By James Jackson | The Athletic, 2026-03-09 11:00:20
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 每天都在磨练属于他自己的篮球品牌。
在球场上，这位身高7尺4寸的中锋是集盖帽、控球、传球、视野、空间拉开、转换进攻得分、竞争意识和关键时刻得分于一身的稀有物种——而且他也不避讳在常规赛逆转后落泪、在全明星赛上批评大家的努力程度，并充当“纯粹篮球”的裁判官。
在比赛之外，他曾随僧侣修行，热爱阅读科幻小说，作息规律，练习瑜伽，在公共公园迎接象棋爱好者的挑战，还会练习倒立。
在这位两届全明星球员被圣安东尼奥马刺队于2023年以状元签选中之前，他已经被视为“全能包”球员，但他很快就证明了自己是NBA中才华与兴趣最独特的结合体。
这种天赋终究是文班（Wemby）如此令人着迷的原因。
周日，他在145-120大胜休斯顿火箭队的比赛中砍下29分、8个篮板、4次盖帽和2次抢断，其中包括两记三分球和10投9中的罚球。这场表现完美诠释了为什么马刺队拥有文班亚马这位基石球员是何等幸运。
在这场对决的首节末段，文班亚马几乎没有起跳就封盖了阿门·汤普森 (Amen Thompson) 的上篮尝试。第二节开始后的几分钟内，他先是完成了接达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 的空接传球，随后将塔里·伊森 (Tari Eason) 的上篮尝试扇出界外。半场结束前，他通过假动作晃开火箭队的防守，投中压哨三分。第三节初期，他完成了一次转换进攻中的反手扣篮，并获得加罚机会。
周日的比赛再次全程展示了为什么文班亚马在攻防两端都让对手感到恐惧。在每一个回合中，队友、对手、裁判和球迷几乎都不知道会发生什么，而这正是观看他哪怕几秒钟比赛的全部意义所在。
取决于当天的视角，MVP的争论本身就是一桩疯狂的事。俄克拉荷马城雷霆队的卫冕得主谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 和丹佛掘金队的三届MVP尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokić) 可能会为了这份荣誉展开对决。联盟最近实施的65场奖项门槛可能会帮助凯德·坎宁安 (Cade Cunningham)，他在底特律活塞队的63场比赛中仅缺席8场，并带领球队登顶东部。甚至杰伦·布朗 (Jaylen Brown) 在缺少杰森·塔图姆 (Jayson Tatum) 的情况下，也展现了足够的带队能力，值得至少获得一些MVP的考虑。
但文班亚马的竞争理由与上述任何球员一样充分。
本赛季，根据他在场与否而产生的马刺净效率差值，体现了他对球队的影响力——这决定了球队是潜在的NBA最强球队还是平庸之辈。据NBA.com统计，截至周日，文班亚马在场的1426分钟里，圣安东尼奥的净效率值为+15.5；而当他在板凳上的1603分钟里，这一数值降至-0.3。防守端，当他上场时对手的投篮命中率仅为42%，而他不在场时则为48%。这种影响力在禁区防守中进一步体现：面对文班亚马时，球队每100回合的禁区得分仅为38.4分，而当他不在场时这一数字为51.6分。
这位年度最佳防守球员的领跑者，是马刺队在连续六个赛季缺席季后赛（这是他们队史最长的季后赛荒）后，能在西部排名实现跨越的关键。
尽管他本赛季缺席了15场比赛，但他技术上仍处于MVP的竞争行列中，并且毫无疑问是圣安东尼奥有望自2018-19赛季以来首次获得季后赛席位的最大原因。他出战的那些比赛贡献了大量极具统治力的表现和值得称道的时刻，虽然这些表现可能无法在今夏锁定MVP荣誉，但它们确实展示了为什么他的未来充满了获得此类奖项的可能。
他加入了安东尼·戴维斯 (Anthony Davis)（2016年10月26日）的行列，成为过去35年里仅有的两位在赛季揭幕战中砍下40分和15个篮板的球员。12月，当他受到一些伤病困扰时，他依然在那个月打出了场均21.9分、10.1个篮板、2.6次助攻和2.0次盖帽的表现，投篮命中率为56.7%，三分命中率为40.7%。那个月，文班亚马还帮助马刺队三度击败卫冕冠军雷霆队，并一路杀入NBA杯决赛。
自1月1日以来，他在总盖帽数（90次）和总正负值（+316）上领跑全联盟，并带领马刺队在此期间打出了联盟最佳战绩（23胜8负）。文班亚马在磨练自己球风的同时展现出的进步和统治力，正是他有潜力追随名人堂成员蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 和大卫·罗宾逊 (David Robinson) 足迹、成为马刺冠军荣耀基石的原因——即便有些人可能希望他在进攻端能打得离篮筐更近一些。但可以理解的是，既然他比拉夫·桑普森 (Ralph Sampson) 还要高，且接球投篮三分命中率能达到37%，他自然有理由在球场上进行各种尝试。22岁的文班亚马仍在发掘自己的天赋，并不断打破自己的模版。他会按照自己的节奏找到内外结合的平衡点，但这只会让他目前的跨越式进步显得更加非凡。
想象一下，在任何岗位上以如此具有统治力的方式进行学习。
截至周日，圣安东尼奥在过去16场比赛中赢下了15场，创下了自2015年12月21日至2016年1月22日以来最好的16场战绩。在马刺队主场战胜火箭队后，文班亚马儿时的篮球偶像凯文·杜兰特 (Kevin Durant) 称赞了这位年轻大个子影响对手的能力。
“他身高7尺5，臂展差不多8尺，”杜兰特周日表示，“他总能碰到那些球……他总能盖掉一些投篮。”
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 normalizes the absurd: 'He's 7-5 with like an 8-foot wingspan'
How Victor Wembanyama normalizes the absurd: ‘He’s 7-5 with like an 8-foot wingspan’
Victor Wembanyama hones his own brand of basketball daily.
On the court, the 7-foot-4 center is a rare breed of shot-blocking, ball-handling, passing, court vision, floor spacing, transition scoring, competitiveness and clutch-time scoring — and he’s also not shy about crying after regular-season comebacks, critiquing effort in the All-Star Game and being the arbiter of ethical basketball.
Away from the game, he has trained with monks, enjoys reading science fiction, goes to sleep at a decent hour, practices yoga, welcomes chess challengers in public parks and performs handstands.
The two-time All-Star was already deemed the total package before the San Antonio Spurs selected him first overall in 2023, but he’s quickly proven to be the NBA’s most unique combination of talents and interests.
It’s the talent that’s ultimately why Wemby is so tantalizing.
Sunday’s 29-point, eight-rebound, four-block, two-steal performance in a 145-120 win over the Houston Rockets, which included two made 3-pointers and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line, shows why the Spurs are fortunate to have Wembanyama as their franchise centerpiece.
To cap the matchup’s opening period, Wembanyama blocked an Amen Thompson layup try while barely leaving his feet. Within minutes of the second quarter starting, he finished an alley-oop pass from De’Aaron Fox and then spiked a Tari Eason layup attempt out of bounds. Right before halftime, he pump-faked Houston’s defense and drained a buzzer-beating 3. Early in the third quarter, he completed a transition reverse dunk to earn an and-1 opportunity.
Sunday was another game-long display of why Wembanyama horrifies opponents from either side of the ball. On a possession-by-possession basis, teammates, opponents, referees and fans barely know what to expect, and that’s been the entire point of watching even a few seconds of him in action.
Depending on the day, the MVP debate is its own bag of madness. Reigning winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder and three-time MVP Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets could be battling for the honor. The league’s recently instituted 65-game threshold for awards could help the case for Cade Cunningham, who has only missed eight of the Detroit Pistons’ 63 games and has them atop the Eastern Conference. Even Jaylen Brown carried the Boston Celtics enough sans Jayson Tatum to warrant at least some MVP consideration.
But Wembanyama’s case is as strong as any of those players.
On the season, the Spurs’ net-rating swing based on his presence is the difference between them being potentially the NBA’s best team and aggressively average. Entering Sunday, San Antonio had a net rating of plus-15.5 in 1,426 minutes with Wembanyama on the court compared to a mark of minus-0.3 in 1,603 minutes with him on the bench, per NBA.com. Defensively, opponents shoot only 42 percent when he plays and 48 percent when he does not. That impact is furthered by teams averaging only 38.4 points in the paint per 100 possessions when going against Wembanyama versus 51.6 when he’s away from the court.
The favorite for Defensive Player of the Year has been key to the Spurs’ leap up the Western Conference standings after missing the playoffs the last six seasons, their longest postseason drought.
Although he’s missed 15 games this season, he technically remains in the running for MVP and has undoubtedly been the biggest reason why San Antonio is on pace to clinch its first playoff berth since the 2018-19 season. The games in which he has appeared have provided a litany of dominant performances and worthwhile moments that may not secure MVP honors this season, but are credible glimpses as to why a few such nods could be in his future.
He joined Anthony Davis (Oct. 26, 2016) as the only players in the last 35 years to record 40 points and 15 rebounds in a season opener. In December, when he struggled with health a bit, he still finished the month with averages of 21.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 blocks while shooting 56.7 percent, 40.7 percent from behind the arc. That month, Wembanyama also helped the Spurs beat the defending champion Thunder three times en route to an appearance in the NBA Cup final.
Since Jan. 1, he leads the NBA in total blocks (90) and in total plus-minus (plus-316), carrying the Spurs to the league’s best record (23-8) over that span. Wembanyama’s growth and dominance, while still honing his own playing style, is why he has a chance to join Hall of Famers Tim Duncan and David Robinson as pillars of Spurs championship glory, even if some may wish he played a bit closer to the rim on offense. But it’s understandable why he experiments on the court when he’s taller than Ralph Sampson and can shoot 37 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s. At 22 years old, Wembanyama is still harnessing his gifts and continuing to break his own mold. He’ll figure out his inside-outside balance in his own time, but that only makes his current strides so remarkable.
Imagine learning on anyjob in such a dominant fashion.
As of Sunday, San Antonio has won 15 of its last 16 games, marking its best 16-game stretch since Dec. 21, 2015, to Jan. 22, 2016. After the Spurs’ home win over the Rockets, Wembanyama’s childhood basketball idol, Kevin Durant, was complimentary about the young big’s penchant for affecting opponents.
“He’s 7-5 with like an 8-foot wingspan,” Durant said Sunday. “He’s going to get his hand on some basketballs … He’s going to block some shots.”
By James Jackson, via The Athletic