纳斯·佩特莱蒂斯 (50号) 交谈。比赛于2025年11月16日，周日，在圣安东尼奥举行。圣安东尼奥最终以123-110击败萨克拉门托。
周日的比赛仅仅是34岁的奥利尼克本赛季的第四次出场，他替补登场18分钟，贡献了5分和8次助攻。
当奥利尼克得知自己被交易到马刺队时，他正安顿在犹他州的家中，与妻子杰基一同等待他们第一个孩子的降生。
奥利尼克上赛季始于多伦多猛龙队，结束于新奥尔良鹈鹕队。今年七月，在一笔将C.J. 麦科勒姆 (C.J. McCollum) 从新奥尔良送往首都华盛顿的三方交易中，他又被鹈鹕队交易到了奇才队。
那笔交易发生三天后，马刺队便将奥利尼克从奇才队“解救”了出来。
“我当时欣喜若狂，”奥利尼克说，“（马刺）是一支一流的球队，他们懂得如何取胜。而且，他们拥有一群天赋异禀、渴望建功立业的年轻才俊。”
毫无疑问，马刺队在周日的比赛中确实想念文班亚马。在他养伤的未来几周里，球队将继续感受到他的缺席。
但多亏了休赛期引进的两位高塔，他们感受到这位明星缺阵的影响就没那么强烈了。
“我们的阵容深度极佳，”后卫德阿龙·福克斯说，“我们有一群球员，他们都完全接受了分配给他们的任何角色。只要大家都能接受自己的定位，我认为我们上场时就总能为自己创造赢球的机会。”
对于科内特而言，他的NBA生涯之路，始于近四年前缅因州的那间酒店房间。
它始于他的内心。
“事情其实很简单，我的工作就是上场拼尽全力，然后一次又一次地坦然接受结果，”科内特说，“如果你能做到这一点，那么无论最终结局如何，你都能保持内心的平和。”
San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet (7) pulls down an offensive rebounds between Sacramento Kings’ center Domantas Sabonis (11) and guard DeMar DeRozan (10) during the first half of an NBA game in San Antonio, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. San Antonio beat Sacramento 123-110.
San Antonio Spurs forward Kelly Olynyk (8) drives to the basket on Sacramento Kings’ forward Drew Eubanks (19) during the first half of an NBA game in San Antonio, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. San Antonio beat Sacramento 123-110.
点击查看原文：How a self pep talk kept Luke Kornet from quitting basketball
How a self pep talk kept Luke Kornet from quitting basketball
San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet (7) slaps hands with guard De’Aaron Fox (4) during the first half of an NBA game with the Sacramento Kings in San Antonio, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. San Antonio beat Sacramento 123-110.
In January 2022, Luke Kornet was sitting in a hotel room in Portland, Maine, feeling sorry for himself.
He had just completed back-to-back 10-day contracts in the NBA with Cleveland and Milwaukee, having been waived by Boston in training camp the previous October.
Now he was back with the Maine Celtics, back in the G League, back at square one, and fighting a losing battle with the gnawing feeling his basketball career was headed nowhere.
“It felt like a last chance,” Kornet said.
For a moment, the future Spurs center thought about giving up the dream entirely. He felt washed up at age 26.
When the epiphany hit Kornet, it came like a blindside screen from Steven Adams: He was playing basketball for the wrong reasons.
“A big perspective was just realizing if you’re not enjoying your time in the G League, you’ll not enjoy it in the NBA,” said Kornet, now 30.
In short, Kornet came to realize joy should be found in the game itself, and not in where the game could take him.
It is fair to say that change in perspective changed the trajectory of Kornet’s life.
“It was just recommitting to, ‘How do I serve and where do I fit in?’ ” Kornet said. “And just letting that take you wherever you go.”
Today, fans from Boston to San Antonio can be grateful Kornet rediscovered his basketball Zen.
He was in Maine for a little more than a month before returning to Boston for the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign.
The 7-foot-1 Kornet played three more seasons with the Celtics, emerging as a key contributor to the club’s 2024 NBA championship run, before signing a four-year, $41-million free agent deal with the Spurs last summer.
The Spurs brought in Kornet in part to avoid a drop-off on days like Sunday, when star center Victor Wembanyama was inactive against Sacramento with a calf injury.
An MRI conducted Monday showed Wembanyama has a left calf strain, the team announced, which will leave the All-Star on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.
That news made July’s signing of Kornet all the more important.
“He fits our brand of basketball,” coach Mitch Johnson said. “It may look a little different (without Wembanyama), but we don’t have to alter our style of play.”
When the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama missed the final two months of last season with a blood clot issue, Johnson did not have many viable options to fill-in.
The Spurs relied heavily on 6-8 veteran Bismack Biyombo to eat up most of the big man minutes, with 6-8 Jeremy Sochan spending more time as a small-ball center in certain lineups.
Heading into the 2025 offseason, Spurs general manager Brian Wright and his front-office team set out with the express purpose of acquiring Wemby insurance.
Kornet was the biggest addition, but Wright doubled down with a trade that sent fourth-year guards Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley to Washington for 6-foot-11 veteran center Kelly Olynyk.
“I think our group is equipped to navigate roster volatility this year,” Johnson said. “Obviously Victor is a very big puzzle piece. They’re not all created equal. We’ll have to continue to navigate that at times when he’s out.”
Both Kornet and Olynyk were significant in the Spurs’ first Wembanyama-less game of the season Sunday, contributing to a 123-110 victory over the Kings.
With Wembanyama out Tuesday’s home game against Memphis and uncertain for the next couple of weeks, the Spurs might lean heavily on that pair again.
Starting in place of Wembanyama against Sacramento, Kornet delivered his second double-double as a Spur with 13 points, 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks.
He went 5-of-5 from the floor, making all of his attempts for the third time in the past four games.
“It is just the product of being able to play for quite a few years and just kind of awareness of how you fit into things,” said Kornet, who is in his ninth NBA campaign. “My game’s always just kind of been trying to help make the game easier for everyone.”
San Antonio Spurs forward Kelly Olynyk (8) talks with referee Gediminas Petraitis (50) during the second half of an NBA game with the Sacramento Kings in San Antonio, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. San Antonio beat Sacramento 123-110.
In only his fourth appearance of the season Sunday, the 34-year-old Olynyk managed 18 minutes off the bench, totaling five points and eight assists.
At the time Olynyk learned he had been dealt to the Spurs, he was ensconced at his home in Utah, where he and his wife Jackie were expecting the birth of their first child.
Olynyk began last season in Toronto, finished it in New Orleans, and in July he was traded from the Pelicans to Washington as part of the three-team deal that sent C.J. McCollum from the Big Easy to the nation’s capital.
Three days after that trade, the Spurs rescued Olynyk from the Wizards.
“I was ecstatic,” Olynyk said. “(The Spurs are) a first-class organization that know what it takes to win. And then they’ve got a great group of young guys who have a ton of talent and are looking to build something.”
Make no mistake. The Spurs certainly missed Wembanyama on Sunday. They will continue to miss him over the next few weeks as he heals.
Thanks to a couple of tall offseason additions, they felt their star’s absence a little less acutely.
“We have an extremely deep roster,” guard De’Aaron Fox said. “We have a group of guys who have all bought into whatever their role may be. As long as guys have accepted that role, I think we come out and we give ourselves a chance to win.”
For Kornet, the path to an NBA career began in that hotel room in Maine nearly four years ago.
It began inside himself.
“There’s just the simplicity of knowing all my job is, is to go out there and give the best I can and just kind of living with that result over and over again,” Kornet said. “If you do that, you can have peace with however it ends up.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News