By Jared Weiss | The Athletic, 2026-04-22 11:00:19
圣安东尼奥——长久以来，维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 的存在似乎已成定局。曾经那些关于他会因伤病而崩塌的担忧，早已被抛诸脑后。在经历了数年的期待与忧虑后，文班亚马的时代终于到来了。
然而，文班亚马大显身手的势头，以及马刺队向着秋季时还显得遥不可及的高度攀升的希望，突然间都受到了威胁。
曾有很多次，这位马刺队的基石球员扭伤了脚踝或撞到了膝盖，痛苦倒地，但片刻之后就能像没事人一样生龙活虎。但这次不同了。这再次证明了他为了比赛是多么愿意透支这具全联盟保养得最细致的躯体，以及他为此付出的代价。
当朱·霍勒迪 (Jrue Holiday) 对文班亚马使出撤凳子防守时——正是同样的转身动作在第一场比赛中让德尼·阿夫迪亚 (Deni Avdija) 狼狈不堪——这位身高7英尺4英寸的马刺巨人重重地摔在了地板上。起初，文班亚马的落地姿势看起来还算安全，侧身着地，让肩膀和手臂承受了大部分冲击力。
但不，绝非如此。在这波失败的进攻中，他仍想榨取最后一点价值。
在踉跄倒地的那一瞬间，文班亚马判断出还有几英寸的空间可以将球传向底角。
于是他做了什么？他传出了那一球。他牺牲了自己的安全去完成这次进攻。无论后果如何，他都在所不惜。
文班亚马的脸不只是一次撞击地面。下巴遭受的沉重一击产生的挥鞭效应，让他再次反弹回地板，遭受了第二次“击倒”。
他似乎失去了意识，马刺队的夺冠希望在那一刻仿佛冻结了。
全世界都在注视着，陷入了永恒般的几秒钟惊愕与难以置信中。在那份悬念里，交织着恐惧、希望、失落和愤世嫉俗的旋风。无论是对着篮球之神翻个白眼并嘲讽一句“果然还是发生了”，还是紧张得咬指甲、双腿颤抖，这次剧烈的摔倒让现场笼罩在一种警报般的惶恐中。
他曾设法避开大多数人对他这种身材的球员所担心的严重伤病。然而，上赛季后半段他却因为血栓缺阵。本赛季他克服了血栓和膝盖过度伸展，成为了那个他一直认为自己能成为的文班。但在季后赛生涯仅仅打了六节比赛后，他因脑震荡离场了。
很快，他恢复了意识，在努力坐直身体时显得有些昏昏沉沉，试图重新找回方向感。据迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 透露，文班亚马告诉他：“我没事，只是头有点疼。”
维克托·文班亚马（脑震荡保护协议）在头部撞击地板后，本场比赛不会回归。pic.twitter.com/qP8tAf6osN
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@ NBAonNBC) 2026年4月22日
在经历了一阵痛苦和不适后，他突然起身冲回了更衣室。这种冲刺和他以前抓着脚踝后的表现如出一辙，随后他就会甩甩脚，像受了点小伤一样继续比赛。
也许冲回后台是一个他安然无恙的信号？目前看来并非如此，至少接下来的两天是这样。
马刺队教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 确认文班亚马患有脑震荡，这意味着根据 NBA 的脑震荡保护协议，他必须进行 48 小时的低暴露恢复。在那之后，他才能接受回归比赛的评估。从技术上讲，他可以在周五前往波特兰，并在当晚的第三场比赛中披挂上阵。马刺队很幸运，在下一场比赛前多出了一天的休息时间。
但球员通常不会从脑震荡中恢复得那么快。通常需要 7 到 10 天的休战期，这意味着他至少要到回到圣安东尼奥打第五场比赛时才能复出。考虑到马刺队在最终以 103-106 失利的比赛中关键时刻的表现，这可能是一个大问题。
开拓者队的防守在最后五分钟就像虎钳一样紧固，在关键时刻打出了 16-4 的冲击波。达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox)、斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 和德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 在比常规赛更严密的压迫下纷纷投篮失靶。开拓者队在最关键时刻展现了纯粹的季后赛篮球，马刺队的进攻感受到了这种压力。当福克斯冲击篮下时，由于防守窗口关闭得太快，他不得不仓促出手。卡斯尔甚至在他本赛季一直很稳健的 10 英尺区域内都无法保持平衡出手。瓦塞尔在第四节初表现出色，但在最后几分钟投丢了两个高难度球。他们在两分钟关头拥有整整一分钟的进攻时长，结果却以进攻时间违例告终。
约翰逊谈到他的球队似乎不像第一场比赛那样步调一致，这在进攻端试图理清关键时刻的空间和配合时显而易见。这支在防守轮转中总是领先一步的球队，在面对对手同样犀利的轮转时，显得无计可施。
失去文班亚马后的生活本可以、也应该比这更好。圣安东尼奥拥有在没有他的情况下赢球的天赋，即使面对波特兰这样强硬的对手。马刺队知道，在 2026 年的季后赛中，如果三分球 24 投仅 7 中，且没有文班亚马凭借意志扭曲防守引力，他们很难指望获胜。
“我们在没有他的情况下打过艰苦的比赛，”卡斯尔说。“显然，我们希望每个人都健康，希望他在场上。但无论场上是哪五个人，我们都会打出自己的风格。”
马刺队知道没有文班亚马会是什么样子。这让他们度过了常规赛。但季后赛是完全不同的挑战。没有他，球队能挺过季后赛吗？他们可能不得不去寻找答案。
就像关于文班亚马的大多数事情一样，这次脑震荡也笼罩在神秘之中。尽管我们都看得很清楚，但这是一种“隐形的伤病”，没有任何他一瘸一拐或活动手臂的录像可以用来预测伤情。马刺队只能等待，并寄希望于最好的结果。
文班亚马在他的职业生涯中，尤其是本赛季，为了掌控自己的身心付出了巨大努力。就在周二早上，他还谈到了终于能掌控自己的健康和在 NBA 的命运的感觉，并逐一实现了目标，比如成为史上首位全票当选的年度最佳防守球员。
“感觉很好，感觉很好。我想保持这种状态，”文班亚马说。“我不想止步于此。”
这份清单的最顶端是赢得总冠军。他一直知道，达到那个高度将比他之前做过的任何事情都更具挑战性。障碍比他预想的来得更快、更猛烈。现在，他和其他所有人都在等待接下来的发展。但他肯定不想在这里停下脚步。
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：The Spurs lost Victor Wembanyama and looked vulnerable right away. So what now?
The Spurs lost Victor Wembanyama and looked vulnerable right away. So what now?
SAN ANTONIO — At long last, Victor Wembanyama felt like a given. Ailments, injuries, fears it could all come crumbling down, lay by the wayside. Finally, after years of anticipation and apprehension, Wembanyama’s time was here.
Then all the momentum for Wembanyama to have his moment, and the Spurs to lift to heights that seemed far-fetched back in the fall, suddenly came under threat.
There have been so many times when the Spurs’ franchise cornerstone has twisted an ankle or hit a knee and gone down in pain, only to spring to life like nothing had happened moments later. But this was different. It was yet another example of how much he is willing to put the league’s most meticulously maintained body on the line, and the price he has paid.
When Jrue Holiday pulled the chair on the same Wembanyama spin move that put Deni Avdija in a blender in Game 1, the Spurs’ 7-foot-4 colossus went tumbling to the floor. Initially, Wembanyama was positioned safely to land on his side, letting his shoulder and arm take the brunt of the impact.
But no. Absolutely not. There was still some juice to squeeze out of this failing play.
In that time between the stumble and the floor, Wembanyama determined there were still a few inches of space to get off a pass to the corner.
So what did he do? He made that pass. He sacrificed his safety to make the play. Whatever comes next, so be it.
Wembanyama didn’t just smash his face into the ground once. The whiplash of a wooden haymaker to the chin sent him recoiling right back to the floor for a second knockout punch.
He appeared to go out cold, the Spurs’ title hopes frozen in time.
The world watched, lost in an eternal few seconds of dismay and disbelief. In that suspense was a tornado of fear, hope, loss and cynicism. Whether it was an eye roll to the basketball Gods with a scoff of “Of course this would happen,” or it was nail-biting and leg shaking, the violent nature of the fall clouded the situation in a sense of alarm.
He has managed to elude the kinds of serious injuries most people dread from a player of his infinite stature. Yet he lost the second half of last season to a blood clot, of all things. He moved past that and a knee hyperextension this season to become the Wemby he always thought he could be. But six quarters into his playoff career, he was out with a concussion.
Soon, he came back to consciousness, groggily trying to regain his bearings as he struggled to sit upright. According to Dylan Harper, Wembanyama told him, “I’m good, my head’s just hurting a little bit.”
Victor Wembanyama (concussion protocol) is OUT for the remainder of the game after hitting his head on the court. pic.twitter.com/qP8tAf6osN
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@ NBAonNBC) April 22, 2026
After some agony and discomfort, he suddenly got up and sprinted back to the locker room. It was the same kind of sprint he does after grabbing at his ankle, only to shake it off and go back to playing like it was a little boo boo.
Maybe the sprint to the back was a sign he was just fine? It appears not, at least for the next two days.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson confirmed Wembanyama had a concussion, which means that he must spend 48 hours in low-exposure recovery, per the NBA’s concussion protocol. After that point, he can be put through a return-to-play evaluation. Technically, he could travel to Portland by Friday and still suit up for Game 3 that evening. The Spurs are fortunate there is an extra day off before they play again.
But players don’t often come back from concussions that swiftly. It’s typically a 7-to-10 day layoff, which, at the very least, would stretch all the way out to Game 5 back in San Antonio. With the way crunch time went for the Spurs in their eventual 106-103 loss, that could be a real problem.
The Blazers’ defense was a vise in the last five minutes, beating the Spurs 16-4 in the clutch. De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell all missed shots under tighter duress than they had to face most of the season. The Blazers played unequivocal playoff basketball when it mattered most and the Spurs’ offense felt it. When Fox did get downhill, his shots had to be rushed because the window was closing fast. Castle couldn’t get on balance to take a shot, even in his 10-foot zone that has been reliable for him this season. Vassell was good early in the fourth, but missed two tough looks in the closing minutes. They had a full-minute possession at the two-minute mark and somehow ended up with a shot clock violation.
Johnson talked about how his team didn’t seem to be on the same page as it was in Game 1, which was apparent when the offense struggled to figure out its spacing and exchanges in crunch time. The team that plays ahead of the rotations on defense didn’t have good answers when the rotations were as sharp as they’ve seen.
Life without Wembanyama could and should look better than that. San Antonio has the talent to win games without him, even against a rugged team like Portland. The Spurs know they cannot shoot 7-for-24 from deep in a playoff game in 2026 and expect to win without Wembanyama bending gravity to his will.
“We’ve played tough games without him,” Castle said. “Obviously, we want everybody healthy and have him on the court. But whatever five guys are on the court, we’re gonna play like ourselves.”
The Spurs know what that looks like without Wembanyama. It got them through the regular season. But the playoffs are an entirely different challenge. Can it get them through the postseason? They may have to find out.
Like most things with Wembanyama, the concussion is shrouded in mystery. As clearly as we all saw it, it’s the invisible injury, the one that no footage of him limping on his leg or flexing his arm lent itself to prognostication. The Spurs will just have to wait it out and hope for the best.
Wembanyama has done so much to seize control of his mind and body in his career and particularly this season. Just earlier Tuesday morning, he spoke of how it feels to finally be in control of his health and his destiny in the NBA, checking off the boxes like becoming the first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year.
“It feels good, it feels good. I want to keep it that way,” Wembanyama said. “I don’t want to stop at that.”
The top of that checklist is winning a title. He has always known that getting to that point would be a bigger challenge than anything he’s done before. The roadblock hit him faster and harder than he could have anticipated. Now he, and everyone else, waits to see what happens next. But he certainly won’t want to stop here.
By Jared Weiss, via The Athletic