By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-04-12 12:26:17
2026年4月10日，星期五，圣安东尼奥弗罗斯特银行中心，在主场对阵达拉斯独行侠队的比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫乔丹·麦克劳克林（左）与前锋卡特·布莱恩特并肩坐在替补席上。
去年六月选秀结束后，当卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) 得知同样来自南加州的乔丹·麦克劳克林 (Jordan McLaughlin) 是他的马刺队友时，他的脸上露出了灿烂的笑容。
“我看了下大名单，心想，‘噢，J-Mac 也在。噢，天哪，这太疯狂了，’”布莱恩特说道，“他给我发了短信，我刚到这里时就和他交流了一番。这种感觉太棒了。”
乍一看，这似乎是一段不太可能的友谊。
20岁的布莱恩特性格外向，是一位身高6英尺6英寸、身体素质极佳的乐透秀。在进入主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 的轮换阵容之前，他就已经公开宣布了自己的目标——成为“世界上最好的球员之一”。
而上周刚满30岁的麦克劳克林则是一位沉默寡言、落选秀出身的流浪球员，目前效力于他职业生涯的第三支球队，出场时间寥寥，而球队给出的官方身高也仅为“慷慨”的6英尺。
但他们之间有着深厚的纽带，这源于他们共同的根基——内陆帝国（Inland Empire）。这是洛杉矶和太平洋以东一片广阔的多县区域，当地人亲切地称之为“IE”。
布莱恩特在里弗赛德成长，那是内陆帝国人口最多的城市，位于里弗赛德县。他最初就读于橙县的喷泉谷高中，由他的父亲迪森·布莱恩特 (D’Cean Bryant) 执教。后来，在他的父亲被聘为纽波特比奇赛奇希尔学校的教练后，他也随之转学。在被马刺队以首轮第14顺位选中之前，他在亚利桑那大学效力了一个赛季。
麦克劳克林则曾效力于圣贝纳迪诺县兰乔库卡蒙加的埃蒂旺达高中，随后在南加州大学大放异彩。在明尼苏达森林狼队站稳NBA脚跟之前，他曾在发展联盟打拼。
“我们对内陆帝国的篮球感到非常自豪，”布莱恩特说，“总的来说，加州人对我们的体育运动感到非常自豪。但尤其是内陆帝国，因为那里的每个人关系都非常紧密。现在联盟里有不少球员来自南加州，甚至来自内陆帝国。那是一个非常棒的篮球产地。”
当布莱恩特来到圣安东尼奥时，去年七月与马刺续签了一份一年300万美元合同的麦克劳克林，立即将这位来自内陆帝国的小老弟置于自己的羽翼之下。
“任何来自内陆帝国的人，我们都希望看到彼此获胜并取得成功，”麦克劳克林说道，“那个地区走出了很多天才。所以当卡特加入这支球队时，作为一名老将，我只是试着引导他，为他指明方向，教他如何成为一名职业球员。他接受了这些，并且做得非常出色。”
布莱恩特很高兴能有麦克劳克林作为他的“老大哥”。
“我父亲以前执教时曾和他交过手，”布莱恩特说，“我看过很多次 J-Mac 打球。他是内陆帝国的传奇。他留在了家乡，去了南加州大学，就像是家乡英雄那样。他是个非常出色的球员。在加入马刺之前，我们曾见过一两次面。我一直很仰慕他。”
在上周以112-101击败波特兰开拓者队的比赛中，布莱恩特砍下17分，命中5记三分球并送出4次助攻，均创下赛季新高。他在赛后的新闻发布会上特别提到了麦克劳克林，感谢他帮助自己理解在应对“比赛起伏”时“保持脚踏实地”的重要性。
“J-Mac 在这方面对我帮助很大，”布莱恩特说，“他总是对我说，‘相信你的付出。’”
在那场比赛中，麦克劳克林在9分钟的关键出场时间里贡献了2分和2个篮板，正负值为+9。
“J-Mac 每次获得上场机会时都会做很多事情，”布莱恩特说，“我非常钦佩 J-Mac，因为他上场的机会并不多，但每次上场，他都很稳健，始终如一。你永远不会看到他情绪波动太大。”
更重要的是，布莱恩特钦佩麦克劳克林的生活方式。
“他是个非常好的人，他的家人和妻子都很棒，”布莱恩特说，“他们都是很棒的人，善良、甜美且真诚。J-Mac 是我的榜样。我的意思是，从最好的方面来说，他作为一个人的修养远超他作为一名篮球运动员的成就。他处事的方式，他要求自己的方式，他就是职业球员的典范。你从来不会在某场比赛中觉得，‘兄弟，我们得把 J-Mac 换下去。’”
麦克劳克林表示，他最想传授给布莱恩特的东西就是专注于“保持稳定，保持职业”。
“这是新秀们最难理解的一点，”麦克劳克林说，“他们中的很多人只想一进来就上场打球，单场砍下20分并表现出色。但成为一名职业球员意味着每天都要来到球馆，努力训练，无论你是否上场，学习如何以正确的方式打球，学习如何阅读比赛，并找到自己在球队中的角色。”
“他正开始这样做，而且效果已经显现出来了。”
布莱恩特表示，他只是在努力追随麦克劳克林的榜样。
“他为人处世的方式，他每天投入工作的方式，他从不迟到，”布莱恩特说，“他话不多，但只要他开口，我总是第一个倾听，因为他拥有如此丰富的知识和价值。他在这个联盟待了很长时间，赚了很多钱，尤其是考虑到他的身材。他懂很多。所以能够听取并理解他所说的话，并将其应用到自己身上，我感到非常感激。”
约翰逊很高兴布莱恩特能从麦克劳克林身上学到他所说的“在更衣室和球场上的冷静与一致性”，以及从其他不在轮换阵容中的老将身上学习。总经理布莱恩·莱特 (Brian Wright) 在休赛期用老将填补了替补席末端的席位，而不是像马刺过去几个赛季那样安排发展型球员。
“卡特今年成长了许多，这很大程度上源于赛季初期，当他没有得到稳定或太多出场时间时，他经常和乔丹、凯利（奥利尼克）、比斯（比永博）、林迪（沃特斯三世）一起待在健身房里。对于他来说，身边能有这样一群充满竞争意识、早早到场、做正确事情的人，我们已经别无所求了。”
“感到沮丧是可以理解的，每个人都想上场打球，但我们要确保把这种情绪放在正确的地方，并将其转化为提升自我的动力。我认为那些老将们已经向他展示了这一点，而他也从中受益匪浅，因为他进步了很多，现在已经能打上真正的轮换时间了。”
而麦克劳克林，正是他的导师。
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：Spurs rookie Carter Bryant has a trusted mentor in Jordan McLaughlin
Spurs rookie Carter Bryant has a trusted mentor in Jordan McLaughlin
San Antonio Spurs guard Jordan McLaughlin, left, and forward Carter Bryant sit beside each other on the bench during a home game against the Dallas Mavericks at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Friday, April 10, 2026.
Carter Bryant’s face lit up when he learned after the draft last June that fellow Southern Californian Jordan McLaughlin was one of his Spurs teammates.
"I looked at the roster and said, ‘Oh, J-Mac’s here. Oh, damn, that’s crazy,’ " Bryant said. “He sent me a text and I chopped it up with him when I first got here. It was dope.”
At first blush, it would appear to be an unlikely friendship.
Bryant, 20, is an outgoing uber-athletic, 6-foot-6 lottery pick who entered the league with the self-proclaimed goal of becoming “one of the best players in the world” — even before earning a spot in coach Mitch Johnson’s rotation.
McLaughlin, who turned 30 last week, is a quiet, undrafted journeyman playing spot minutes for his third team, which generously lists him at 6-0.
But they enjoy a strong bond stemming from their roots in the Inland Empire, the vast multi-county region east of Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean that natives refer to as the “IE.”
Bryant grew up in Riverside, the most populous city in the Inland Empire, located in Riverside County. He initially attended Orange County’s Fountain Valley High, where he was coached by his father D’Cean Bryant before transferring to Sage Hill School in Newport Beach after his father was hired to coach at the school. He played one season at Arizona before the Spurs selected him 14th overall.
McLaughlin played for Etiwanda High in Rancho Cucamonga in San Bernadino County before starring at Southern California. He spent time in the G League before gaining an NBA foothold with Minnesota.
“We take a lot of pride in basketball in the IE,” Bryant said. “In California in general, we take a lot of pride in our sports. But especially in the IE because everybody is very close with each other. We have quite a few guys in the league right now from Southern California and even from the IE. It’s a really good region of basketball.”
When Bryant got to San Antonio, McLaughlin, who the Spurs re-signed to a one-year, $3 million contract in July, immediately took the kid from the IE under his wing.
“Anybody from the Inland Empire, we all want to see each other win and do well,” McLaughlin said. “We got a lot of talent that comes out of that area. And so when Carter joined this team, being a vet, I just tried to lead him and show him the way, show him how to be a pro. He bought into it and has done an amazing job.”
Bryant was thrilled to have McLaughlin as his “vet.”
“My dad used to coach against him,” Bryant said. “I saw J-Mac play a ton of times. He’s an IE legend. He stayed home, went to USC, a hometown hero sort of thing. He’s a hell of a player. We came across each other once or twice before the Spurs. I’ve always looked up to him.”
Speaking at the podium after he scored 17 points, hit five 3-pointers and dished out four assists — all season highs — in last week’s 112-101 win over Portland, Bryant singled out McLaughlin for helping him understand the importance of “staying grounded” while managing the “ups and downs of the game.”
“J-Mac has been a big part of that for me.” Bryant said. "He’s just been like, ‘Just trust your work.’ "
In that same game, McLaughlin had two points and two rebounds and was a plus-nine in nine meaningful minutes.
“J-Mac does a lot of stuff every time he gets the opportunity to play,” Bryant said. “I admire J-Mac so much because he doesn’t get the opportunity to play too much, but every time he goes in, he’s steady, he’s constant. You never see him get high or low.”
More importantly, Bryant admires the way McLaughlin lives his life.
“He’s such a good guy and his family, his wife are amazing,” Bryant said. "They’re just amazing people, beautiful people, super sweet and genuine. J-Mac is someone I look up to. I mean this in the best way possible, him as a human being is so far beyond him as a basketball player. Just the way he operates, the way he conducts himself. He’s a pro’s pro. He’s never been in a game where you’re like, "Bro, we need to get J-Mac out of here.’ "
McLaughlin said the biggest thing he’s tried to impart to Bryant is to just focus on “being steady, being a pro.”
“That’s the biggest thing rookies don’t understand,” McLaughlin said. "A lot of them just want to come in and play right away, have 20-point games and do good. But being a pro is just coming in every single day, working hard, no matter whether you’re playing or not playing, learning how to play the game the right way and learning what reads you’re getting and just finding your role on the team.
“He’s starting to do that and it’s showing.”
Bryant said he’s just trying to follow McLaughin’s example.
'Just the way he conducts himself, the way he goes to work every day, he’s never late," Bryant said. “He’s somebody who doesn’t say too much, but when he does, I’m the first person to listen because he has so much knowledge and value. He’s been in his league for a long time, made a lot of money so far, especially at his size. He knows a lot. So being able to take and comprehend what he’s saying and apply it to myself, I’m super grateful.”
Johnson is glad Bryant is learning from what he calls McLaughlin’s “level-headedness and consistency in the locker room and on the court” and from examples set by other vets who are out of the rotation. General manager Brian Wright stocked the bottom of the bench in the offseason with veterans rather than developmental players like the Spurs had in many of those spots the past several seasons.
"Carter has grown immensely this year and a lot of that has been from how earlier on when he wasn’t playing consistently or as much he was in the gym quite a bit with Jordan, with Kelly (Olynyk), with Bis (Biyombo), with Lindy (Waters III). And we couldn’t have asked or wanted for him to be around a better group of guys who are about being competitive, getting in early, the right stuff.
“It’s OK to be frustrated. Everybody wants to play, but let’s make sure we put it in the right places and channel that to get better for ourselves. And I thought those guys have shown him that and he’s reaped the benefits because he has gotten a lot better and now he’s playing real minutes.”
With McLaughlin as his mentor.
By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News