By Jared Weiss | The Athletic, 2026-05-11 11:00:41
明尼阿波利斯——维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 绕着替补席走了一圈，与队友们一一击掌，他只能以这种方式鼓着掌离场。他知道自己搞砸了。他陷入了包围，试图挥臂突围，并为此付出了应有的代价。
当慢镜头回放显示这位圣安东尼奥马刺队的球星在肘击明尼苏达森林狼队大个子的喉咙前，正盯着纳兹·里德 (Naz Reid) 时，场馆内的每个人都知道接下来会发生什么。他被驱逐了。那是一个显而易见的二级恶意犯规。
这对他来说是完全陌生的领域，文班亚马甚至不知道“二级恶意犯规”意味着什么。失去冷静绝非他的风格。就在上周，他还公开表示自己拒绝背负隐藏情绪的重担，但以能够掌控情绪为荣。为了掌控自己的内心，他在日常和全年的训练中做了大量工作，力求听从内在的力量而非外界的刺激。
但他从未应对过这种对他内心和谐的干扰。在周日晚上的第四场比赛中以114-109击败马刺队的森林狼队，不仅会抓挠你，还会撕咬你。这不仅仅体现在鲁迪·戈贝尔 (Rudy Gobert) 在封盖时按住他的手腕，或者安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards) 在转换进攻中拽他的球衣。还有那些让他皮开肉绽的倒地冲撞，或是让他失去平衡的头部击打。当他在篮下起跳或落地时，对方经常只是推他一把，这让文班亚马和整个球队都感到无比受挫。
“在球场的每一个角落，每一次进攻，人们都在试图对你施加身体对抗。我明白，我们也明白，这是比赛的一部分，”马刺队主帅米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 说道，“但在某些时刻，他被撞开，在转换进攻中被推倒，在无球跑动时被干扰，各种各样的小动作。他一次都没有抱怨过。我们也不抱怨，因为我们只想打球。恕我直言，我们真的不在乎这些。但在某些时刻，他应该受到保护。如果没人保护他，他就不得不保护自己，不幸的是，这种事情就发生了。”
这一球将文班亚马推向了失控的边缘。当他第一次尝试在转换进攻中卡住里德时，里德将文班亚马推回了篮下，这是季后赛肉搏战中常见的一幕。当文班亚马随后在里德头顶摘下篮板时，明尼苏达的杰登·麦克丹尼尔斯 (Jaden McDaniels) 从背后拽住了文班亚马的球衣，然后死死缠住他的另一只手臂。
就在那一刻，文班亚马看向右侧，余光清晰地瞥到了里德，然后挥动了手臂。他可能只是想带着一丝敌意清理出空间，以此传递一个信号：他们可以尝试阻拦他，但无法压制他。但那些“功夫”训练的效果实在太好了。当回放开始在球馆大屏幕滚动播放时，他走向更衣室洗澡只是时间问题了。
他知道，每个人都知道。无论是否有意，他都得到了应有的惩罚。
“你可以看到他的沮丧，”迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 说道，“我能理解他的感受。我不认为那是故意的，更多的是在表达：‘他们一直在抓我，我是在保护自己，因为没别人会保护我。’”
几分钟后，裁判扎克·扎巴 (Zach Zarba) 宣布了不可避免的结果：“经回放确认，球员对对手颈部以上位置有蓄力、冲击和随挥动作。”最终，他宣布了二级恶意犯规。
文班亚马询问队友哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 这意味着什么。在一番简短的解释后，文班亚马回应道：“我被驱逐了？”随后平淡地点了点头。
他看起来并不生气，只是无奈地接受了。他走下球场，一心只想激励队友，斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 说他在中场休息时做得更多。
现场的人似乎都理解这种情绪。但没有人像他的教练那样为他据理力争。约翰逊的怒火直指裁判，针对他们对这轮总比分2-2平局系列赛的判罚尺度。
“我很高兴他能挺身而出，”约翰逊说道，“我必须明确一点，这并不是指他击打里德。我很高兴里德没事，我也不希望他肘击对方，但如果裁判不保护他，他就必须保护自己。我认为这太恶心了。”
约翰逊坚持他对于文班亚马每晚面临的身体对抗的立场。那种压力终究会有爆发的一刻。而主帅的工作就是确保这种爆发不会让他付出惨痛代价。
“我不知道还能告诉他什么。我们已经尝试在基本功上指导他如何应对，”约翰逊说，“但有时，这似乎还不够。”
这是可以理解的。当你整晚都被对手纠缠时，很难不做出反应。但文班亚马是NBA的一颗新星，而在每年的这个时候，结果比意图更重要。
约翰逊一直善于在公开场合让文班亚马承担责任。即使在赞扬他的球星统治比赛时，他总会加上一些限制条件，以不断挑战这位22岁的天才。正如这次事件所表明的，文班亚马仍有成长的空间。他可能是联盟中最好的球员之一，但距离达到其巅峰潜力还很遥远。
离场时，文班亚马与替补席上的每一个人击掌：球员、教练、保安、装备经理，以及任何穿着马刺球衣的人。
无论他说了什么，都奏效了。整个系列赛中森林狼最大的针对目标卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 在第三节展现了“文班亚马式”的防守统治力。由哈珀、卡斯尔和德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 组成的三后卫阵容开始发威，马刺队取得了领先。
最终，爱德华兹挺身而出，森林狼的大个子们开始在防线后方空切，赢得了二次进攻得分，局势随之瓦解。马刺队差一点就完成了赛季最佳的一场胜利，但现在他们带着平局回到主场。考虑到文班亚马被驱逐时马刺仅领先一球，很难将失利归咎于他。无论谁在场上，这场比赛原本都有可能走向任何一方。
尽管如此，这轮系列赛的紧张气氛终于爆发了，哪怕只是稍稍越过了界限。文班亚马必须反思自己的行为，假设他不会在第五场比赛中被禁赛（目前几乎没有此类先例）。
卡斯尔和哈珀在攻防两端表现出色，这场失利非常微小。圣安东尼奥的未来比盛夏的德克萨斯阳光还要灿烂。但他们希望未来就是现在。他们已经准备好去争夺总冠军了——不是在遥远的未来，而是在一个月内。
从现在开始，他们打的每一场比赛都会更加艰难。文班亚马能迎接这一挑战吗？
由生成式 AI 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：Victor Wembanyama lost his cool and was ejected. His coach still had his back
Victor Wembanyama lost his cool and was ejected. His coach still had his back
MINNEAPOLIS — Making his way around the bench, one high-five at a time, Victor Wembanyama couldn’t do anything but clap his way out the door. He knew he blew it. He was trapped, tried to swing his way out of it, and paid the fair price.
When the slo-mo replay showed the San Antonio Spurs star looking right at Naz Reid before hurtling an elbow into the Minnesota Timberwolves big man’s throat, everyone in the building knew what was coming next. He was gone. That was a Flagrant 2, clear as day.
This was such uncharted territory for him that Wembanyama didn’t even know what “Flagrant 2” meant. Losing his composure is not his style. Just last week, he professed that he refuses the burden of hiding his emotions, but prides himself on controlling them. He does so much work throughout the day, and the year, to own his mind, answering to internal forces rather than external stimuli.
But he’s never dealt with this type of disruption to his harmony. The Wolves, who beat the Spurs 114-109 in Sunday night’s Game 4, don’t just claw at you; they bite. It’s not only when Rudy Gobert holds his wrist down while he blocks his shot, or when Anthony Edwards then tugs on his jersey to keep him from running in transition. It’s all the bumps to the ground that scrape away his skin, or the hits to the head that knock him off his feet. They often just shove him when he’s jumping or landing under the rim, and that was eating away at him and his entire team.
“Every single play on every single part of the floor, people are trying to impose the physicality on you. I get it. We get it. That’s part of the game,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “But at some stage, he’s got chucked, he’s gotten pushed down in transition, running freely, all the stuff. He doesn’t complain one time. We don’t complain because we’re just going to play. We don’t really give a s—, excuse my language. But at some stage, he should be protected. And if not, he’s going to have to protect himself and, unfortunately, stuff like that happens.”
This play just pushed Wembanyama ever so slightly over the edge. When he first tried to seal Reid in transition, Reid pushed Wembanyama back under the hoop, a typical part of a rough playoff game. When Wembanyama then grabbed the ensuing rebound right over Reid, Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels came in and tugged down on Wembanyama’s jersey from behind, then held onto his off arm.
That was the moment when Wembanyama looked to his right, saw Reid clearly in the corner of his eye, and swung. He probably was just trying to clear space with an extra bit of hostility, sending a message that they could try to hold him back, but they can’t keep him down. But all that kung-fu training worked too well. Once the replays started looping through the arena, it was only a matter of time before he was headed for the showers.
He knew it. Everyone knew it. He got what he deserved, accidental or not.
“You could see the frustration (from him),” Dylan Harper said. “I could see where he’s coming from. I don’t think it was intentional, but it was more like, they keep grabbing me, I’m trying to protect myself, cause no one else (is) going to protect me.”
A few minutes later, referee Zach Zarba announced the inevitable, “After review, there was wind-up, impact and follow-through above the neck of an opponent.” Eventually, he announced the Flagrant 2.
Wembanyama asked teammate Harrison Barnes what that means. After a brief explanation, Wembanyama responded, “I’m ejected?” followed by a matter-of-fact nod.
He didn’t appear mad, just resigned. He walked off the court solely focused on revving up his team, which he did more of at halftime, teammate Stephon Castle said.
There was a sense that everyone just got it. But nobody went to bat for him like his coach. Johnson’s ire was aimed right at the officials for how they have been managing this 2-2 series.
“I’m glad he took matters into his own hands,” Johnson said. “Not in terms of hitting Naz Reid, by all means being very clear about that. I’m glad Naz Reid is OK, and I didn’t want him to elbow him, but he’s going to have to protect himself if they’re not. And I think it’s disgusting.”
Johnson maintained his stance regarding the physicality Wembanyama deals with every night. There was inevitably going to be a moment when it got to him. His job was to make sure it didn’t cost him.
“I don’t know what else to tell him. We’ve tried to give him fundamental direction on how to deal with it,” Johnson said. “And at times, it seems like that’s not enough.”
It’s understandable. It’s hard not to react when you are getting hounded all night long. But Wembanyama is a rising star in the NBA, and this is the time of year when the outcome matters more than intent.
Johnson has always been good at holding Wembanyama accountable in the public domain. Even when lauding his star for dominating games, he will always toss in some caveats to keep challenging the 22-year-old phenom. As this incident showed, Wembanyama still has growing to do. He may be one of the best players in the league, but he is still far from reaching his potential.
On his way out, Wembanyama high-fived every person on the bench: players, coaches, security, equipment managers, anyone with a Spurs shirt and a pulse.
Whatever he said, it worked. Luke Kornet, who was the Wolves’ biggest target all series, gave his best Wembanyama impression by taking over in the third quarter on defense. The point guard triumvirate of Harper, Castle and De’Aaron Fox started cooking, and the Spurs grabbed a lead.
Eventually, Edwards stepped up, the Wolves’ bigs started cutting behind the defense to win the second-chance points, and it all unraveled. The Spurs came close to pulling off the win of the season, but now they head back home even in the series. It’s hard to place blame on Wembanyama for the loss, considering the Spurs led by just a bucket when he was kicked out. This game could have gone either way, regardless of who was out there.
Still, the tensions of this series finally boiled over, even if they just barely simmered over the edge. Wembanyama will have to hold himself accountable, presuming he is not suspended for Game 5 (there is little precedent for that).
Castle and Harper were great on both ends, and this loss was narrow. The future in San Antonio is brighter than the Texas sun in the middle of the summer. But they want it to be now. They are ready to win a championship — not down the road, but in a month.
Every game they play from here will be even rougher and tougher. Can Wembanyama meet that challenge?
By Jared Weiss, via The Athletic