By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-05-08 13:29:22
2026年5月6日，星期三，在圣安东尼奥弗罗斯特银行中心举行的西部半决赛第二场比赛中，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋哈里森·英格拉姆（中）与队友朱利安·尚帕尼（左）和达龙·福克斯站在一起，庆祝以133-95大胜明尼苏达森林狼队。
明尼阿波利斯——埃马纽埃尔·米勒 (Emanuel Miller) 非常珍惜与格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 一起进行的球员发展训练。
“与波波谈话充满了智慧，”米勒说道，他目前签下的是一份双向合同，可以在马刺队及其位于奥斯汀的G联赛下属球队之间往返。
“他是史上最伟大的教练之一。他依然留在球队大楼里，出现在这里并与我交流，这真的很特别，”这位二年级前锋补充道，“他一直在与我分享经验，通过不同的方式教导我如何变得更好，以及如何赢下每一天。”
米勒出生于多伦多郊区的斯卡伯勒，现年25岁。对于他来说，这个春天之所以特别，不仅仅是因为能与这位曾带领马刺夺得五座总冠军、并在2025年5月以联盟胜场数历史第一的身份退休的老帅交流。
双向合同球员没有资格在季后赛出场。但米勒和球队的其他双向合同球员——前锋哈里森·英格拉姆 (Harrison Ingram) 和后卫大卫·琼斯·加西亚 (David Jones Garcia)——在季后赛期间仍可以随队训练和出征客场，这为他们提供了丰富的学习机会。
对米勒而言，这意味着能有更多机会与波波维奇交流。尽管在2024年11月不幸中风，但77岁的波波维奇目前仍担任俱乐部的篮球运营总裁。
“看到我们为了备战所做的一切，这种感觉难以言表，”米勒说道。周五对阵明尼苏达的第三场比赛前，他在标靶中心的投篮训练结束后，与助理教练肖恩·斯威尼 (Sean Sweeney) 进行了交谈。
“这是一种福分，绝对是一次学习经历。向最优秀的教练学习，向波波维奇学习，向球员们学习，学习如何应对每场比赛、每个系列赛，以及他们是如何度过每一天的。”
2024年夏天，米勒作为一名来自德克萨斯基督教大学 (TCU) 的落选新秀，与达拉斯独行侠签下了一份训练营合同，从而进入NBA。
在过去的两个赛季中，他曾以双向合同的身份效力于芝加哥公牛。2月1日，他在一笔三方交易中被送往克利夫兰骑士。2月20日被骑士裁掉后，他在三天后与马刺签约。
“签约马刺最大的吸引力在于这支组织，”米勒说，“他们以培养球员而闻名。你看他们在朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 以及所有年轻人身上所做的工作，每一个来到这支球队的人，你都能看到他们的职业生涯正处于上升轨道。来到这里是一个无需多虑的选择。”
2026年5月4日，星期一，在圣安东尼奥弗罗斯特银行中心，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋哈里森·英格拉姆（左）和后卫迪伦·哈珀与队友击掌，准备迎接对阵明尼苏达森林狼队的西部半决赛第一场比赛。
英格拉姆曾效力于北卡罗来纳大学，在2024年次轮被马刺选中。他表示，过去两个赛季随奥斯汀马刺队征战G联赛季后赛的感觉“很棒”，但参与NBA季后赛“则是完全不同的体验”。
“季后赛的气氛非常热烈，我们的备战方式、对细节的关注、球员们的拼搏程度以及身体对抗强度，”这位23岁的达拉斯小伙说道。
“无论你上场与否，总能学到一些东西。我现在每天仍坚持进行三四次训练，努力变得更好。”
与米勒一样，英格拉姆也将季后赛视为向球队中经验丰富的成员请教的机会。周三晚上，在马刺第二场以133-95大胜森林狼之前，当记者在更衣室走近他进行采访时，他刚刚结束与33岁中锋俾斯麦·比永博 (Bismack Biyombo) 的交谈。
“这是我的第二年，而他在NBA待了多久，15年了吗？”英格拉姆说道，“在他的职业生涯中扮演过各种不同的角色，所以对我来说，这是一个绝佳的学习机会。但这次谈话与篮球无关，而是关于生活的。学习如何为人处世、谁才是真正支持你的人、如何结识正确的人，方方面面。”
马刺队教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 表示，他希望季后赛对米勒、英格拉姆和琼斯·加西亚来说是一次“极好的经历”。琼斯·加西亚是一名来自多米尼加共和国的24岁新秀，目前正从2月份的脚踝手术中恢复。
“这三名球员在尽可能参与、带来能量和提供支持方面都表现得非常出色，”约翰逊说道，“希望他们能感受到全方位提升的水平，包括强度、对抗、对细节的关注、媒体的关注、兴奋感以及球馆里的能量，所有的一切。”
“在这一切结束之后，对于他们各自的职业生涯和未来的旅程来说，都会有巨大的收获。”
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 G League players learning from Popovich playoff series vs wolves
Spurs G League players learning from Popovich playoff series vs wolves
San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Ingram, center, stands beside his teammates Julian Champagnie, left, and De’Aaron Fox as they celebrate a 133-95 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Wednesday, May 6, 2026.
MINNEAPOLIS — Emanuel Miller cherishes his player development sessions with Gregg Popovich.
“Speaking with Pop, it’s been very wisdom,” said Miller, who is on a two-way contract that allows him to split time between the Spurs and their G League affiliate in Austin.
“He’s one of the best coaches to ever do it. For him to still be in the building, showing up and having these conversations with me (is special),” the second-year forward added. “He’s just been sharing with me, telling me and teaching me in different ways how to be better and how to win the day.”
Miller’s conversations with the man who guided the Spurs to five NBA championships before retiring from coaching in May 2025 as the league’s all-time winningest coach aren’t the only thing that makes this spring a special time for the 25-year-old native of the Toronto suburb of Scarborough.
Two-way players aren’t eligible to perform in the postseason. But Miller and the team’s other two-way guys, forward Harrison Ingram and guard David Jones Garcia, can still practice and travel with the Spurs during the playoffs, which grants them abundant educational opportunities.
For Miller that means more chats with Popovich, who remains at 77 the club’s president of basketball operations despite suffering a stroke in November 2024.
“It’s something you can’t really put into words, seeing what we’re doing (to prepare),” said Miller, who spent time after shootaround ahead of Game 3 against Minnesota on Friday talking with assistant coach Sean Sweeney at Target Center.
“It’s been a blessing, a learning experience for sure, learning from the best coaches, learning from Pop, learning from the players, learning how to attack each game, how to attack each series and how they attack, really, each day.”
Miller entered the NBA as an undrafted rookie out of TCU on a training camp deal with Dallas in summer 2024.
He spent portions of the last two seasons on a two-way pact with Chicago before the Bulls traded him Feb. 1 to Cleveland as part of a three-team deal. After the Cavaliers waived him Feb. 20, he signed with the Spurs three days later.
“The biggest selling point in signing with the Spurs was this organization,” Miller said. “They’re known for developing their players. You see what they did with Julian (Champagnie), all the young guys, everyone that’s come to this organization. You see the way their career is on a trajectory. It was a no-brainer to come here.”
San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Ingram, left, and guard Dylan Harper slap hands with their teammates as they prepare for Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Monday, May 4, 2026.
Ingram, a North Carolina-ex drafted by the Spurs in the second round in 2024, said it was “awesome” to play with the Austin Spurs in the G League playoffs the past two seasons. But being part of the NBA postseason “is something else,” he said.
“The playoff atmosphere is lit, the way we prepare, the attention to detail, how hard people play, the physicality,” 23-year-old Dallas native said.
“Whether you’re playing or not playing, you can always learn something. And I’m still getting in three, four workouts a day, trying to get better.”
Like Miller, Ingram views the playoffs as an opportunity to pick the brains of more experienced members of the franchise. When a reporter approached him for an interview in the locker room before the Spurs’ 133-95 win over the Timberwolves in Game 2 on Wednesday night, he had just finished a talk with center Bismack Biyombo, 33.
“This is my second year and he’s been here in the NBA for what, 15 years?” Ingram said. “He’s had all kind of different roles in his career, so for me, it’s a great opportunity to learn. But this conversation had nothing to do with basketball. It was about life. Learning how to behave, who’s in your corner, how to meet the right people, everything.”
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said he is hopeful the playoffs will be a “tremendous experience” for Miller, Ingram and Jones Garcia, a 24-year–old rookie from the Dominican Republic who is recovering from ankle surgery in February.
“All three have been great in terms of participating in as much as they can, bringing energy and being supportive,” Johnson said. "And hopefully they are feeling the level of increased everything, intensity, physicality, attention to detail, media attention, excitement, energy in the building, all the stuff.
“There are great takeaways for all those guys for their individual careers and journeys beyond after we’re all said and done here.”
By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News