By Tim MacMahon, Michael C. Wright | ESPN, 2025-12-23 20:00:00
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 抢下篮板后 ，站在T-Mobile球馆禁区内绘制的奖杯图案上，一边怒吼一边秀出肌肉。
12月13日，在阿联酋航空NBA杯半决赛中，马刺队领先三分。比赛仅剩8秒时，俄克拉荷马城雷霆队的切特·霍姆格伦 (Chet Holmgren) 两罚第一球不中，此举基本上为圣安东尼奥锁定了决赛席位。
或许，文班亚马的这声咆哮中夹杂着一些个人恩怨。毕竟，自从这两位天赋异禀的瘦长7尺巨人在2021年FIBA U19世界杯决赛上首次相遇以来，他们之间就一直存在着一种冰冷的竞争关系。在那场比赛中，文班亚马所在的法国队输给了美国队。
但无论是否存在个人恩怨，对马刺队而言，这都是一场值得庆祝的胜利。他们终结了卫冕冠军的16连胜，赢下了文班亚马时代以来最关键的一场比赛。这表明，尽管队中没有任何一名球员曾身披圣安东尼奥球衣打过季后赛，但这支年轻的马刺已经是一股不可忽视的力量。
胜利几分钟后，凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 在更衣室里用他的便携音响放起了麦莉·赛勒斯 (Miley Cyrus) 的《Party in the USA》。当马刺队庆祝晋级NBA杯决赛时，雷霆队已经开始展望下个月与圣安东尼奥的三场复赛，其中包括周二在圣安东尼奥和圣诞大战（东部时间下午2:30，ESPN直播）在俄克拉荷马城的主客场系列赛。
雷霆队在成为NBA历史上第二年轻的总冠军球队后，又打出了追平纪录的24胜1负开局，他们似乎正在成为一个冉冉升起的王朝。然而，马刺队拥有成为其真正宿敌的所有要素：星光熠熠的年轻核心、相近的地理位置、两支球队之间的历史渊源，或许还有一丝宿怨。
“是的，很有可能，”卫冕MVP谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 在NBA杯失利后谈到宿敌前景时说。“他们年轻，非常出色，天赋异禀，并且以正确的方式打球。他们打出了漂亮的篮球风格。”
“我注意到，几年之内任何事都可能发生。所以，是的，这绝对是一种可能性。”
吉尔杰斯-亚历山大的这番话 ，是对另一支似乎注定要与雷霆成为长期对手的德州球队的隐晦提及。达拉斯独行侠队是上一支在季后赛中淘汰俄克拉荷马城的球队，他们在2024年西部半决赛中击败雷霆，并最终闯入NBA总决赛——然而几个月后，他们却出人意料地交易了尚未进入巅峰期、但常年位居MVP候选人之列的卢卡·东契奇 (Luka Doncic)。
请放心，在可预见的未来，马刺队完全打算围绕他们的前四顺位乐透秀三人组——文班亚马、后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 和迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper)——来建队。这或许会成为圣安东尼奥这个时代版本的蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan)、托尼·帕克 (Tony Parker) 和马努·吉诺比利 (Manu Ginobili)。
俄克拉荷马城和圣安东尼奥上一次在季后赛相遇——2016年西部半决赛——马刺队阵中拥有邓肯、帕克和吉诺比利，以及更年轻的球星拉马库斯·阿尔德里奇 (LaMarcus Aldridge) 和科怀·伦纳德 (Kawhi Leonard)，后者当时刚首次入选全明星并第二次荣膺NBA年度最佳防守球员。与此同时，雷霆队则由凯文·杜兰特 (Kevin Durant)、拉塞尔·威斯布鲁克 (Russell Westbrook) 和史蒂文·亚当斯 (Steven Adams) 领衔。
雷霆队最终以六场比赛淘汰马刺，在第六场比赛中，雷霆三巨头合砍80分，以113-99大胜对手。
邓肯离开切萨皮克能源球馆（现称Paycom中心）时，头发上还沾着彩带，心中对他名人堂级别的职业生涯是否要继续充满了不确定。他背靠着客队更衣室的水泥墙，神情沮丧地被问及未来。
“等我离开这里，理清我的人生之后，再考虑这个问题吧，”他说。
在俄克拉荷马城失利两个月后，邓肯宣布退役。
两队之间的宿敌之争从未达到其应有的高度。雷霆在接下来的四个赛季均止步季后赛首轮，随后连续三年无缘季后赛。而圣安东尼奥则在次年晋级西部决赛，但在那之后的两个赛季均在首轮被淘汰，随后陷入了长达六年的季后赛荒。
自从雷霆队迁至俄克拉荷马城以来，他们与马刺队在季后赛中交手过三次。雷霆赢得了其中两次（2012年和2016年），在对阵圣安东尼奥的季后赛中取得了10胜8负的战绩。
或许现在，这对宿敌又回来了，或者至少处于萌芽的早期阶段。卡斯尔相信，马刺队用半决赛的胜利传递了一个信息。
“这表明我们是认真的，”他说。“这显示了无论场上是哪五名球员，我们在关键时刻的成熟度。我们有很多球员能在任何一个晚上挺身而出。人们都说他们是不可战胜的。但我们每场比赛都抱着同样的心态，所以我认为这正展现了我们是一支什么样的球队。”
在NBA杯半决赛后 的赛后媒体采访中，文班亚马的一句评论引起了人们的注意，特别是那些希望马刺能成为雷霆眼中钉、肉中刺的人们。
当晚文班亚马因左小腿拉伤复出，在他缺席的12场比赛中，圣安东尼奥赢下了9场。在回答关于球队成功的问题时，文班亚马说：“我很高兴能成为这件正成长为如此美好的事物的一部分。”
文班亚马停顿了一下，似乎在寻找最恰当的词语：“纯粹且正统的篮球，你懂的。”
这是对雷霆的暗讽吗？这是对社交媒体上铺天盖地的议论——那些来自对手球迷的抱怨，称吉尔杰斯-亚历山大获得了太多罚球，而俄克拉荷马城在防守端却能肆无忌惮地展现出橄榄球式的身体对抗——的巧妙暗示吗？文班亚马所说的“纯粹且正统的篮球”到底是什么意思？
这个话题引起了极大的好奇，以至于两天后他参加下一次媒体采访时，前两个问题——分别用法语和英语提出——都是围绕这个疑问的变体。
“基本上，我的回答很简单，就是在现代篮球中，我们看到很多篮球风格在给对手制造威胁方面缺乏多样性，”文班亚马说。“大量的单打。有时是一种有些勉强的打法。”
“我们努力呈现一种有时可以被描述为更复古的篮球风格，这也是马刺队的方式。在我看来，这是一种战术上更为正确的篮球。”
这个回答并没有将矛头指向俄克拉荷马城。当被问及马刺队是否认为与雷霆之间正在酝酿一种宿敌关系时，文班亚马的语气也充满了敬意。
“我认为我们还没到那个地步，但人们认为这有可能发生，就是一个好兆头，因为我们现在又不是西部第二，”他说。“我认为目前联盟中没有人能声称与他们存在宿敌关系。他们自成一档。”
“但在未来，如果我们能提供如此精彩的对决舞台，并且达到那个级别，那拥有一对宿敌当然会很棒。因为如果你身处顶峰，并且拥有一对宿敌，那就意味着你处在争夺总冠军的最佳位置。我对此非常感兴趣。”
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：The budding Spurs-Thunder rivalry that could shape the West
The budding Spurs-Thunder rivalry that could shape the West
VICTOR WEMBANYAMA SHOUTED as he snatched the ball and flexed, standing on the trophy painted into the lane at T-Mobile Arena.
With the Spurs leading by three points, Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren had just missed the first of a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining in the Emirates NBA Cup semifinal on Dec. 13, essentially punching San Antonio’s ticket to the final.
Perhaps Wembanyama unleashed some personal animosity in that roar. After all, he has had a frosty competitive relationship with Holmgren since the supremely talented, skinny 7-footers first met in the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup championship game, where Wembanyama’s French squad lost to Team USA.
Regardless of any individual grudge, this was a win worth celebrating for the Spurs. They had snapped the defending champions’ 16-game winning streak in the most high-stakes game of the Wembanyama era, an indication the young Spurs were already a force to be reckoned with despite nobody on the roster having ever played a playoff game in a San Antonio uniform.
Keldon Johnson queued up Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” minutes after the victory and blasted it in the locker room on his portable speaker. As the Spurs celebrated an NBA Cup final berth, the Thunder were already looking forward to their three rematches with San Antonio over the next month, starting with a home-and-home on Tuesday in San Antonio and Christmas Day (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder, which followed up becoming the second-youngest NBA championship team ever with a record-tying 24-1 start, appear to be a developing dynasty. The Spurs, however, have all the elements to emerge as a real rival: a star-studded young core, geographical proximity, history between the franchises and maybe a bit of bad blood.
“Yeah, there’s a good chance,” reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said of the prospect of a rivalry after the Thunder’s Cup loss. "They are young, really good, have a lot of talent, play the right way. They play a good brand of basketball.
“I’ve noticed that anything can happen in a couple years. So, yeah, it’s definitely a possibility.”
GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER’S REMARKS were a vague reference to the other Texas team that seemed destined to be longtime rivals with the Thunder. The Dallas Mavericks were the last team to eliminate Oklahoma City in the playoffs, beating the Thunder in the 2024 West semifinals en route to an NBA Finals appearance – and then, months later, shockingly traded pre-prime, perennial MVP candidate Luka Doncic.
Rest assured, the Spurs fully intend to build around their trio of top-four lottery picks – Wembanyama and guards Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper – for the foreseeable future. It could be this generation’s version of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili in San Antonio.
The last time Oklahoma City and San Antonio faced off in the postseason – in the 2016 Western Conference semifinals – the Spurs featured Duncan, Parker and Ginobili alongside younger stars LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard, fresh off his first All-Star appearance and second NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. The Thunder, meanwhile, were anchored by Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams.
OKC would knock off the Spurs in six games, as the Thunder trio combined for 80 points in a 113-99 rout in Game 6.
Duncan left the floor at Chesapeake Energy Arena (now called Paycom Center) with confetti embedded in his hair and uncertainty in his heart about continuing his Hall of Fame career. Leaning back against a cinder block wall in the visitors’ locker room, a dejected Duncan was asked about his future.
“I’ll get to that after I get out of here and figure out life,” he said.
Duncan would announce his retirement two months after the loss in Oklahoma City.
The rivalry between the teams never lived up to its potential. The Thunder fell in the opening round of the playoffs over the next four seasons, before missing the postseason the next three years. San Antonio, meanwhile, advanced to the conference finals the next season, before suffering elimination in the opening round the next two seasons, followed by a six-year postseason drought.
The Thunder and Spurs have battled it out in three postseason series since the former’s move to Oklahoma City. The Thunder won two (2012 and 2016), posting a 10-8 playoff record against San Antonio.
Perhaps now the rivalry is back, or at least in the early stages of development. Castle believes the Spurs sent a message with their semifinal win.
“It just showed that we’re serious,” he said. “It shows our maturity down the line with whatever five is in the game. We have a lot of guys that can do it any given night. People are saying that they were unbeatable. But we come into every game with that same mindset, so I think it just shows what kind of team we are.”
A COMMENT BY Wembanyama during his postgame media availability after the Cup semifinal raised eyebrows, particularly from the hordes of folks hopeful the Spurs can become thorns in the Thunder’s side.
“I’m just glad to be a part of something that’s growing to be so beautiful,” Wembanyama said, answering a question about San Antonio’s success in winning nine of the 12 games he had missed due to a left calf strain before his return that night.
Wembanyama paused and contemplated, looking for just the right words: “Pure and ethical basketball, you know.”
Was that a subtle jab at the Thunder? Was it a sly nod to the rampant social media rumbling from opposing fans who whine that Gilgeous-Alexander draws so many fouls calls while Oklahoma City gets away with flexing a football-style physicality on defense? What exactly did Wembanyama mean by the phrase “pure and ethical basketball?”
It was such a subject of intrigue that the first two questions of his next media availability, conducted two days later before practice, were variations of that inquiry in French and English.
“Basically, my answer is simply going to be that in modern basketball we see a lot of brands of basketball that don’t offer much variety in the dangers they pose to the opponents,” Wembanyama said. "Lots of isolation ball. Sometimes kind of forced basketball.
“We try to propose a brand of basketball that can be described as more old-school sometimes, the Spurs’ way, as well. It’s tactically more correct basketball, in my opinion.”
That response sent no shade Oklahoma City’s way. Wembanyama also struck a respectful tone when asked whether the Spurs believed there’s a rivalry brewing with the Thunder.
“I think we’re not quite there yet, but it’s a good sign that people see that it’s possible because it’s not like we’re the second seed right now,” he said. "I don’t think anybody right now can claim to have a rivalry with them in the league. They’re in their own tier.
“But in the future if we can provide a stage this good and we reach that level, of course it would be great to have a rivalry because if you’re at the top and you have a rivalry, it means you’re in the best position to win titles. I’m very interested by it.”
By Tim MacMahon, Michael C. Wright | ESPN, via ESPN