By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-12-29 14:47:06
圣安东尼奥马刺队的杰里米·索汉（图中）在场边拥抱队友林迪·沃特斯三世和凯尔登·约翰逊，共同观看队友们在第四节的比赛。这场比赛于2025年12月23日星期二在圣安东尼奥的霜冻银行中心举行，对阵双方为马刺与俄克拉荷马城雷霆。最终马刺以130-110击败雷霆。
无论是赛前伴随着瓦妮莎·卡尔顿 (Vanessa Carlton) 的《A Thousand Miles》翩翩起舞，还是在维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 的激情击鼓声中庆祝一场酣畅淋漓的胜利，本赛季的马刺队已经通过许多充满音乐元素的迹象，展现了他们深厚的团队化学反应。
“在场下，我们彼此相处融洽，”文班亚马说道。“我们每天都怀着愉快的心情投入工作。”
音乐在这支年轻队伍的美好时光中扮演了重要角色。在周一晚对阵克利夫兰的比赛前，他们取得了过去19场比赛中的15场胜利，以23胜8负的战绩位列西部第二。而掌控球队音响的音乐总监，正是第六人凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson)。他不拘一格的歌单中，既有卡尔顿在2002年的热门单曲，也有流行巨星麦莉·赛勒斯 (Miley Cyrus) 2009年的火爆歌曲《Party in the U.S.A》，以及英国电子乐队清洁盗贼 (Clean Bandit) 2014年的力作《Rather Be》。
“他的歌单非常有趣，我只能这么说，”前锋德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 表示。
作为马刺队内现役效力时间最长的球员，这位七年级前锋约翰逊表示，他选歌的关键在于精准捕捉当下的“氛围”，尤其是在开场跳球前，全队在球员通道里等待的时刻。
“就是观察大家一天中对某首歌的反应，”约翰逊谈到他选择曲目的方式时说。“而有些歌就是能引起大家的共鸣，特别是《A Thousand Miles》。”
卡尔顿这首获得格莱美提名的歌曲以其朗朗上口的钢琴旋律著称，于2002年2月作为她首张专辑《Be Not Nobody》的主打单曲发行，并在公告牌百强单曲榜上一度冲到第五位。
它还出现在了21世纪初的经典邪典电影《律政俏佳人》和《小姐好白》中。
现年26岁的约翰逊，在这首歌风靡一时的时候才2岁多。他的几位队友当时甚至还没出生，但这丝毫没有影响他们对这首歌的喜爱。
圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马（1号）在队友朱利安·尚佩尼（30号）命中三分后激情庆祝。这场比赛于2025年12月23日星期二在圣安东尼奥的霜冻银行中心举行，当时正值第二节，对手是俄克拉荷马城雷霆。
“这展现了我们彼此之间相处得多么自在，以及我们之间的紧密联系，”19岁的新秀后卫迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 说道。
“基本上每个人都对歌词了如指掌，”约翰逊说，“所以这给了我们一个在赛前真正燃起来、凝聚在一起、增进团队化学反应的机会。”
无论约翰逊选择什么歌曲，他的队友们都知道这背后经过了一番考量。
“他努力确保团队中的每个人都能感受到合适的氛围，让我们保持团结，这对我们来说很有效，”21岁的后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 说。
团队化学反应一直是马刺队的重中之重。过去，球队每年都会通过名人堂教练格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 著名的团队晚宴来增进感情。
波波维奇的继任者米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 将功劳归于球队的管理层，他们选拔并引进了那些将团队目标置于首位的品格出众的球员，这种理念使得建立场外化学反应变得更加容易。
“我们很幸运，既拥有一批已经在球队体系中效力了一段时间的球员，也引进了一些完美融入的成员，”米奇·约翰逊说。“（总经理）布莱恩（莱特）和他的团队在识人方面功不可没，他们找到了能够……融入我们现有核心阵容的球员。这个核心阵容已经在一起有一段时间了，包括凯尔登、德文、朱利安·尚佩尼 (Julian Champagnie)、杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) 和维克托。他们在场上和场下都完美地融合在一起。这起到了很大的作用。”
大个子球员卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 是土生土长的兰塔纳人，这位九年级老将在休赛期与马刺签约。此前他为波士顿凯尔特人效力了三个赛季，并随队赢得了2024年NBA总冠军。他表示，马刺的更衣室“充满了优秀的球员，他们只关心球队和做正确的事情”，包括接受自己的角色。
“这支球队在寻找关心正确事物的球员方面做得很好，这让维持一个紧密团结的更衣室变得容易得多，”科内特说。“这确实是自上而下的，每个人都接受自己的角色和责任，并且这样做不仅是出于职业精神，更是出于关心他人的态度。”
作为球队的门面，文班亚马通过营造一种包容的氛围为全队定下了基调。这一点在去年一月球队的巴黎之行中表现得尤为明显，当时他在“光之城”的中心地带，自掏腰包为全队举办了一场盛大的晚宴。
“在抵达的第一天就这么做，对我来说很重要，”文班亚马在那次行程中告诉记者。“这是我对我的团队表示欢迎。我知道，如果我去这些队友中任何一个人的国家或城市，我也会很想了解他们来自哪里，从而更好地去热爱那个地方。”
12月23日，在霜冻银行中心，马刺击败了西部领头羊俄克拉荷马城雷霆。赛后，文班亚马的队友们兴高采烈地将他围在球场中央，而他则随着看台上球迷的掌声节拍，用力敲打着大鼓。
在那场欢乐的庆祝活动中展现出的团队情谊，凸显了这群球员的亲密无间。
“当然，我们正在赢球，这让一切都变得更轻松，”文班亚马说。“但赢球本身也是所有幕后点滴的体现。我们所有人都很享受来这里工作。我们知道我们会在这里找到乐趣。”
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) beats on a large drum as the crowd claps in unison following the Spurs’ 130-110 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025.
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (3) reacts after making a three-pointer against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. The Spurs defeated the Thunder, 130-110.
San Antonio Spurs forward/center Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates with San Antonio Spurs guard/forward Devin Vassell (24) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Oklahoma City.
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：Music part of Spurs' strong team chemistry, good vibes
Music part of Spurs’ strong team chemistry, good vibes
San Antonio Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan, center, embraces his teammates Lindy Waters III and Keldon Johnson as they watch their teammates take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the fourth quarter at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. The Spurs defeated the Thunder, 130-110.
Whether it’s dancing pregame to Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles” or celebrating a huge win while Victor Wembanyama bangs away on a drum, the Spurs have offered plenty of musical signs showing how rich their team chemistry is this season.
“Off the court, we get along with each other,” Wembanyama said. “Every day we’re happy to come to work.”
Music has been a big part of the good times for a young team that entered Monday night’s game against Cleveland second in the Western Conference with a 23-8 record after winning 15 of its last 19 games. And the musical director in charge of the boom box has been sixth man Keldon Johnson, whose eclectic play list includes Carlton’s 2002 hit, pop superstar Miley Cyrus’ 2009 smash “Party in the U.S.A” and English electronic music group Clean Bandit’s 2014 blockbuster “Rather Be.”
“His play list is very interesting, I can say that,” forward Devin Vassell said.
Johnson, a seventh-year forward who ranks as the Spurs’ longest-tenured current player, said his choices are all about pinpointing what “vibes” fit the moment while the team waits in the tunnel to take the court before the opening tip.
“Just seeing how everybody reacts to a certain thing throughout the day,” Johnson said of the tunes he selects. "And those songs kind of stuck with everybody, especially ‘A Thousand Miles.’ "
Carlton’s Grammy nominated song with its catchy piano riff was released in February 2002 as the lead single from Carlton’s first album, “Be Not Nobody” and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
It was also featured in early 2000s cult-classic movies “Legally Blonde” and “White Chicks.”
Johnson, 26, was just 2-plus-years-old when the song hit the airwaves. Several of his teammates weren’t even born at that point, but that hasn’t stopped them from embracing the song.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts after his teammate San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) makes a three-pointer against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025.
“It shows how comfortable we all are with each other and just our connection,” said rookie guard Dylan Harper, 19,
“Pretty much everybody knows it word for word,” Johnson said, “so it gives us a chance to really get hyped and be together and bring some team chemistry right before the game.”
No matter what song Johnson picks, his teammates know some thought has gone into the selection.
“He tries to make sure the vibe’s right for everybody on the team, keep us all connected, so it’s been working for us,” guard Stephon Castle, 21, said.
Team chemistry has long been a priority for the Spurs, who in the past bonded annually through Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich’s famous team dinners.
Popovich’s successor, Mitch Johnson, credits the team’s front office for drafting and acquiring high-character players who put team goals first, a philosophy that makes it easier to build off-the-court chemistry.
“We’ve been fortunate to have a blend of some guys that have been in the program now for some time as well as bringing in some people that have been great fits,” Mitch Johnson said. “(General manager) Brian (Wright) and his crew get a ton of credit for identifying those types of people and players that have fit … to that core that has kind of been here for a while, the Keldon, Devin, Julian (Champagnie), Jeremy (Sochan) crew, Victor. And they have meshed on and off the court. It goes a long way.”
Big man Luke Kornet, the ninth-year Lantana native the Spurs a signed in the offseason after he spent the last three seasons with Boston, a run that included winning the 2024 NBA championship, said the locker room is “full of good guys who kind of just care about the team and doing the right thing,” including accepting their roles.
“The organization does a good job of finding guys who care about the right things, and that kind of just makes it all a lot easier to sustain” a close-knit locker room, Kornet said. “It’s really kind of top to bottom having everyone sort of just accepting their role and their responsibility and doing so with not only professionalism but also with the attitude of caring about the other person.”
As the face of the franchise, Wembanyama sets the tone by fostering an inclusive atmosphere, something that was evident during the team’s trip to Paris last January when he hosted and paid for a swanky team meal in the heart of The City of Light.
“Doing that on the first day was important to me,” Wembanyama told reporters during that trip. “It was a welcome to my team. I know if I went to any of these guys’ country or city, I would love to find out where they come from, to learn to love it better.”
After the Spurs toppled West-leading Oklahoma City on Dec. 23 at the Frost Bank Center, Wembanyama’s teammates gleefully surrounded him at center court as he banged on a drum in sync with the fans clapping in the stands.
The camaraderie displayed in that joyful celebration highlighted the closeness of this bunch.
“Of course, we (are winning), which makes everything easier,” Wembanyama said. “But winning is also a symptom of everything that happens behind closed doors. And all of us are happy to come into work. We know we’re going to have fun.”
By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News