By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-02-18 13:40:58
2024年11月23日（星期六），圣安东尼奥马刺队中锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) (1) 在圣安东尼奥 Frost Bank 中心举行的马刺队对阵金州勇士队的 NBA 比赛下半场中，祝贺前锋哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) (40) 投篮命中。马刺队以 104-94 战胜勇士队。
奥斯汀——就在一年前的本周三，圣安东尼奥马刺队入住奥斯汀市中心的一家酒店时，阵中还缺少了一位身高 7 英尺 4 英寸的法国“外星人”。
在去年的年度“I-35公路之旅”中，马刺队前往穆迪中心（Moody Center）进行两场比赛，但维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 并未随队前往。当时，他因右肩血栓正面临他在 NBA 第二个赛季的提前报销，距离这一决定公布还不到 24 小时。
回首往事，这位马刺队的明星中锋用一个词来形容他那时的生活。
“那是一段痛苦的经历 (traumatic)，”文班亚马说。
一年时间，天差地别。
本周三，马刺队再次入住同一家奥斯汀酒店，准备迎接周四对阵菲尼克斯太阳队和周六对阵萨克拉门托国王队的比赛。这一次，文班身体健康、伤愈归来，并正带领马刺队处于终结队史最长季后赛荒的边缘。
目前，马刺队战绩为 38 胜 16 负，在全明星赛后拿到了自 2016-17 赛季以来同期的最高胜场数。令人惊讶的是，他们位居西部第二，在负场数上仅落后卫冕冠军俄克拉荷马城雷霆队两场，极有希望锁定俱乐部自 2019 年以来的首个季后赛席位。
这支依然年轻且大多未经季后赛考验的马刺队准备好了吗？
“只有一个办法能揭晓答案，”文班亚马说。
在这支马刺队的生命周期中，这还是第一次在 2 月下旬及以后参与具有实质意义的比赛竞争。
在接下来的六周里，马刺队将为季后赛排名而战，努力磨合阵容和轮换，并在季后赛临近时通过艰苦的比赛保持竞技状态。
这是七年来的第一次，他们的目标是带着最佳状态进入 4 月、5 月，如果进展特别顺利，还有 6 月。
刚刚结束职业生涯第二次全明星之旅的文班亚马表示，他对自己球队的惊人蜕变并不感到意外。
“我看到每个人都在付出努力，我看到每个人都在做出牺牲，”文班亚马说。目前，他所带领的马刺队正以六连胜——当前 NBA 最长连胜纪录——重新开启征程。“但我们还没达到终点。我们还有很多工作要做，还有更多的牺牲要付出。”
在圣安东尼奥 1604 号环路以外，很少有人在赛季初预见到这一幕。
去年 9 月，拉斯维加斯的共识赔率预测马刺队将获得 41 场胜利。对于一支在前三个赛季分别只赢得 22 胜、22 胜和 34 胜的球队来说，这看起来已经足够公平了。
当文班在季前赛宣称马刺队的目标是直接获得季后赛资格（即在西部排名第六或更高）时，即便对于他这样拥有惊人海拔的人来说，这似乎也是一个很难逾越的高标杆。
正是老牌前锋哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 敦促他的马刺队友们要敢于梦想更大的目标。
巴恩斯曾问道：如果只是打进季后赛，然后在首轮被横扫，这样就足够了吗？这算是一个成功的赛季吗？
“大家都说‘不’，”全明星后卫德亚伦·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 说道。“我们正寻求完成更伟大、更出色的目标。”
正因如此，全明星赛后的这支马刺队正步入一个陌生且未知的领域。
并不是说这套阵容完全缺乏季后赛经验。
巴恩斯参加过 71 场季后赛，并在 2015 年随金州勇士队夺得总冠军。
替补中锋卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 的履历上有 43 场季后赛经历，并于 2024 年在波士顿凯尔特人队获得了冠军。
几位深层轮换球员也品尝过季后赛的滋味——即比斯马克·比永博 (Bismack Biyombo)、凯利·奥利尼克 (Kelly Olynyk)、林迪·沃特斯 (Lindy Waters) 以及新签约的大个子梅森·普拉姆利 (Mason Plumlee)。
然而，在马刺队的首发阵容中，只有福克斯曾有过 NBA 季后赛的上场记录。
2023 年，福克斯曾代表萨克拉门托参加了对阵勇士队的七场季后赛首轮系列赛。
“这是我们许多人第一次在全明星赛后打这种具有实质意义的篮球，”福克斯说。“这肯定需要一个调整过程。”
这群未经证明的马刺球员一致表示，他们已经准备好接受挑战。
“这就是你在 NBA 打球的意义所在，”新秀后卫迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 说道。“我不想身处任何其他位置。”
后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 在上赛季加入马刺队之前曾随康涅狄格大学夺得 NCAA 总冠军，他表示自己早已准备好再次为荣誉而战。
“我的一生都在胜利中度过，所以去年（在马刺队的前期）感觉有点不同，”卡斯尔说。“那种尝试回归赢球常态的感觉非常好。”
在常规赛还剩 28 场的情况下，马刺队距离他们自 2018-19 赛季以来的首个胜率过半赛季还差 5 场胜利。距离自 2016-17 赛季（当时球队取得 61 胜）以来的首个 50 胜赛季还差 12 场。
他们极有希望在季后赛首轮获得主场优势，并且有相当大的机会超越雷霆队夺得西部榜首。
去年的马刺来到奥斯汀时，还在努力收拾当家球星赛季报销带来的残局；而这个赛季，他们正在为季后赛的最后冲击做准备。
只有一个办法能知道接下来会发生什么。
“会有顺境，也会有逆境，”文班亚马说。“关键在于我们如何应对。会有起起落落。我们希望尽量缩短低谷期，并尽可能地攀上高峰。”
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：Why the Spurs are in uncharted territory in push for playoffs
Why the Spurs are in uncharted territory in push for playoffs
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) congratulates forward Harrison Barnes (40) on making a basket during the second half of the Spurs NBA game with the Golden State Warriors at the Frost Bank Center on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024 in San Antonio. The Spurs beat the Warriors 104-94.
AUSTIN — Nearly a year earlier to the day Wednesday, the Spurs checked into a hotel in downtown Austin short one 7-foot-4 French-born extraterrestrial.
Victor Wembanyama was not with the team on last season’s annual visit up Interstate-35 for a pair of games at the Moody Center. He was less than 24 hours away from being shut down for the remainder of his second NBA campaign with a blood clot in his right shoulder.
Looking back, the Spurs’ All-Star center has a word to describe his life at that point in time.
“It was traumatic,” Wembanyama said.
What a difference a year makes.
The Spurs checked into the same Austin hotel Wednesday, in advance of games Thursday against Phoenix and Saturday against Sacramento, this time with Wembanyama healthy, healed and on the brink of ending the Spurs’ longest playoff drought in franchise history.
At 38-16, the Spurs emerge from the All-Star break with their most victories to this point since 2016-17. They sit a surprising second place in the Western Conference, only two games in the loss column behind defending league champion Oklahoma City, with a prime chance to pocket the club’s first postseason bid since 2019.
Are the still young and mostly untested Spurs ready for this?
“Only one way to find out,” Wembanyama said.
For the first time in the life cycle of this iteration of the Spurs, the team is slated to play meaningful basketball in late February and beyond.
Over the next six weeks, the Spurs will be fighting for playoff seeding, working to iron out lineups and rotations, and grinding to stay sharp as the postseason approaches.
The goal — for the first time in seven years — is to be playing their best basketball heading into April, May and, if things go particularly well, June.
Fresh off his second career All-Star berth, Wembanyama said he is not surprised by the Spurs’ sharp turnaround.
“I’ve seen everybody put in the work, and I’ve seen everyone sacrifice,” said Wembanyama, whose team will restart play boasting the NBA’s longest active winning streak at six games. “And we’re still not there. We’ve still got a lot more work to put in and a lot more to sacrifice.”
Few people outside of Loop 1604 saw this coming at the start of the season.
In September, the consensus Las Vegas odds had the Spurs pegged for 41 wins. It seemed fair enough for a team that had won 22, 22 and 34 games in the previous three seasons.
When Wembanyama pronounced in the preseason the Spurs aspired to make the playoff field outright — meaning a finish of sixth place or better in the West — it seemed a high bar even for someone his outrageous height to clear.
It was veteran forward Harrison Barnes who urged his fellow Spurs to dream bigger.
Is it enough just to get to the playoffs if you get swept in the first round, Barnes asked. Is that a successful season?
“Everybody said no,” All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox said. “We’re looking to do bigger and better things.”
In that, this version of the Spurs comes out of the All-Star break venturing into strange and uncharted territory.
It is not as if the roster is altogether devoid of playoff experience.
Barnes has appeared in 71 postseason contests, and won a championship with Golden State in 2015.
Backup center Luke Kornet has 43 playoff appearances on his resume, and earned a title with Boston in 2024.
A handful of deep reserves have also tasted postseason action — namely, Bismack Biyombo, Kelly Olynyk, Lindy Waters and newly signed big man Mason Plumlee.
Among the Spurs’ preferred starting lineup, however, only Fox has logged any amount of NBA playoff minutes.
Fox played for Sacramento in seven games of a first-round series against Golden State in 2023.
“It’s the first time a lot of our guys are playing meaningful basketball after the break,” Fox said. “It’s definitely going to be an adjustment.”
To a man, the unproven Spurs say they are up for the challenge.
“It’s what you play for in the NBA,” rookie guard Dylan Harper said. “I wouldn’t want to be in any other position.”
Guard Stephon Castle, who won an NCAA championship at Connecticut before joining the Spurs last season, said he is long past ready to begin playing for something again.
“My whole life I’ve been on the winning side of things, so last year was a little different,” Castle said. “It feels good to just try and get back to normal with that side of things.”
With 28 regular-season games to go, the Spurs are five victories away from their first winning season since 2018-19. They are 12 away from their first 50-win campaign since the 2016-17 team posted 61.
They have sturdy chance of securing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, and more than a puncher’s chance of overtaking OKC for top spot in the West.
Whereas the Spurs arrived in Austin last year having to pick up the pieces after their star player’s season-ending medical diagnosis, this season they are prepping for a postseason push.
There is only one way to find out what happens next.
“There’s going to be some good, there’s going to be some bad,” Wembanyama said. “It’s about how we react to it. There’s going to be ups and downs. We want to make the downs as little as possible and the ups as high as possible.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News