By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-12-13 11:59:47
2025年12月3日，周三，佛罗里达州奥兰多，圣安东尼奥马刺队主教练米奇·约翰逊在对阵奥兰多魔术队的NBA篮球比赛上半场指导球员。(美联社照片/约翰·劳克斯)
拉斯维加斯——马刺队主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 称，周六参加备受瞩目的NBA杯半决赛对他这支年轻的球队来说是一次“很好的经历”。
他表示，至于在上周三击败洛杉矶湖人队后，得以与NBA卫冕冠军俄克拉荷马城雷霆队交手，那更是一件好事。
“是的，很显然，这种竞争……赛季初你并不知道这两场比赛的对手会是谁……结果你能在洛杉矶对阵湖人，又能在拉斯维加斯迎战雷霆，这些突如其来的、高水平且充满未知数的激烈对决……都是宝贵的经验。”
“我认为，所有其他的事情也都是很好的经历。我不知道这意味着什么，或者能带来什么，但我认为我们可以回顾自己生活中的任何阶段，无论是个人生活还是职业生涯，经验通常能帮助你获得一些智慧和可供参考的借鉴，无论是在回首往事时，还是在面对未来可能遇到的挑战时。”
当然，马刺队希望他们的短期未来能包括终结队史最长的连续六个赛季无缘季后赛的尴尬纪录。
而从长远来看，他们的目标要远大得多。
“这只是一块垫脚石，”后卫德阿龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 说道。“我们的目标是赢得NBA总冠军。你必须朝着这个目标不断努力，而打这样的比赛正是对我们的帮助。”
马刺队完成双向合同运作
马刺队于周五用一份双向合同签下了凯尔·曼加斯 (Kyle Mangas)。为了给这位身高6英尺4英寸、体重215磅的后卫腾出名额，他们裁掉了双向合同前锋莱利·米尼克斯 (Riley Minix)。
曼加斯本赛季为其效力于奥斯汀马刺队的第二个赛季，在出战的10场比赛（其中8场首发）中，场均上场35.8分钟，贡献18.5分、5.0次助攻和2.9个篮板。他在11月23日对阵里奥格兰德河谷毒蛇队的比赛中砍下了生涯新高的34分。
米尼克斯本赛季为奥斯汀马刺队出战11场比赛，场均得到15.5分、6.4个篮板、3.3次助攻和1.0次抢断。
现年26岁的曼加斯来自印第安纳州华沙市，在印第安纳卫斯理大学野猫队大放异彩后，他于2021年以落选秀身份与印第安纳步行者队签约，从而进入NBA。
曼加斯在2020年和2021年连续两年荣膺NAIA（全国大学校际体育协会）全美年度最佳球员，并在2021年带领印第安纳卫斯理大学取得了30胜3负的战绩，个人以场均29.5分领跑NAIA得分榜。他还曾在2020年荣获贝沃·弗朗西斯奖 (Bevo Francis Award)，该奖项旨在表彰全美小学院篮球界的顶尖球员。作为野猫队的队史得分王，他在大四赛季场均能贡献29.5分、7.4个篮板、5.1次助攻和1.9次抢断。
这位四届NAIA全美最佳阵容球员还是2018年印第安纳卫斯理大学赢得NAIA二级联赛全国冠军的成员之一。
福克斯回忆与“控卫之神”保罗的共事时光
当被问及洛杉矶快船队上周决定裁掉克里斯·保罗 (Chris Paul) 一事时，福克斯回忆起这位未来的名人堂成员去年二月是如何欢迎他来到马刺队的。
“CP（保罗的昵称）非常棒，”通过三方交易从萨克拉门托来到马刺的福克斯说道。“他很职业，是一位真正的老将。我一到这里，他就问我希望在什么位置接球，喜欢在哪些点出手，以及诸如此类的事情。这些都是你在他巅峰时期，无论是在新奥尔良还是刚到洛杉矶时都能看到他所做的事情。”
“这些正是我对他所期待的，他扮演好了那名老将的角色，也无愧于大家称他为‘控卫之神’。”
现年40岁的保罗在马刺队效力的唯一一个赛季里打满了全部82场比赛，在指导年轻球员的同时，场均贡献8.8分、全队最高的7.4次助攻和1.3次抢断。
“去年他对整个团队的帮助很大，尤其是在我们经历诸多成长阵痛的时候，”福克斯说。“我想每个人都对他去年为球队所做的贡献心存感激。”
队友力挺约翰逊角逐最佳第六人奖
在马刺以132-119爆冷战胜湖人队的比赛中，这位充满活力的前锋在第一节便砍下17分中的13分，为球队奠定了基调。赛后，队友福克斯称赞凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 是本赛季迄今为止“板凳席上最出色的球员之一”。
“他必须进入年度最佳第六人的讨论范围，”福克斯说道。他所指的是约翰·哈夫利切克杯 (John Havlicek Trophy)，该奖项以波士顿凯尔特人队名人堂成员、八届NBA总冠军约翰·哈夫利切克 (John Havlicek) 的名字命名，自1982-83赛季以来，每年通过媒体投票颁发给联盟的顶级替补球员。
约翰逊本赛季的替补场均得分为13.1分，在联盟中排名第21位，此外场均还能贡献6.5个篮板和1.7次助攻。
“即便在他不得分的时候，他一上场，就好像立刻能抢下一个进攻篮板，或者立刻拼到一个地板球，”福克斯说。“他为我们带来了巨大的能量。即使是在我们开局不佳的比赛里，他登场后也能影响比赛的走向。他每个晚上都倾其所有。”
San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama watches action during the second half of an NBA Cup basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) is defended by Los Angeles Lakers forward Lebron James (23) and guard Marcus Smart (36) during the second half of an NBA Cup basketball game Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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。
点击查看原文：Mitch Johnson touts tough NBA Cup competition as 'great experience' fo
Mitch Johnson touts tough NBA Cup competition as ‘great experience’ fo
San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson directs players during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
LAS VEGAS – Spurs coach Mitch Johnson called playing in the high-profile NBA Cup Semifinals on Saturday a “good experience” for his young team.
As far as facing the NBA defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder after beating the Los Angeles Lakers last Wednesday to get to the game, well, that represents something even better, he said.
“Yeah, obviously the competition, when you don’t know who those two games are going to be at the start of the season … and you get to play in L.A. versus the Lakers and you get to play in Vegas versus the Thunder, high-level, competitive unknowns that were brought to our attention … great experience.”
“All the other stuff, I think, is a good experience. I don’t know what that means or what comes from it, but I think we can all go to any part of our lives, personally, professionally, where usually experience helps you gain some wisdom and some references looking back on it, or what you may be going through in the future.”
The Spurs, of course, hope their short-term future includes an end to their franchise-worst six-season playoff drought.
From a long-term perspective, their sights are much higher.
“This is just a stepping stone,” guard De’Aaron Fox said. “What we want to do is win an NBA championship. You have to continue to build toward that, and playing games like this is what helps you.”
Spurs make two-way transactions
The Spurs signed Kyle Mangas to a two-way contract Friday. To make room for the 6-foot-4, 215-pound guard, they waived two-way forward Riley Minix.
Mangas was averaging 18.5 points, 5.0 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 35.8 minutes across 10 games (eight starts) in his second season with the Austin Spurs. He had a career-high 34 points against Rio Grande Valley on Nov. 23.
Minix appeared in 11 games with the Austin Spurs this season, averaging 15.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steals.
A 26-year-old native of Warsaw, Ind., Mangas entered the NBA in 2021 with the Indiana Pacers as an undrafted free agent after starring at for the Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats.
Mangas was named back-to-back NAIA National Player of the Year in 2020 and 2021, when he led Indiana Wesleyan to a 30-3 record and averaged an NAIA-best 29.5 points per game. He also won the the Bevo Francis Award in 2020 as the nation’s top small-college basketball’s top player. The Wildcats’ career scoring leader averaged 29.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game as a senior.
The four-time NAIA All-American was also a member of the 2018 Indiana Wesleyan team that won the NAIA Division II championship.
Fox recalls times with ‘point god’ Paul
Asked about the Los Angeles Clippers’ decision to waive Chris Paul last week, Fox reflected on how the future Hall of Famer welcomed him to the Spurs last February.
“CP was great,” said Fox, who came to the Spurs from Sacramento in a three-team trade. "He was a professional. He was a vet. As soon as I got here, he asked me, where do I want the ball, what spots do I like, things of that nature. Things you’ve seen from him through his prime when he was in New Orleans, when he first got to L.A.
"Those are the things that I kind of expected from him, and being that vet and being the person that everybody called
‘Point God.’ "
Paul, 40, played in all 82 games in his only season with the Spurs, averaging 8.8 points, a team-high 7.4 assists and 1.3 steals while mentoring the younger players.
“He was great for the group last year, especially going through a lot of growing pains,” Fox said. " I think everybody was appreciative of what he gave to the organization last year."
Teammate touts Johnson for sixth man award
Fox labeled teammate Keldon Johnson as “one of the best players coming off the bench” so far this season after the high-energy forward scored 13 of his 17 points in the first period to set the tone for the Spurs in their 132-119 upset win over the Lakers.
“He’s got to be in contention for sixth man of the year,” Fox said, referring to the John Havlicek Trophy, named for the Boston Celtics’ Hall of Famer and eight-time NBA champion and presented annually since the 1982-83 season in a media vote to the league’s top bench performer.
Johnson ranks 21st in the league in reserve scoring with a 13.1 average to go along with norms of 6.5 for rebounding and 1.7 for assists.
“Even when he’s not scoring, it’s just he comes in and it’s like he immediately gets an offensive rebound or he immediately gets a loose ball and gets on the floor,” Fox said. “He brings so much energy for us. Even games where we haven’t started off well, he comes in, he affects the game game. He brings it every single night.”
By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News