By Mike Finger | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-01-20 15:18:02
2026年1月19日，德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥，霜岸中心。在圣安东尼奥马刺队对阵犹他爵士队的比赛下半场，维克托·文班亚马（1号）与队友迪伦·哈珀（2号）、德阿隆·福克斯（4号）和卡特·布莱恩特（11号）进行交流。
总有一天，当托德·托雷斯 (Todd Torres) 执教自己的球队时，他会发表一段关于领导力的演讲。他会解释，那些让身边每个人都感受到归属感的行为，就是领导力的最佳典范。他将盛赞那种凝聚人心的力量。
为了强调自己的观点，托雷斯会给他的球员们讲一个故事，起初他们可能不会相信。他会提到维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 的名字，到那时，文班亚马或许已经是一位NBA总冠军，甚至是名人堂成员。他会讲述那一天，这位身高7英尺4英寸的法国人昂首走进霜岸中心的主队更衣室，决心赢得那七位负责为他补充干净毛巾和照看球鞋的年轻人的心。
然后，托雷斯会掏出手机，向他的球员们展示一段视频：视频中，27岁的他作为一名球队服务人员——也就是俗称的“球童”——正坐在一把椅子上，让世界上最著名的运动员之一为自己剃头。
“他走进来时说，‘理发师维克来啦！’”托雷斯回忆道，“我们所有人都立刻加入了。”
2026年1月19日，在德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥的霜岸中心，马刺队对阵犹他爵士队的比赛开始前，圣安东尼奥马刺队的球童们和队中1号球员维克托·文班亚马一起剃了光头。
这是一则可爱的轶事，但同时也颇具深意。作为球队基石、刚刚首次以首发身份入选全明星赛的文班亚马，和NBA年度最佳第六人奖项的有力竞争者凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson)，上周决定互相为对方剃头。随后，他们拉上了两名球队服务人员——托雷斯和杰登·戴维斯 (Jaiden Davis)——加入他们的“光头兄弟会”，最终，全部七名球童都剃了光头。
2026年1月19日，星期一，圣安东尼奥。在一场NBA篮球比赛的上半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马（1号）持球突破犹他爵士队中锋优素福·努尔基奇（30号）。（美联社图片/埃里克·盖伊）
然而，这既非故事的开端，也远非结局。如果你换个角度审视“理发师维克”的故事，你会发现一条共同的主线，它将文班亚马创立新球迷区的趣闻，与他凭空创造赛后击鼓仪式的轶事，以及他在周一晚上试图解释自己近期井喷式的三分表现并非什么大事联系在一起。
“我对我的球队负有更多责任，”文班亚马说。
在所有人看来，无论责任多么微小，文班亚马都会全身心投入，即便他投入的事情有时看起来有些荒谬。
不妨承认吧：当你第一次听说文班亚马计划创建一个由最狂热、最热情的马刺球迷组成的区域，在霜岸中心进行欧式助威时，你觉得这听起来有点傻。毕竟，那一套在足球场上或许行得通，但在NBA赛场上会显得格格不入。
它看起来确实有些格格不入——直到文班亚马亲自举办选拔，挑选出“胡狼队 (The Jackals)”的创始成员，而他们也一举成为了霜岸中心的一道亮丽风景线。
然后是去年12月23日，马刺在主场酣畅淋漓地战胜俄克拉荷马城雷霆后那个看似即兴的瞬间。当时，文班亚马走到球场中央，拿起麦克风，宣布球队将开创一项庆祝仪式：当场最佳球员将会击鼓，而全场观众则会随之鼓掌。
2025年12月23日，星期二，圣安东尼奥霜岸中心。马刺以130-110战胜俄克拉荷马城雷霆后，马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马（1号）敲响大鼓，全场观众齐声鼓掌。
这小子以为他在干嘛？马刺不是已经赢过五次NBA总冠军了吗，其中两次甚至在他出生之前？有着如此辉煌的历史，你不能凭空制造新的传统，尤其是为那些球迷早已习以为常的常规赛胜利创造传统。
嗯，事实证明，你可以。球迷们很喜欢这个击鼓仪式，文班亚马的队友们也是。如果你像他的一些队友一样，不清楚谁有资格敲鼓，答案其实很简单：文班亚马选谁，就是谁。
再者，鉴于他能让身边每个人都追随其领导的天赋，又有谁会去和他争辩呢？
“这事儿过后，他或许能在市场营销领域大展拳脚，”老将前锋哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 说。
对此，文班亚马回应道：“事实上，我已经在做了。”
这就是他对球队基石角色的理解。这并非说他华而不实，而是他越能让更多人感觉自己是马刺建队大业的一份子，马刺就越有可能取得成功。
球迷们意识到了这一点。像托雷斯这样的人也一样。他在科珀斯克里斯蒂长大，在就读于德州大学圣安东尼奥分校期间担任篮球队的学生经理，如今在马刺比赛日负责捡球、擦汗和整理待洗衣物。
托雷斯将他作为球队服务人员的这份工作，视为一个敲开更广阔天地大门的机遇。听起来可能很疯狂，但这并非没有先例。特拉维斯·韦德 (Travis Wade) 最初是马刺的球童，如今是体育营销机构Pivot的首席增长官。现任马刺装备经理的尼科·法兹 (Nico Faz)，过去也曾是一名服务人员。而视频协调员、曾担任马刺夏季联赛球队主教练的肯尼·特雷维诺 (Kenny Trevino)，他的职业生涯也是从递毛巾开始的。
作为服务人员的一项福利，托雷斯会在马刺青年训练营担任教练。如果一切如他所愿，他将以此为业，无论是在高中、大学还是职业赛场。
“这就是我的计划，”托雷斯说。
而如果他未来的球员们最终能领悟到那种让人们感受归属感的力量呢？
无论这听起来是否有些老套，他们都得感谢理发师维克。
2026年1月17日，星期六，圣安东尼奥。在一场NBA篮球比赛的下半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马（1号）和前锋凯尔登·约翰逊（3号）在对阵明尼苏达森林狼队时庆祝得分。（美联社图片/埃里克·盖伊）
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 builds new Spurs traditions
How Victor Wembanyama builds new Spurs traditions
Victor Wembanyama (1) of the San Antonio Spurs confers with teammates Dylan Harper (2), De’Aaron Fox (4), Carter Bryant (11) in game against Utah Jazz in the second half at Frost Bank Center on January 19, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas.
Someday, when Todd Torres coaches a team of his own, he will give a speech about leadership. He will explain how some of the best examples are set by those who make everyone around them feel like a part of something. He will hail the power of convincing people they belong.
To drive home his point, Torres will tell his players a story, and at first they will not believe it. He will mention the name of Victor Wembanyama, who by that time might be an NBA champion, or even a Hall of Famer. He will recount the day the 7-foot-4 Frenchman strode into the home locker room at Frost Bank Center, determined to win over each of the seven young fellows charged with replenishing his fresh towels and looking after his shoes.
Then Torres will pull out his phone and show his players the video of himself as a 27-year-old team attendant – a “ball boy,” as the job is colloquially known – sitting in a chair while getting his hair shorn by one of the most famous athletes in the world.
“He came in saying, ‘Here comes Vic the barber!’” Torres said. “We were all on board.”
The San Antonio Spurs ball boys all shaved their heads as did Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs before the start of their game against Utah Jazz at Frost Bank Center on January 19, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas.
It’s a cute little anecdote, albeit a telling one, too. Wembanyama, the franchise cornerstone just elected to his first All-Star Game as a starter, and Keldon Johnson, a front-runner for the NBA’s sixth man of the year award, decided last week to shave each other’s heads. Then they recruited two team attendants – Torres and Jaiden Davis – to join them in their “bald brotherhood,” and eventually all seven ball boys went under the clippers.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) drives around Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (30) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
That’s not necessarily the beginning or the end of the story, though. If you look at the tale of “Vic the barber” in a certain way, you can spot the common thread that runs from a cute little anecdote about Wembanyama inventing a new fan section, to a cute little anecdote about Wembanyama conjuring up a new postgame drum ritual out of thin air, to how he tried to explain Monday night that his recent 3-point shooting barrage is no big deal.
“I have many more responsibilities with my team,” Wembanyama said.
By all accounts, none of those responsibilities is too small for Wembanyama to pour himself into, even when what it looks like he’s pouring himself into seems absurd.
Go ahead and admit it: The first time you heard about Wembanyama’s plan to create a section of the rowdiest, most enthusiastic Spurs fans to perform European-style chants at Frost Bank Center, you thought it sounded corny. After all, that stuff might work in soccer, but it would look ridiculous in the NBA.
And it did seem ridiculous — until Wembanyama personally held tryouts to select the founding members of “The Jackals,” and they became a Frost Bank Center sensation.
Then there was the supposedly spontaneous moment after the Spurs’ rousing home victory over Oklahoma City on December 23, when Wembanyama walked to the middle of the court, grabbed a microphone, and announced that the team was instituting a celebration in which the player of the game would beat a drum, and the crowd would clap along.
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.
What did this kid think he was doing? Hadn’t the Spurs already won five NBA championships, including two before he was born? With that kind of history, you can’t just manufacture new traditions, especially ones for regular-season victories fans are accustomed to taking for granted.
Well, actually, it turns out you can. Fans love the drum, and so do Wembanyama’s teammates. And if you, like some of his fellow players, were unclear as to who gets to bang the drum, the answer is quite simple: It’s whoever Wembanyama picks.
Given his knack for getting everyone around him to follow his lead, who’s going to argue with him, anyway?
“He may have a career in marketing after this,” veteran forward Harrison Barnes said.
To which Wembanyama replied: “I already do, actually.”
That’s the way he sees the role of a franchise player. It’s not that he’s style over substance. It’s that the more people he can convince to feel like they’re part of what the Spurs are building, the better chance the Spurs will have to build it.
Fans recognize that. So does a guy like Torres, who grew up in Corpus Christi, served as a student manager of the basketball team while attending UTSA, and now spends Spurs game days shagging loose balls, mopping up sweat and stacking laundry.
Torres sees his gig as a team attendant as a chance to get his foot in the door of bigger and better things, and as crazy as it sounds, there’s precedent for it. Travis Wade started out as a Spurs ball boy and now is chief growth officer of Pivot, a sports marketing agency. Nico Faz, now the Spurs equipment manager, used to be an attendant. And Kenny Trevino, the video coordinator who’s been the head coach of the Spurs’ summer league team, began his tenure fetching towels.
As a perk of being an attendant, Torres serves as a coach at Spurs youth camps. If things go as he hopes, he’ll make a career of it, whether it’s in high school, college or the pros.
“That’s the plan,” Torres said.
And if his future players wind up learning something about the power of making people feel they belong?
Corny or not, they can thank Vic the barber.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) and San forward Keldon Johnson (3) celebrate a score against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
By Mike Finger, via San Antonio Express-News