By Sam Amick | The Athletic, 2026-03-26 11:06:51
必须得承认维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 的过人之处：无论是在赛场上还是赛场外，这位年轻人对时机的把握都极具天赋。
就在谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 似乎即将蝉联 MVP 荣誉时——毕竟俄克拉荷马城雷霆队高居榜首，且这位卫冕热门的表现一如既往地强势——圣安东尼奥马刺队的大个子却在竭尽全力说服投票者改变主意。3 月 17 日在萨克拉门托时，我和他就这个话题进行了简短的交流，他分享了一个并不令人意外的事实：如果他有投票权，他确实会投给自己。正如我当晚所写的那样，他的竞选依据已经比大多数观察家注意到的要强得多。但讨论从那时起开始升级，在周一晚上客场战胜迈阿密热火后，文班亚马与我们的记者贾里德·韦斯 (Jared Weiss)交谈时进入了全方位的“自我营销”模式。
无论你如何看待文班在竞选之路上的风格，他所陈述的逻辑确实难以反驳。他说的没错，防守在 NBA 依然被低估，而数据表明，他在防守端的个人影响力在全联盟无人能敌。更不用说视觉冲击力了。他论据中的这一部分在周三引发了金州勇士队的德雷蒙德·格林 (Draymond Green)在赛后的强烈反应，格林曾获得过年度最佳防守球员，并九次入选最佳防守阵容。简而言之，正如格林所解释的，不应该等到文班亚马强调防守的显性价值时，人们才真正关注这一关键因素。这是一个经常被忽视的话题，格林和我在去年 11 月初曾详细讨论过。
此外，文班说的没错，他在球场另一端的表现也需要被重新审视。他在挡拆中产生的威慑力与圣安东尼奥精英级别的进攻效率（联盟第四）息息相关。他关于直接交锋记录的看法也是对的，事实证明马刺队比其他任何球队都更像是雷霆队的“克星”，在五次交手中赢下了四场，其中包括 NBA 杯半决赛。
但如果文班真的要赢得 MVP，不仅要追上亚历山大，还要击败丹佛掘金队的尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokić) 和洛杉矶湖人队的卢卡·东契奇 (Luka Dončić) 等人，那么圣安东尼奥马刺需要超越雷霆队，锁定联盟最佳战绩。这是强迫那些可能已经心有所属的投票者重新评估的唯一万无一失的方法。
一支上赛季没进季后赛的球队最终拿到联盟第一，这种想法确实让人不敢置信。但这套方案只有一个问题：雷霆队就是不怎么输球。
然而，在取得 12 连胜（以及 19 战 17 胜）后，雷霆队在周三晚上客场不敌波士顿凯尔特人队（109-119），而马刺队则击败了孟菲斯灰熊队（123-98）。两队之间的差距缩小到了两场，双方都还剩九场比赛，而凭借交锋记录的优势，圣安东尼奥马刺在平分情况下占优。通过球场表现以及场外的造势，文班在常规赛收官阶段引发了一场相当激烈的 MVP 大讨论。
扬尼斯 vs. 雄鹿
与此同时，在密尔沃基，当一支球队的计划突然与当家球星的意愿背道而驰时，情况就会变成这样。
先别管扬尼斯·阿德托昆博 (Giannis Antetokounmpo) 长期以来拥有带伤作战的传奇名声，也别管雄鹿队在有机会赢得总冠军时似乎从未对这种品质提出过异议。球队目前的立场是——尽管有强烈迹象表明扬尼斯认为自己可以上场，但医疗团队不会批准他出赛——这是双方将在今年夏天分道扬镳的最明确信号。无论雄鹿队是为了潜在的交易而保护他的健康，还是为了提高选秀顺位，亦或是两者兼而有之，这种做法与阿德托昆博的愿望直接冲突的事实，足以说明这段关系现状的糟糕程度。
对于超级球星的决定，总有“永不说绝不”的成分，但阿德托昆博在 10 月 1 日有资格签署一份为期四年、价值 2.7 亿美元的续约合同时仍穿着雄鹿球衣的可能性，正变得一天比一天渺茫。正如我们的记者埃里克·内姆 (Eric Nehm) 在 3 月 19 日率先报道的那样，基本确定进入乐透区的雄鹿队在阿德托昆博 3 月 15 日左膝过度伸展后，曾就让他赛季报销的可能性与其进行了接触。
讽刺的是，这正是他在 2021 年季后赛中带伤坚持的同一种伤病，那次征程以雄鹿队在总决赛击败菲尼克斯太阳队、夺得 50 年来首个总冠军告终。然而这一次，当这位曾经的总冠军、总决赛 MVP 和两届 MVP 告知球队官员他不想休战时，很明显他没有得到同样的认可。
九天后，国家篮球裁判协会（NBPA）发表声明，指责 NBA 没有让雄鹿队在球员参与政策方面承担责任。这种策略对于球员工会来说极其罕见，无疑反映了阿德托昆博方面的某种强硬立场。然而，一切都没有改变。
扬尼斯·阿德托昆博如果健康状况允许，希望本赛季能再次出场。球队对此持反对意见。(Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
自内姆最初报道以来，雄鹿队已连续四场比赛将他排除在名单之外，密尔沃基的下一场比赛是周六主场对阵圣安东尼奥马刺。主教练道格·里弗斯 (Doc Rivers) 在周三重申了球队的立场，表示阿德托昆博“就是不健康”。NBA 总裁亚当·萧华 (Adam Silver) 在周三联盟理事会会议后的新闻发布会上谈到了这个问题。
“在球员工会发布那份新闻稿之前，我们并没有意识到存在问题，”萧华说，“我们知道扬尼斯受伤了。他正处于从该伤病中恢复的正常周期内。我对那份新闻稿感到有点意外。
“（但是）是的，当我们的球员工会宣布他们发现问题时，我们当然会进行调查。所以这就是目前的现状。”
正如萧华所分享的，他尚未就此事直接收到阿德托昆博的反馈。人们会认为一个超级巨星不必为了重返赛场而打这种电话，但也许这种非常时期需要非常手段。或者，更有可能的是，雄鹿队和阿德托昆博会一直争执到最后，然后彻底分手。
65 场规则之争愈演愈烈
首先，我得承认：关于“65 场规则”，我可能看走眼了。也许吧。
正如萧华在新闻发布会上正确指出的那样，几年前人们对“负荷管理”的挫败感如此普遍，以至于这种极端措施似乎完全有必要（该规则于 2023-24 赛季首次实施）。但随后我看到卫冕 MVP 乔尔·恩比德 (Joel Embiid) 做出了一个不明智的决定，在那个初始赛季的 1 月 30 日，面对关于他无法保持出勤的广泛批评，他强忍膝盖问题在客场挑战金州勇士队的比赛中登场，结果星再次受伤，并最终缺席了接下来的两个月。那种由体制施加的人为压力，以及球员为了获得评奖资格而对身体做出的选择，在当时看来就有问题，而现在证明问题更严重了。
必须得做点什么。但也许不该是这个规则。
当联盟和球员工会同意将 65 场规则纳入当前的劳资裁定协议时，他们可能没有预料到今年这样的情况：如此多表现最出色的球员，尽管打出了令人难忘的赛季，却面临被取消资格的危险。周二，球员工会发表声明支持底特律活塞队的凯德·坎宁安 (Cade Cunningham)，呼吁废除或改革该规则。处于边缘地位的顶级球员名单很长。
然而，即使他们中的绝大多数人最终达到了要求，其产生的连锁反应也值得分析。目标是为了在常规赛期间最大限度地增加联盟顶尖球员的出场时刻，还是应该将对每位球员在季后赛发挥巅峰水平的影响也纳入考量？
以安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards) 为例。这位明尼苏达森林狼队的球星自 3 月 15 日起因右膝炎症缺阵，但他需要在球队最后九场比赛中参加七场才有资格入选最佳阵容。森林狼队在 3 月 17 日宣布，他将在两周内重新评估。
考虑到爱德华兹本赛季的表现，在他参加的 58 场比赛中场均得到 29.5 分（联盟第三）、5.1 个篮板和 3.7 次助攻，大多数客观的观察者都会同意他理应第三次入选最佳阵容。但如果爱德华兹为了获得资格而提前复出，带着一种如果处理不当很可能会复发的伤病，那么明尼苏达森林狼就面临着为了这个愚蠢的 65 场规则而损害其更宏大目标的风险。
然而，听萧华周三的口气，这里似乎太平无事。
“我认为它正在发挥作用，”当被问及球员工会对该规则的抵制时，他说道。“如果你看看数据，在实施这项规则之前，（关于球员参与度的）数据正朝着错误的方向发展。我可能记不太清了，（但）我认为在我们采用这项规则之前的三年里，几乎三分之一的最佳阵容球员没有打满 80% 的比赛。这对联盟来说是一个巨大的问题。就像我们现在处理摆烂问题一样，人们会问，你们打算怎么办？
“所以不出所料，摆烂背后的潜在逻辑同样适用于球员参与度。激励机制是否一致？我们和球员工会之间达成了一项共识，即我们需要对此采取行动。结果就是有了这个 65 场规则。可以是 68 场吗？可以是 62 场吗？那是谈判的产物。我总体认为它奏效了。有了这项规则，再加上球员参与政策，关于负荷管理的讨论已经远没有以前那么多了，部分原因是球队和球员做出了回应。你现在能看到他们在场上。”
但事实上，你并没有真的看到。事实上，你看到的是像亚历山大（已赛 60 场）、文班亚马（57 场）、约基奇（57 场）、东契奇（60 场）以及许多其他球员，正处于因该规则而无法进入本赛季历史评价体系的边缘。投票者足够聪明，可以自己判断谁配得上什么荣誉。联盟和球员工会可能需要在未来寻找一种新的方式来解决负荷管理问题。
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：Wemby's MVP campaign is tough to argue, plus all signs point to Giannis-Bucks divorce
Wemby’s MVP campaign is tough to argue, plus all signs point to Giannis-Bucks divorce
Give Victor Wembanyama credit for this much: The young man has a knack for timing — on the court and off.
Just when it seemed as if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was about to secure his second consecutive MVP honor, with the Oklahoma City Thunder atop the standings and the incumbent as dominant as ever, the San Antonio Spurs big man has gone to great lengths to convince voters otherwise. He and I had a brief exchange about the topic on March 17 in Sacramento, when he shared the unsurprising fact that he would, in fact, vote for himself if he had that ability. As I wrote that night, his case was already much stronger than most observers seemed to have noticed. But the discussion escalated from there, with Wembanyama going into full marketing mode with our Jared Weiss after Monday night’s win in Miami.
Regardless of what you think of Wembanyama’s style on the campaign trail, it’s tough to argue with the logic he has laid out. He’s right that defense continues to be undervalued in the NBA, and the numbers show that his individual impact on that front is unmatched around the league. Not to mention the eye test. That part of his argument sparked quite the postgame reaction on Wednesday from the Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green, a former Defensive Player of the Year who has been selected to nine All-Defensive teams. In short, as Green explained, it shouldn’t take Wembanyama highlighting the obvious value of defense for people to truly pay attention to that pivotal factor. This is an often-overlooked subject that Green and I discussed at length back in early November.
What’s more, Wembanyama is right that his case on the other end of the floor requires a second look, too. The gravity he causes on pick-and-rolls has everything to do with San Antonio’s elite offensive rating (fourth in the league). He’s also right about the head-to-head matchups being worth remembering with the Spurs proving to be the Thunder’s kryptonite far more than any other team, winning four of five meetings, including the NBA Cup semifinal.
But if Wembanyama is actually going to win MVP, not only catching up with SGA but beating out the likes of the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Dončić, then San Antonio needs to pass OKC in the standings and secure the league’s best record. That’s the only foolproof way to force voters who might have already made up their minds to reassess.
The notion of a team that didn’t make the playoffs last season finishing with the league’s best record would demand a double take. There was just one problem with that plan, though: OKC simply wouldn’t lose.
Yet after winning 12 straight — and 17 of 19 — the Thunder fell at the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night (119-109) while the Spurs downed the Memphis Grizzlies (123-98). The gap between the two teams is down to two games, with nine games to go for each and the tiebreaker in San Antonio’s favor by way of those head-to-head matchups. Through his play and his politicking, Wembanyama has sparked quite the MVP debate down the stretch.
Giannis vs. the Bucks
Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, this is what happens when a team’s agenda suddenly diverts from that of its franchise centerpiece.
Never mind that Giannis Antetokounmpo has a long and legendary reputation of playing through pain, or that the Bucks never seemed to take issue with that quality when it gave them a chance to win a championship. The team’s current stance — that he won’t be medically cleared to play despite the strong indications that he believes he’s good to go — is the clearest sign yet that these two parties are headed for a divorce in the summer. And whether the Bucks are trying to preserve his health for an eventual trade, improve their draft position, or both, the fact that this approach is directly at odds with Antetokounmpo’s desires speaks volumes about the state of affairs in this relationship.
There’s always a never-say-never component to star player decisions, but the notion of Antetokounmpo still being in a Bucks jersey when he’s eligible to sign a four-year, $270 million extension on Oct. 1 seems even more unlikely by the day. As our Eric Nehm first reported on March 19, the lottery-bound Bucks approached Antetokounmpo about the prospect of sitting out for the rest of the season after he suffered a left knee hyperextension on March 15.
Ironically, that’s the same injury he played through in the 2021 playoffs, which ended with the Bucks downing the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals to win the franchise’s first title in 50 years. Yet this time around, when the one-time champion, finals MVP and two-time MVP informed team officials that he had no desire to sit, it’s quite clear that he wasn’t met with the same sort of appreciation.
Nine days later, the National Basketball Players Association made a statement accusing the NBA of not holding the Bucks accountable in relation to the league’s player participation policy. This sort of tactic is extremely rare for the players’ union, and certainly reflects a doubling down of sorts on Antetokounmpo’s part. Yet, nothing has changed.
Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to play again this season if he’s healthy enough. The team disagrees. (Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
The Bucks have ruled him out of four consecutive games since Nehm’s initial report, with Milwaukee’s next game coming at home against San Antonio on Saturday. Coach Doc Rivers reiterated the organization’s stance on Wednesday, indicating that Antetokounmpo is “just not healthy.” NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the issue at his news conference following the league’s Board of Governors meetings on Wednesday.
“Prior to that press release from the Players Association, we were not aware there was an issue,” Silver said. “We knew Giannis was injured. He was within the sort of usual period it was taking to come back from that injury. I was a bit surprised by that press release.
“(But) yes, when our Players Association, our union, announces they see an issue, of course we’ll look into it. So that’s where it currently stands.”
As Silver shared, he had not yet heard directly from Antetokounmpo on the matter. One would think a superstar wouldn’t have to make that sort of call just to get back on the court, but perhaps these desperate times call for desperate measures. Or, more likely, maybe the Bucks and Antetokounmpo will just bicker until the bitter end before finally parting ways.
The 65-game rule debate rages on
First, a confession: I was wrong about the 65-game rule. Maybe.
As Silver rightly pointed out in his news conference, the frustration with load management was so widespread a few years ago that this extreme measure seemed entirely necessary (it was first implemented for the 2023-24 season). But then I watched reigning MVP Joel Embiid make the unwise decision to push through a knee issue and play at Golden State on Jan. 30 of that initial season, when the Philadelphia 76ers star reinjured the knee amid widespread criticism about his inability to stay on the court and wound up missing the next two months. That feeling of artificial pressure being applied by the system, and a player making a choice about his body based on the desire to qualify for awards, seemed problematic then and has only proven more so now.
Something had to be done. But perhaps this wasn’t it.
When the league and the NBPA agreed to make the 65-game rule part of the current collective bargaining agreement, they might not have envisioned a scenario like this year, in which so many of the best performers are in danger of being disqualified despite having such memorable seasons. On Tuesday, the NBPA issued a statement in support of the Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham, calling for the abolition or reform of the rule. There is a long list of elite players who are on the edge here.
Yet even if the vast majority of them make the required mark, there’s a domino effect that is worth analyzing. Is the goal to maximize the moments for the league’s best players during the regular season, or should the impact on each player’s ability to perform at peak level in the playoffs also be factored into the equation?
Take Anthony Edwards, for example. The Minnesota Timberwolves star has been out since March 15 with right knee inflammation, but he needs to play in seven of the team’s final nine games to qualify for All-NBA. The Wolves announced on March 17 that he would be re-evaluated in one to two weeks.
Considering the season Edwards has had, averaging 29.5 points (third in the league), 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists in the 58 games he has played, most objective observers would agree that he deserves to be granted his third All-NBA selection. But if Edwards comes back earlier than he should to qualify, with an injury that could very well return if it’s not properly handled, then Minnesota runs the risk of compromising its bigger-picture goals for the sake of this 65-game rule silliness.
Yet to hear Silver tell it on Wednesday, there’s nothing to see here.
“I think it is working,” he said when asked about the NBPA’s pushback on the rule. “I think if you look at the numbers, the pre-implementation of this rule, numbers (regarding player participation) were going in the wrong direction. I may have this a little bit off, (but) I think the three years before we adopted this rule almost a third of the All-NBA players had not played 80 percent of the games. That was a huge issue for the league. In the same way we’re addressing tanking now, people said, what are you going to do about that?
“So not surprisingly, (the) same underlying (theme) around tanking goes to player participation. Are the incentives aligned? There was a general agreement between us and the players’ association that we needed to do something about that. The result was to have this 65-game rule. Could it be 68? Could it be 62? That was the product of a negotiation. I generally think it’s worked. (With) that, along with the player participation policy, there is not nearly as much discussion about load management as there was, in part because the teams and players have responded. You see them on the floor now.”
You really don’t, though. In truth, you see players like Gilgeous-Alexander (60 games played), Wembanyama (57), Jokić (57), Dončić (60) and so many others coming oh-so close to being left out of the historical conversation as it relates to this season. Voters are smart enough to figure out who deserves what on our own. The league, and the NBPA, might need to find a new way to address the load management issue in the future.
By Sam Amick, via The Athletic