By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-04-08 12:13:01
圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) (1) 在主场对阵费城 76 人的比赛前等待首发球员介绍，地点为圣安东尼奥 Frost Bank 中心，2026年4月6日，周一。
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 在周三早上的投篮训练结束后，赤裸着上身坐在场边，看着队友们进行非正式的投篮练习，为当晚对阵波特兰开拓者的比赛做准备。
这位全明星中锋因在两天前战胜费城的比赛中遭遇左侧肋骨挫伤，被确认缺席对阵开拓者的比赛。
马刺队对文班亚马的缺阵时间持乐观态度。一位马刺队发言人表示，球队“希望”文班亚马能在周五主场对阵达拉斯独行侠的比赛中重返赛场。
如果一切顺利，马刺队也不排除让文班亚马参加周日在主场对阵丹佛掘金的常规赛收官战。
文班亚马复出的时机非常关键，不仅是为了季后赛做准备。
这位身高 7 英尺 4 英寸的法国人必须在接下来的常规赛中至少再打一场且出场时间不少于 20 分钟，才能在本赛季达到 65 场出赛。这是联盟规定的球员保持评选 NBA 奖项资格（如最有价值球员、年度最佳防守球员、最佳阵容和最佳防守阵容）的最低门槛。
22 岁的文班亚马被认为是赢得职业生涯首个年度最佳防守球员奖项的热门人选，这将使他成为 NBA 历史上最年轻的获奖者。
球队表示文班亚马参加了周三的投篮训练，但在对媒体开放的 10 分钟时间里，他大部分时间都坐着。
当被问及文班亚马周三在场上的表现时，老将前锋哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 隐晦地提到了 NBA 的反赌博规定并拒绝回答。
“他们开了这些关于禁止透露消息或操纵比赛的重要会议，”巴恩斯说道，“所以我不能告诉你太多关于他状态的信息。”
文班亚马并非唯一缺席周三比赛的马刺首发球员。
首发后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 同样因右膝酸痛被确认缺席。预计他也将于周五回归。
巴恩斯表示，两名关键球员的缺阵不应妨碍马刺队将这场比赛作为季后赛的预演。
“拥有深厚阵容储备的好处在于，我们本赛季尝试过很多不同的阵容，”巴恩斯说，“进入季后赛最重要的一点就是灵活性。无论谁在场上，我们都充满信心。”
斯普利特在波特兰崭露头角： 波特兰主帅蒂亚戈·斯普利特 (Tiago Splitter) 在常规赛仅进行一场后，便接替了因涉赌被捕的昌西·比卢普斯 (Chauncey Billups)，接手了一个烂摊子。
作为马刺 2014 年 NBA 冠军队的首发中锋，斯普利特表示，他借鉴了在格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 手下学到的经验，来帮助自己应对这一挑战。
“波波教会了我很多——如何与人相处、如何领导团队以及如何对待每一天，”斯普利特说，“我对他的执教方式记忆犹新。”
截至周三，斯普利特已带领开拓者取得了 40 胜 39 负的战绩，力争实现球队自 2020-21 赛季以来的首个五成胜率赛季。季后赛也并非遥不可及。开拓者目前稳居西部第九，有望获得决定最后两个季后赛席位的附加赛资格。
巴恩斯认可马龙的任命： 作为北卡罗来纳大学的校友，巴恩斯对他母校不寻常地聘请前丹佛掘金主帅迈克尔·马龙 (Michael Malone) 担任下一任篮球主教练表示赞赏。
焦油脚跟队（Tar Heels）选中马龙接替本月早些时候被解雇的休伯特·戴维斯 (Hubert Davis)。
在掘金队执教 10 个赛季并在 2023 年夺得 NBA 总冠军之前，马龙曾在巴恩斯效力金州勇士期间担任助理教练。
“我认为他很有料，”巴恩斯说，“他是个赢家。对于他这样一个非‘北卡系’的人被选为主教练，我认为我们做出了正确的决定。”
巴恩斯表示，他不担心马龙在 NBA 和大学比赛之间进行调整的能力。
他 believe 马龙的职业履历将使他在北卡受益。
“从根本上说，这仍然是篮球，他知道如何赢球，也知道如何激发球员的最佳状态，”巴恩斯说，“对于那些有志于进入这个联盟的大学生球员来说，还有什么比向一个不仅在这个联盟执教过、而且还赢过球的人学习更好的机会呢？”
为了马龙着想，巴恩斯希望他从职业赛场到大学赛场的转型能比北卡新任橄榄球主教练上赛季的经历更顺利。
夺得过超级碗的教练比尔·贝利切克 (Bill Belichick) 在执掌焦油脚跟队的首个赛季仅取得了 4 胜 8 负的战绩。
“别把他们两个归为一类，”巴恩斯笑着说，“希望马龙能有一个更好的开局。”
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：Wembanyama could return Friday against Dallas
Wembanyama could return Friday against Dallas
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) waits to be announced as a starter before a home game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Monday, April 6, 2026.
Victor Wembanyama sat shirtless on the sideline after the Spurs’ morning shootaround Wednesday, watching his teammates get up a few more informal shots in preparation for that night’s game against Portland.
The All-Star center was ruled out against the Trail Blazers with a left rib contusion suffered in a victory over Philadelphia two nights earlier.
The Spurs are optimistic Wembanyama’s time on the shelf will be a short one. The team is “hopeful” Wembanyama will be back on the floor for Friday’s game against Dallas at the Frost Bank Center, a Spurs spokesman said.
Should that go well, the Spurs have not ruled out Wembanyama also playing in Sunday’s regular-season finale at home against Denver.
The timing of Wembanyama’s return is notable, and not just in terms of preparing for the playoffs.
The 7-foot-4 Frenchman must play log at least 20 minutes in one more regular-season game to reach 65 this season. That is the league-mandated minimum a player must reach to remain eligible for NBA awards such as Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, All-NBA and All-Defense.
The 22-year-old Wembanyama is considered a shoo-in to win his first Defensive Player of the Year award, which would make him the youngest recipient in NBA history.
The team said Wembanyama was a participant in Wednesday’s shootaround session, though he remained seated for most of the 10-minute portion open to the media.
Asked how Wembanyama looked on the court Wednesday, veteran forward Harrison Barnes coyly cited the NBA’s anti-gambling rules and declined to answer.
“They do these great meetings about no tipping or fixing,” Barnes said. “So I can’t tell you too much how he looked.”
Wembanyama was not the only Spurs starter set to miss Wednesday’s game.
Starting guard Stephon Castle was likewise ruled out with right knee soreness. He is expected to return Friday as well.
Barnes said the absence of a pair of key players shouldn’t prevent the Spurs from using the game as playoff preparation.
“The beauty of having the depth we’ve had is we’ve played with a lot of different lineups this season,” Barnes said. “The biggest thing going into the playoffs is flexibility. We feel confident no matter who is out there.”
Splitter making mark in Portland: Portland coach Tiago Splitter inherited a mess when he took over for Chauncey Billups one game into the regular season, following the latter’s arrest on gambling charges.
The starting center on the Spurs’ 2014 NBA championship team, Splitter said he leaned on lessons learned under Gregg Popovich to help him navigate a challenging situation.
“Pop taught me a lot of things — how to deal with people and how to lead a team and how to approach the every day,” Splitter said. “I have vivid memories of him and how he coached.”
Splitter has led the Trail Blazers to a 40-39 record entering Wednesday, in search of the club’s first .500 season since 2020-21. The playoffs are not out of the question, either. The Blazers are firmly entrenched in ninth place in the Western Conference, in line for a bid play-in tournament that determines the final two postseason seeds.
Barnes gives thumbs-up to Malone hire: A North Carolina alum, Barnes celebrated his alma mater’s unorthodox hire of former Denver coach Michael Malone as its next basketball coach.
The Tar Heels tabbed Malone to succeed Hubert Davis, who was fired earlier this month.
Before a 10-season run with the Nuggets that peaked with the 2023 NBA championship, Malone was an assistant at Golden State when Barnes played there.
“I thought he was about the right stuff,” Barnes said. “He’s a winner. For him to be selected as the head coach outside the Carolina family, I think we made the right decision.”
Barnes said he was unconcerned with Malone’s ability to make an adjustment between the NBA and college game.
He believes Malone’s professional pedigree should benefit him at UNC.
“At the base level, it’s still basketball and he knows how to win and how to get the best out of guys,” Barnes said. “College players who have ambitions on playing in this league, what better opportunity than to go and learn from a guy who has not only coached in this league but has won in this league.”
For Malone’s sake, Barnes is hoping for a more seamless move from the pros to the college ranks than North Carolina’s new football coach experienced last season.
Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick went 4-8 in his first season at the Tar Heels helm.
“Let’s not put those two in the same category,” Barnes said with a chuckle. “Let’s hope Malone has a better start.”
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News