By Jared Weiss | The Athletic, 2026-02-16 10:20:43
洛杉矶——当他看到皮球出手时，维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 脸上露出了一个在陌生场合却又令人熟悉的表情。当他懊恼地挥舞双手时，流露出的是真实的挫败感和失望……竟然是在 NBA 全明星赛上？！
在世界队（World Team）首场全明星赛（现已改为锦标赛制）的最后一个回合中，文班亚马防守三分线时的那种激情，与他每次穿上圣安东尼奥马刺队球衣时如出一辙。但当他看到队友漏掉一个空位三分时，他意识到为时已晚。
正是在那一刻，他兑现了对篮球界的承诺。
在首次亮相全明星赛之前，文班亚马曾发誓要让这项赛事重现往日的辉煌。他越来越意识到自己有能力改变这项日益商业化的运动，他用自己那毫无保留的真实感，试图让这一切重新变得真实。
在全明星赛这场带有表演性质的比赛中，最动人的并非强硬的防守、积极的造犯规或是对裁判的咆哮，而是那种真实的挫败感。当文班亚马输掉比赛，并且看起来像是真的输掉了一场重要的对决时，全明星赛突然间又变得真实起来了。
“我一直告诉自己，如果我上场了，我绝不会抱着输球或者无所谓的心态踏入球场，”文班亚马在本周早些时候说道，“就像在家里玩桌游一样，我从不会不在乎胜负。所以我认为输球是不可接受的，既然我上场了，那我就要赢。”
NBA 球员们身价不菲，因此在那些无关紧要的比赛中，他们总是尽量避免受伤风险。2021 年全明星赛上肯巴·沃克 (Kemba Walker) 膝盖重伤导致职业生涯下滑，加速了这种担忧。即使这并非他巅峰期终结的唯一原因，但也足以让球员们对全明星赛的竞技性敬而远之。
如果想要有所改变，外因是行不通的。改变必须由内而外发生。
文班亚马表示，他想带来一种反差——做一个为了救球满场飞奔、在每一个回合都全力以赴的人。他说他想带着活力传球，并期望场上最顶尖的球员们也能以同样的能量给予回应。
“如果他们不拼，那我就自己拼，”他说道。
起初他看起来似乎是在孤军奋战，但其他球员随后也做出了回应，一场真正具有观赏性的全明星赛就此重生。
“我不说假话，文班奠定了基调，”安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards) 在转播中告诉 NBC 的索拉·史蒂芬森 (Zora Stephenson)，“很难不去回应那种拼劲，所以，该死，情况就是这样。”
最终，他确实如他承诺的那样去比赛了，但周日他一场未胜。在第二场比赛中，他错失了一个压哨扳平比分的空位三分，导致世界队出局。但他可能赢得了一些更宏大的东西。
现在，一位年轻球星正在举手示意。你已经知道会是谁了。他是 NBA 新任的“首席道德家”，所谓的“竞技精神沙皇”。
文班亚马作为联盟门面之一的崛起，不仅体现在赛场上，也体现在场外。面对那些具有争议性的问题时，他不会模棱两可，而是直面核心。
现在是时候正式宣布维克托·文班亚马成为 NBA 的新面孔了吗？
“显而易见，社交媒体和 NBA 可以推广任何他们想要推广的人。但归根结底，这取决于谁是最好的球员，以及球迷们想要谁，”文班亚马在周日表示，“成为联盟的门面，这在某种程度上可以被包装出来，但仅限于一定程度。它最终只属于最顶尖的球员。这就是篮球的真谛。”
他在周日的表现预示着他的潜力与表现正迅速接轨。他在总计 20 分钟的上场时间里，13 投 10 中砍下 33 分，仅次于科怀·伦纳德 (Kawhi Leonard) 在三场比赛 34 分钟里拿下的 37 分。
文班亚马的崛起遵循两条截然不同的路径。首先是他在场上的表现以及他如何重新定义这项运动。他可能是联盟里最高的“独角兽”，但绝非第一个。从威尔特·张伯伦 (Wilt Chamberlain) 到哈基姆·奥拉朱旺 (Hakeem Olajuwon) 再到扬尼斯·阿德托昆博 (Giannis Antetokounmpo)，有一长串七英尺长人将优雅的动作和爆发力推向了新的高度。
“我是整体的一部分。我是一个宏大机制中的一环，”文班亚马赛后说道，“我认为，现在是一个技术型大个子的时代，这个位置绝对在进化。我是这种进化的产物吗？是的，因为我看着这些球员长大并从中获得灵感。我参与了这种变革吗？我认为是的。我在某种程度上正在推开边界。”
其次是麦克风前的文班亚马，他已经成长为一名新的思想领袖，引领联盟走向下一代。从勒布朗·詹姆斯 (LeBron James)、凯文·杜兰特 (Kevin Durant) 和斯蒂芬·库里 (Steph Curry) 手中接过火炬，需要有人站出来担任比赛的守护者。必须愿意让自己成为更伟大事业的一部分。
文班亚马经常意识到这一点，无论是在谈论成为大个子进化的一部分，还是在谈论他在圣安东尼奥共同创立的“胡狼 (Jackals)”死忠球迷组织。他不断用言语表明，尽管他身材高大，但他仅仅是这块拼图中的一小块。
当他阐述自己对一个更好的联盟和更美好的世界的理想时，这种表达源于一种谦逊的“神格化”心理。他被仰慕者甚至同行们奉若神明，这足以让他理解自己在世界中的地位，但他又保持着清醒的自我认知，能够透过层层崇拜看清真实的自己。
这使他成为这个巨星云集的联盟中，代言“伟大”的最佳人选。
周日，他向世界展示了他打算如何在这个努力留住荣耀的联盟中带着使命感去驾驭这份伟大。现在，全明星赛似乎重新拥有了意义。
文班亚马还需要在履历上增添更多荣誉，才能获得成为联盟门面的普遍认可。或许在詹姆斯、杜兰特和库里通过退役让出王座之前，他还无法登上那个位置。
但我们都能预见未来的走向。他正在接管比赛。周日的表现再次提醒我们：篮球将在未来的很长一段时间里，被交到一双可靠且巨大的手中。
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：In reviving the All-Star Game, Victor Wembanyama furthers his case as NBA's next face
In reviving the All-Star Game, Victor Wembanyama furthers his case as NBA’s next face
LOS ANGELES — By the time he saw the shot go up, a familiar look came across Victor Wembanyama’s face in an unfamiliar place. As he threw his hands in the air in disgust, there emerged a genuine look of frustration and disappointment … at the NBA All-Star Game?!
On the final play of the World Team’s opening game of what has now become the All-Star tournament, Wembanyama was defending the 3-point line as passionately as he does every time he throws on his San Antonio Spurs jersey. But when he saw his teammates give up an open 3, he could see it was too late.
It was in that moment that he fulfilled his promise to the basketball world.
Ahead of his first appearance in the All-Star Game, Wembanyama vowed to bring the contest back to its former glory. He’s becoming increasingly aware of his powers to affect change in a sport that has become increasingly commodified, providing his unbridled authenticity to bear in an attempt to make it all just feel real again.
It wasn’t the hard defense, the aggressive foul-drawing or the barking at the refs in the glorified exhibition that is the All-Star Game. It was the genuine sense of defeat. The moment Wembanyama lost the game and looked like he actually felt like he lost an important matchup, the All-Star Game suddenly became real again.
“I’ve always thought to myself that if I was in there, I’m never stepping onto the court to lose or not (care),” Wembanyama said earlier this week. “Just like at home, I’m never stepping into a board game not caring if I’m going to lose. So I’m thinking it’s (not) OK to lose, so I’m going to be out there, I might as well win.”
NBA players have so much money on the line that they try to stray away from that line when the games don’t matter. Kemba Walker’s knee and career crumbling in the 2021 All-Star Game hastened those concerns. Even if it wasn’t the sole reason for his prime’s demise, it irked players enough to put the competition of the All-Star Game to rest.
If anything is going to change, it won’t happen externally. Change has to come from within.
Wembanyama said he wanted to bring that contrast of a single guy who goes wild, diving for loose balls and hustling on every play. He said he wanted to move the ball with energy, expecting the best players in the game to share that energy back.
“If they don’t play hard, I’ll do it without,” he said.
He looked to be alone in his efforts at first, but the rest of the field responded, and an actually entertaining All-Star Game was reborn.
“I ain’t gonna lie, Wemby set the tone,” Edwards told NBC’s Zora Stephenson on the broadcast. “Hard not to match that, so, s—, that’s what happened.”
In the end, he played just as he promised, but didn’t win once Sunday. He missed an open 3 at the buzzer to force overtime in his second game, ending the World Team’s run. But he may have won something grander in scale.
Now, a young star is raising his hand. You already know who it’s gonna be. The NBA’s new moralist-in-chief, the purported ethics czar.
Wembanyama’s emergence as one of the faces of the league has come as much off the floor as on the hardwood. He doesn’t just dilate the filter when polarizing questions come his way; he pulls the pulpit closer.
Is it time to officially declare Victor Wembanyama as the new face of the NBA?
“Obviously, the social media, (the) NBA can promote whoever they want. But at the end of the day, it’s going to be the best players and who the people ask for,” Wembanyama said on Sunday. “Being the face of the league, it’s something that can be manufactured, but only to some extent. It’s only going to be the best players. This is what it’s all about.”
His performance Sunday indicated his potential and performance are aligning quickly. He had 33 points on 10-for-13 shooting in 20 minutes total, trailing just Kawhi Leonard’s 37 points in 34 minutes across three games.
Wembanyama’s ascendancy follows two distinct tracks. The first is what he does on the floor and how he redefines the sport. He may be the league’s tallest unicorn, but he is not its first. From Wilt Chamberlain to Hakeem Olajuwon to Giannis Antetokounmpo, there is a long list of 7-footers who have taken graceful movement and power to new heights.
“I am part of something. I’m part of a big-picture mechanism,” Wembanyama said postgame. “I think that, right now, it’s an era of very skilled bigs that this position is definitely evolving. Am I a symptom of that? Yes, because I’ve watched these guys growing up and got inspired by that. Am I participating in the change? I think I am. I’m pushing the boundaries in some way.”
Then, there is the Wembanyama in front of the microphone, where he has blossomed into a new thought leader to carry the league into the next generation. Taking the mantle from LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry requires someone to raise their hand as a guardian of the game. There has to be a willingness to make himself part of something bigger.
Wembanyama often recognizes that, whether he’s talking about being a part of the big-man evolution or the Jackals ultras fan section he co-founded in San Antonio. He constantly uses language to recognize that as big as he is, he is merely a piece to the puzzle.
When he espouses his ideals for a better league and a better world, it comes from a duality of a humbled god complex. He is deified by his admirers and even his peers enough to understand his place in the world, but is connected to his sense of self enough to see his own reflection through the waves of adoration.
It makes him a good candidate to be the spokesperson for greatness in a league full of it.
On Sunday, he showed the world how he wants to handle that greatness with purpose in a league that has been struggling to hold onto it. Now, the All-Star Game feels like it has meaning once again.
Wembanyama will have to add more to his résumé to earn universal approval to be the face of the league. Perhaps he can’t step onto that throne until James, Durant and Curry abdicate it by hanging up their jerseys.
But we can all see where this thing is going. He’s taking the reins. Sunday was just another reminder that basketball will be in good, very large, hands for a long time.
By Jared Weiss, via The Athletic