By Jared Weiss | The Athletic, 2026-01-09 11:30:24
圣安东尼奥电 — 凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 简直不敢相信自己的眼睛。事实上，他想再看一遍。
当时，维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 正双脚站立在地上，一脚扫向篮筐里的一堆篮球。这是周二对阵孟菲斯灰熊队赛前热身时的一幕。对于文班亚马来说，伸手触及常人需要起跳才能达到的高度已是家常便饭。
但这次与众不同。身高7英尺4英寸的文班亚马是用他的脚做到的。
“我知道我绝对做不到这个，”约翰逊说。“千真万确，我知道我踢不到篮球。我的腿根本抬不了那么高。这太惊人了，太疯狂了。他之前试了一次，我就跟他说，‘再来一次。’”
文班亚马欣然应允，于是便创造了那个看起来如特效般不真实的瞬间。但这一切都是真的，绝非AI合成。维克托·文班亚马可以在另一只脚不离地的情况下，将篮球从篮网中踢出来。
等等，文班做了什么？ pic.twitter.com/HFlftVZI6O
— Don Harris (@ DonHarris4) 2026年1月7日
他很可能是完成此举的史上第一人。至少，是我们在影像资料中见过的第一人。
拥有足够身高的球员，极少能具备实现这一动作所需的那怕一丁点的柔韧性。但文班亚马不仅开辟了新领域，他更是在延展这片土地。他的这一记高踢腿，距离九英尺九英寸的非官方世界纪录已是咫尺之遥。
当被问及这项世界纪录时，文班亚马不以为意，认为自己迟早能够达成。
“我能打破它，”文班亚马说，“我有这个自信。”
他当时没有意识到的是，他想要超越的那个人——假设他的脚趾需要离地——正是最初帮助他达到这一境界的导师。
他就是卡杜尔·齐亚尼 (Kadour Ziani)，在法国被誉为“扣篮教父”。齐亚尼是“七姿”灵活度训练项目 (7 Postures mobility program) 的创始人，他在2007年一档名为《The Best Damn Sports Show Period》的节目中，创造了这项非官方的最高踢腿世界纪录。
纪录属于一位扣将，这并非巧合。空中踢腿，仅仅是他们共同旅程中的一个目的地。
作为纪录保持者，齐亚尼在90年代末期因随扣篮国度 (Slam Nation) 巡演而在法国声名鹊起，他是当时法国最顶尖的杂技扣将之一。扣篮国度 (Slam Nation) 的联合创始人正是布纳·恩迪亚耶 (Bouna Ndiaye) 和杰里米·梅迪亚纳 (Jeremy Medjana)，他们后来创立了一家名为Comsport的篮球经纪公司。最终，他们成为了伊安·马辛米 (Ian Mahinmi)、尼古拉斯·巴图姆 (Nicolas Batum)、埃文·富尼耶 (Evan Fournier) 和鲁迪·戈贝尔 (Rudy Gobert) 等法国NBA球员的经纪人。这一切最终将他们引向了文班亚马，如今，他的经纪人恩迪亚耶已是马刺队比赛的场边常客。
本·帕特里克 (Ben Patrick) 也曾师从齐亚尼，他的“膝盖过脚尖” (Knees Over Toes)训练项目在训练界广受欢迎。巧合的是，文班亚马的长期训练师纪尧姆·阿尔基耶 (Guillaume Alquier) 一直在使用该项目来帮助文班亚马发展腿部力量和柔韧性。学习齐亚尼的“七姿”训练法 (Ziani’s 7 Postures) 便成了顺理成章的下一步。
阿尔基耶曾与文班亚马一同效力于法国大都会92队，之后一直陪伴这位马刺新星经历选秀，如今已是马刺教练组的一员。他在文班亚马的团队中待了足够长的时间，因此找到齐亚尼并非难事。他们的人生轨迹比想象中更加平行。于是，阿尔基耶主动联系，向齐亚尼引荐了一位他前所未见的弟子。
“（阿尔基耶）说，‘嘿，你得来一趟达拉斯。我想让维克托亲眼看看你，学习你的东西，诸如此类的，’”齐亚尼在一次电话采访中回忆道。“于是我来到达拉斯，大概待了两个小时。我们在地板上，我把我所知道的一切都教给了他。大多数人害怕地板动作，但他不怕。我们就像两个闯入童话王国的孩子。”
齐亚尼让他的新学生完成了一系列核心后链挑战，这些挑战足以让大多数职业运动员达到极限。然而，这对文班亚马来说却是小菜一碟。就在那时，一个既欣喜又带着一丝悲剧色彩的事实浮现在齐亚尼的脑海中。当齐亚尼抵达达拉斯时，他发现已经来不及“教”文班亚马他的七种姿态了。于是，齐亚尼告诉他，他就是“天生的筋膜驱动大师”。
“你就是一头野兽。你不需要我，”齐亚尼告诉文班亚马。“我没什么用了，你已经什么都懂了。”
齐亚尼无法再教给他一套新的身体动作，因此他决定专注于将其与心态联系起来。在整个训练过程中，他观察到文班亚马感知、吸收和复制的能力。齐亚尼的训练要求全程保持蹲姿，不允许坐椅子。足底筋膜必须在每个动作中得到“教导”，因为它是身体与地面的接触点，需要最大化地发挥其功能以保护身体其他部位。
随着时间的推移，齐亚尼能够感觉到文班亚马的所有九种感官——是的，九种——都在全负荷运转。世人熟知视觉、嗅觉、触觉、听觉和味觉这五种普通感官。齐亚尼则专注于另外四种：前庭平衡感 (Vestibular balance)、本体感觉 (Proprioception，即位置感知)、温度感知 (Thermoception) 和伤害感受 (Nociception，即痛觉)。
正是这些感官，让文班亚马在交叉步时即使脚踝外翻也安然无恙；让他在一次次重摔倒地后能立刻弹起；也正是因为这些感官，文班亚马常常会抓住自己的脚踝，仿佛出了什么问题，但下一秒又像没事人一样跑回场上继续比赛。
“他就像是竹子做的，”齐亚尼说。“所以人们看到他的脚踝扭动，但别担心，他超级强壮，那样的动作肯定伤不到他。”
他鼓励文班亚马与地面保持连接，让足底筋膜来“教导”身体的其他部分。身、心、地三位一体的连接是进一步提升文班亚马实力和延长其职业寿命的关键。他统治着天空，但运动员的飞行只是短暂的瞬间。他必须确保自己与地面的连接比与天空的连接更值得信赖，同时还要保持这种连接的可持续性。
正是这些理念，驱使着文班亚马在本周早些时候膝盖过度伸展后，仍努力争取重返赛场，而马刺队则出于保护他的目的想要限制他。文班亚马的目标是以一种超越常规方法的方式来训练他的思想和身体。
“他将踏入我未曾涉足的领域，”齐亚尼说。“我曾登上月球，而他将前往火星。”
显然，这第一步，就是在他因膝盖过度伸展伤愈复出前的热身中，完成了一次近乎破纪录的踢腿。人们很容易会问，文班亚马到底在想什么，但他正迫使我们重新审视对伤病和风险的理解。
“想象一下，你从伤病中回归，为了让人们知道你没事，他竟然用踢球的方式来证明，”齐亚尼说。“这个家伙太疯狂了。他和我一样，是自由的。别告诉他该做什么。”
那么，文班亚马会打破那项纪录吗？当被问及是否会在下场比赛中尝试时，他说不会在热身时做。但如果你问他本人，他会告诉你，那一天很快就会到来。
我们有理由相信他。在2023年6月参加《The Old Man and the Three》播客节目时，文班亚马告诉现任湖人队教练JJ·雷迪克 (JJ Redick)，他14岁时就能踢到卡在篮筐上的球。
据报道，当时他的身高在6英尺10英寸到7英尺2英寸之间。如今他的官方身高是7英尺4英寸，尽管外界普遍猜测他比这个数字还要高。
如果他当年在几乎不怎么练习的情况下，就能以微弱的离地高度踢到挂在篮网里的球，那么现在他无疑还有巨大的提升空间。这是伟大球员身上公众很少看到的特质之一：日复一日、夜以继日地对精准的不懈追求，这已深深烙印在他的骨子里。
“对于他和我这样的人来说，现实是一场噩梦，”齐亚尼说。“现实是一场噩梦。但是，这场噩梦是美丽的，因为在一天结束时，你拥有的是清醒与澄澈。”
他们在体育领域的共同传承，让齐亚尼热切地期盼文班亚马能打破他的纪录。这不仅仅是一种亲切感，或是对他“七姿”训练法力量的验证。齐亚尼希望文班亚马击败他，因为他视这位马刺新星为承载人类进化使命的理想人选。
“我希望他能踢到12英尺的高度。致敬过去，把握现在，开创未来，”齐亚尼说。“维克托正在开创未来。他将踏上无人涉足的土地。去吧，去踢那颗球，去打破世界纪录，因为我渴望能荣幸地被他超越。”
文班亚马之所以令人着迷，是因为他将人类的身体极限推向了未知。这次高踢腿便是最新的例证，他轻松地触碰了一项由一位毕生致力于将太阳从天空踢下的人所创造的世界纪录。
他是对“AI奇点”恐惧的一种回应，也是一个绝佳的提醒：人类的进化方式超越了技术。当新技术常常试图将我们更深地禁锢在算法的牢笼中时，这位NBA未来的潜在门面，却是由他好奇心的广度和深度所定义的。驱动他的不仅仅是拓展思维，更是将思想融入他的肉体存在。在这个过程中，他愿意为了学会如何取得更大成就而奋斗。
他本应是史上最让普通人感到遥不可及的运动员。我们已经很久没有见过这样一个身体上的“异类”了。然而，他也会送出一个惊天大帽，紧接着又一条龙冲向前场失误。或者，他会为了看到队友们眼前一亮，而尝试把腿再踢高一英寸。
所以，当他最终将约翰逊的一顶牛仔帽从篮筐上踢下来，或是用其他任何方式打破纪录时，那将不仅仅是把脚放在一个前所未有的高度。
这将关乎下一个文班亚马，在未来的某一天，将下一顶帽子踢得再高几英寸。
“我们所做的一切并非徒劳。我们正努力为未来树立榜样，”齐亚尼说。“嘿，一切皆有可能。我们没有极限。”
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 backstory on Wemby's viral kick is even more wild than the video of it
The backstory on Wemby’s viral kick is even more wild than the video of it
SAN ANTONIO — Keldon Johnson couldn’t believe what he had just seen. In fact, he wanted to see it again.
Victor Wembanyama, while standing on the ground, had just swiped at a bunch of basketballs sitting inside the net of the hoop where they were warming up before Tuesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies. This is the norm for Wembanyama, who reaches where most people leap.
But this was different. The 7-foot-4 Wembanyama did it with his feet.
“I know I absolutely cannot do that,” Johnson said. “For a fact, I know I can’t kick the basketball. My leg doesn’t go that high. That’s impressive. That’s crazy. He tried it the time before that and I was like, ‘Try again.’”
Wembanyama obliged and created the moment that looks too spectacular to be real. But it is. No AI on this one. Victor Wembanyama can kick a basketball out of the net, while still touching the ground with his other foot.
Wait. Wemby did what? pic.twitter.com/HFlftVZI6O
— Don Harris (@ DonHarris4) January 7, 2026
In all likelihood, he is the first human being to do this. At least, the first we’ve seen on film.
Players with the requisite length rarely come close to the desired flexibility to make this even remotely possible. But Wembanyama doesn’t just break new ground, he stretches it. All to the point that his high kick was within a whiffing distance of the unofficial world record of nine feet, nine inches.
When Wembanyama was asked about the world record, he brushed it off as something he expects to achieve at some point.
“I can beat that,” Wembanyama said. “I’m confident.”
What he didn’t realize in the moment was that the man he would have to outleap — presuming his toes would have to leave the ground — is the man who helped him get there in the first place.
It’s Kadour Ziani, known in France as the Dunk Father. Ziani, creator of the 7 Postures mobility program, achieved the unofficial highest recorded kick in the world on a 2007 episode of “The Best Damn Sports Show Period.”
It’s not just a coincidence that it belongs to a dunker. The kicks in the sky are merely a destination on a journey they share.
Ziani, the record holder, gained fame in France touring with Slam Nation in the late ’90s as one of the nation’s best acrobatic dunkers. Slam Nation was co-founded by Bouna Ndiaye and Jeremy Medjana, who would go on to create a basketball agency named Comsport. Eventually, they would represent French NBAers Ian Mahinmi, Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier and Rudy Gobert. It all led them to Wembanyama, whose agent, Ndiaye, is now a courtside fixture at Spurs games.
Ben Patrick, whose Knees Over Toes program has gained popularity in the training world, also studied with Ziani. It turned out that Wembanyama’s longtime trainer, Guillaume Alquier, had been using that program with Wembanyama to develop leg strength and flexibility. Learning Ziani’s 7 Postures was a natural next step.
Alquier was with Wembanyama at French club Metropolitans 92, then stuck with the Spurs star through the draft and is now on the Spurs staff. He had been around the greater Wembanyama apparatus long enough that Ziani was not hard to find. Their paths were more parallel than they could have imagined. So Alquier reached out and offered Ziani a pupil the likes of which he had never seen.
“(Alquier) said, ‘Hey, you need to come to Dallas. I want Victor to see you live and do your stuff and blah, blah, blah,’” Ziani recalled in a phone interview. “So I come to Dallas and I spend maybe two hours. We were on the floor and I teach him all I know. Most guys are scared about the floor. Not him. We were like two kids in the kingdom of childhood.”
Ziani put his new student through various posterior challenges that would push most professional athletes to their limits. It was light work for Wembanyama. That’s when something blissfully tragic dawned on Ziani. By the time Ziani arrived in Dallas, it was too late for him to teach Wembanyama his seven postures. So Ziani told him that he was the Driven Fascia Master.
“You are the animal. You don’t need me,” Ziani told Wembanyama. “I’m useless, you know everything.”
Ziani could not introduce a novel physical set, so he wanted to focus on its connection to his mindset. Throughout the session, he observed Wembanyama’s capacity to perceive, absorb and replicate. Ziani’s sessions require sitting in a squatting position throughout the process. No chairs allowed. The plantar fascia must be educated on every movement because it is the contact point with the ground and needs to be maximized to protect the rest of the body.
As time went on, Ziani could perceive that all nine of Wembanyama’s senses — yes, nine — were operating at full capacity. The world knows the common senses of sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste. Ziani focuses on the other four senses: Vestibular balance, Proprioception (positional awareness), Thermoception (temperature changes) and Nociception (pain).
These are the senses that allow Wembanyama to roll his ankles on crossovers without a hitch. It’s what enables him to crash to the floor over and over and pop right back up. It’s why Wembanyama often grabs at his ankle as if something has gone wrong, then runs back into the play like nothing ever happened.
“He is bamboo-made,” Ziani said. “So people are seeing his ankle moving, but no worries, he is super strong and that for sure is not hurting him.”
He encouraged Wembanyama to stay connected to the floor and let the plantar fascia in his foot educate the rest of his body. The mind-body-floor connection is the key to furthering Wembanyama’s prowess and longevity. He rules the air, but athletes only fly for brief moments. He has to ensure that his connection to the ground has more trust than his connection to the air, all while keeping it sustainable.
These are the lessons that keep Wembanyama pushing to get back in the lineup when his knee was hyperextended earlier in the week and the Spurs want to put him in restraints for his own good. Wembanyama’s goal is to train his mind and body in a way that exceeds best practices.
“He is going to step where I was not stepping,” Ziani said. “I was on the moon. He is going to Mars.”
That first step, apparently, was to do a near-record kick while warming up for his return from a knee hyperextension injury. It’s easy to ask what the hell Wembanyama was thinking, but he is forcing us to reexamine how we understand injury and risk.
“Imagine, you come back from injury to make sure people understand you’re OK, he’s kicking the ball,” Ziani said. “This man is crazy. He’s like me. He’s free. Don’t tell him what he has to do.”
So will Wembanyama break that record? When asked to do it next game, he said not during warm ups. But if you ask him, it will come soon.
And there is reason to believe him. In a June 2023 appearance on the Old Man and the Three podcast, Wembanyama told now-Lakers coach JJ Redick that he was able to kick a ball wedged into the rim when he was 14 years old.
He was reportedly somewhere between 6-foot-10 and 7-foot-2 at that point. He is listed at 7-foot-4 today, though he is widely speculated to be even taller than that.
If he was able to get to a ball hanging in the net while barely leaving the ground, without even practicing the feat, surely there’s plenty of room for him to climb. This is one of the elements of greatness the public rarely sees. The dogged pursuit of precision every morning and evening, it’s ingrained in him.
“Reality is a nightmare for those people like him and like me,” Ziani said. “Reality is a nightmare. But, this nightmare is beautiful because, at the end of the day, lucidity.”
Their shared lineage in the sport has Ziani rooting feverishly for Wembanyama to beat his record. It’s not just a sense of kinship or a validation of the power of his seven postures. Ziani wants Wembanyama to beat him because he sees the Spurs star as a worthy vessel for humanity’s evolution.
“I want him to kick it at 12 (feet). Honor the past, hold the present and build the future,” Ziani said. “Victor is building the future. He is going to step where nobody was stepping before him. Go get up and kick this ball and kick the world record because I want the honor to be beat by him.”
Wembanyama fascinates because he pushes the human physique beyond known limits. This high kick is the latest example, casually tickling a world record set by someone who has dedicated his life to kicking the sun out of the sky.
He is a response to the fear of the AI singularity and a great reminder that humans are evolving in ways beyond technology. As newer technology often aims to box us deeper into an algorithm, the potential next face of the NBA is defined by the breadth and depth of his curiosity. He isn’t just driven by expanding his mind. He is implementing it into his physical existence. In the process, he is willing to struggle to learn how to achieve even more.
He should be the least relatable athlete ever. It has been ages since we’ve seen someone that is such a physical outlier. Yet he’ll also make a huge block, then stampede down the floor for a turnover. Or try to kick an inch higher, just to see his teammates’ eyes light up.
So when he eventually kicks one of Johnson’s cowboy hats off the rim, or whatever he ends up doing to break the record, it won’t be just about putting a foot where it’s never been put before.
It will be about the next Wembanyama, kicking the next hat a few inches higher one day.
“We are not doing this in vain. We are trying to be this example for the future,” Ziani said. “Hey, everything is possible. We don’t have limits.”
By Jared Weiss, via The Athletic