By Mike Finger, Columnist | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-12-20 13:52:43
圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马 (1) 和后卫德文·瓦塞尔（右）在2025年12月19日（星期五）于亚特兰大举行的一场NBA篮球比赛下半场中做出反应。(美联社照片/科林·哈伯德)
亚特兰大电 – 周五晚上，在州立农业球馆客队更衣室走廊对面的一个不起眼的空间里，工作人员正在做着所有必要的准备。
他们竖起了印有马刺队赞助商标的必备背景板。他们架好了摄像机，测试了灯光，并确保有足够的空间容纳即将到来的媒体。
在这一切的中心，他们摆放了一把能找到的最好的椅子——一把带有软垫的小号黑色折叠椅。对于大多数中等或偏大体型的成年人，比如马刺队教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 甚至身高6英尺5英寸的侧翼球员德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 来说，这把椅子都堪称完美。
但稍后，当维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 低着头从门口进来并审视了一番现场情况时，他忍不住露出一丝忍俊不禁的微笑。
“我要坐下？”文班亚马问道，这一句话足以让整个房间爆发出笑声。
小椅子。大鞋子。 pic.twitter.com/sdjmFWvG4i
— Mike Finger (@ mikefinger) December 20, 2025
你看，无论在何种情境下，这位身高7英尺4英寸的法国人总能让寻常之事显得荒诞不经。周五晚上便是如此，无论他是将他那双名牌鞋伸在身前，仿佛坐在芭比娃娃的家具上，还是把NBA级别的对手防线，嗯，就当成芭比娃娃一样对待。
他目前据说仍在从导致他缺席一个月的小腿伤势中逐渐恢复。他仍处于上场时间限制之下，比赛开始时需替补出场。但在他在126-98大胜老鹰队的比赛中，他在21分钟内砍下26分、12个篮板和2次封盖后，人们有理由好奇，当他完全恢复健康时会发生什么。
“联盟，”瓦塞尔说，“有麻烦了。”
情况看起来确实如此。如果你周五没有亲临现场——看他慢步抛投高打板命中，看他毫不费力地沿罚球线冲刺完成左手扣篮，看他接到瓦塞尔的空接传球将手肘扬至耳后完成一记重扣，再看他坐进那把椅子里——你会以为那些集锦和照片是卡通动画，甚至可能认为是粗制滥造的AI垃圾图。
然而，这一切都是真实的。没有动用任何吞噬海量资源的数据中心去生成文班亚马在快攻中的奔跑、投出斯蒂芬·库里式的三分球，或是双脚站定便将对手投篮在空中扇飞的画面。
圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马 (1) 在2025年12月19日（星期五）于亚特兰大举行的一场NBA篮球比赛下半场中扣篮。(美联社照片/科林·哈伯德)
我们在这里已经不是第一次写到这个现象了，但几乎在文班亚马作为客队球员到访的每一个球馆，都会发生一场非凡的转变。那些在赛前介绍时还对他报以嘘声的观众，到了第二节便会开始因惊愕而失笑，并最终忍不住为这荒诞离奇的表演而欢呼。
周五在亚特兰大，这一幕再次上演。当马刺队周日客场对阵华盛顿时，很可能还会重现。尽管约翰逊教练坚称，在逐步增加这位明星球员伤愈复出后的比赛负荷方面，球队将继续“保持谨慎”，但文班亚马本人确认，在他被允许上场的时间里，他完全没有感到任何限制。
“如果你心存犹豫，那就不该上场，这不是我的理念。”文班亚马说。
为了印证这一点，当被问及文班亚马何时能恢复到11月中旬拉伤小腿前那种掌控比赛的霸气自信时，约翰逊忍不住笑了。
“维克托对自己以及自身能力的信心，”约翰逊说，“从我（第一次）和他接触起就一直是100%的。”
自从马刺队拥有他以来，他们所有的客场之旅都会上演类似周五的场景，就连坐在一张折叠椅上的行为都能成为一道景观。
无论他是走在走廊里，走向球场进行热身，还是弯腰系鞋带，文班亚马所受到的待遇几乎不亚于一个马戏团的动物。一部又一部手机高高举起，记录下这个奇观，人们则在他身边指指点点、目瞪口呆、惊叹连连，而这个他们平生所见的最高之人，却还得表现得好像这一切都习以为常。
几周前，马刺队后卫德阿龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 谈到了买菜这件小事，他说自己有时会劝妻子不要所有东西都用Instacart配送。福克斯说，他偶尔喜欢自己逛逛H-E-B超市的过道，亲自挑选水果、调味品和薯片。
当然，福克斯是全世界最知名的现役篮球运动员中排名前50或前100的人物。穿上一件连帽衫，亲自去购物，是他走出家门、像普通人一样融入世界的方式。
“但是，”福克斯说，“我不是维克托。”
没有人是。周五晚上，当那个高得有些滑稽的男人从那张小得有些滑稽的椅子上站起来时，无数手机镜头仍在捕捉着他的每一个动作。文班亚马走向球队大巴，前往下一个城市，下一个球馆。
在那里，他又将把简单之事变得荒诞不经。
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, left, fights for the ball against Atlanta Hawks forward Asa Newell, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) looks to shoot against Atlanta Hawks forward Asa Newell (14) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, left, defends against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) shoots over San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) shoots against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
Atlanta Hawks forward Asa Newell (14) shoots against San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, center, shoots against San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox (4) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, center, shoots over Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, left, and guard Vit Krejci during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson reacts during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
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。
点击查看原文：How Victor Wembanyama makes the simple look absurd
How Victor Wembanyama makes the simple look absurd
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) and guard Devin Vassell, right, react during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
ATLANTA – In a modest space across the hallway from the visiting locker room in State Farm Arena, staffers made all the appropriate preparations Friday night.
They erected the obligatory sponsored Spurs backdrop. They positioned the camera, tested the lighting, and ensured there was room to accommodate the arriving media.
And at the center of it all, they placed the best available chair, a small black folding one with a cushioned seat. For most mid- to plus-sized humans, like Spurs coach Mitch Johnson or even 6-foot-5 wing Devin Vassell, this proved perfectly satisfactory.
But later, when Victor Wembanyama ducked his head through the doorway and took stock of the situation, he couldn’t help cracking a bemused smile.
“I’m sitting?” Wembanyama asked, and that was enough to make the whole place burst into laughter.
Small chair. Big shoes. pic.twitter.com/sdjmFWvG4i
— Mike Finger (@ mikefinger) December 20, 2025
See, no matter the context, the 7-foot-4 Frenchman can’t help making the simple look absurd. That was true Friday night whether he was sprawling his designer shoes in front of him like he was sitting on Barbie doll furniture, or treating an opposing NBA defense like it was comprised of, well, Barbie dolls.
He’s still supposedly easing his way back from a calf injury that kept him sidelined for a month. He’s still on a playing-time restriction that has him coming off the bench to start games. But after he crammed 26 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks into 21 minutes of a 126-98 romp over the Hawks, it was fair to wonder what might happen when he gets back to full strength.
“The league,” Vassell said, “is in trouble.”
It sure looks that way. If you weren’t there in person on Friday — to watch him bank slow-step runners high off the glass, to watch him effortlessly soar down the lane for a left-handed dunk, to watch him cock his elbow behind his ear to slam home a Vassell lob, to watch him sit in that chair — you’d think the highlights and photos were cartoons, if not poorly produced AI slop.
It was all real, though. No reservoir-slurping data centers were used to create images of Wembanyama running the floor on fast breaks, pulling up for Steph Curry-esque 3-pointers, or swatting shots out of the air while planted on both feet.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) dunks during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
It’s been written here before, but a remarkable transformation happens in almost every arena where Wembanyama arrives as a visitor. The same crowd that boos him during the pregame introductions starts laughing in astonishment by the second quarter, and eventually can’t help but cheer on the ridiculousness.
All of that happened again in Atlanta on Friday. It probably will happen when the Spurs play in Washington on Sunday. And even though Johnson insisted the team will continue “to be mindful” when it comes to ramping up its star player’s return-from-injury workload, Wembanyama confirmed he does not feel restricted at all during the time he’s allowed to play.
“It’s not really my philosophy to be on the court if you have hesitation,” Wembanyama said.
Reinforcing that point, Johnson couldn’t help chuckling when asked when Wembanyama might regain the swaggering confidence he’d been controlling games with before he strained his calf in mid-November.
“Victor’s confidence in himself and what he’s capable of,” Johnson said, “has been at 100 since I’ve (first) interacted with him.”
And ever since the Spurs have had him on the roster, all of their road trips have featured scenes like Friday’s, when even the act of sitting in a folding chair becomes a spectacle.
Whether he’s walking down a hallway, making his way to the court for warmups, or bending down to tie his shoes, Wembanyama is received not entirely unlike a circus animal. Phone after phone after phone is raised to record the curiosity, while people point and gape and gasp at the tallest man they’ve ever seen, who somehow has to carry on like all of this is normal.
A few weeks ago, Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox was talking about groceries, of all things, and how he sometimes talks his wife out of ordering everything delivered via Instacart. Every now and then, Fox said, he enjoys strolling the aisles of H-E-B on his own, picking out his own fruit and condiments and potato chips.
Fox, of course, is one of the Top 50 or 100 most famous active basketball players in the world. Putting on a hoodie and doing his own shopping is his way of getting out in the world and blending in like everybody else.
“But,” Fox said, “I’m not Victor.”
Nobody else is. And as a comically tall man pulled himself up from that comically small chair Friday night, with phone cameras still capturing every move, Wembanyama headed toward the bus, and another city, and another arena.
Where he would make the simple look absurd all over again.
By Mike Finger, Columnist, via San Antonio Express-News