By Jared Weiss | The Athletic, 2026-05-16 15:24:22
明尼阿波利斯——将“冲击兄弟 (Slash Bros)”紧紧联系在一起的那条手环里，或许真的藏着某种魔力。
马刺队的三名控球后卫——达伦·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox)、斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 和迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper)，已经成了更衣室里一个特别的小团体。他们管福克斯叫“老叔 (Unc)”。福克斯总是轻笑着摇摇头，大喊一声：“我才28岁！”然后几个人笑着走出房间。当他们快步离去时，敏锐的眼睛能捕捉到袖口下晃动的黑色手环。
福克斯已经戴了多年。那是一条厚实的橡胶手环，中间融合了他的个人 Logo。它紧紧贴合这位全明星控卫的每一次手腕抖动。当他手感滚烫时，它在；当他需要冰敷时，它也在。
赛后他会摘下手环，换上一身干练的商务休闲装，配上一枚百达翡丽或劳力士腕表来彰显格调。手环在比赛中履行职责，赛后便回到包里，等待下一次召唤。
然而，哈珀的那条手环却从不离身。那是“老叔”送给他的礼物。他倍加珍惜，并自豪地展示着。
哈珀的赛后着装风格多变，要么是耐克运动服，要么还是耐克运动服，如果不想讲究格调，就直接穿马刺队的装备。在马刺以 139-109 赢下与明尼苏达森林狼队的第六场系列赛，成功晋级西部决赛后的新闻发布会上，他兴奋地抖动着手腕，展示着他那款“劳力士总统系列”的替代品。
“这是他的 Logo，我们每场比赛都戴着，”哈珀告诉 The Athletic，“支持自家品牌。福克斯是我的老大哥，所以我和他，还有斯蒂芬都会戴。我找他要了这条手环，然后这就成了一种传统。”
赛季中期左右，哈珀想向“老叔”看齐。他询问了手环的事，觉得做一些手环会很酷，于是便开始了这一过程。
“他当时说，‘我要让我的经纪公司给我弄一些，’”福克斯告诉 The Athletic，“后来他拿到了一些，但他又说，‘我只有戴你那条时才打得好。’”
福克斯送去了一堆自己的专属手环，随后卡斯尔也想加入。福克斯不断给他们提供手环，但他们总是不停地弄丢。毕竟，孩子终究是孩子。
“我给自己留的够用，但这真的很酷，伙计，”福克斯说道，“看到这些年轻人，看到他们仰慕我的样子，这很有趣。”
现在，神奇的事情发生了——大约就在“冲击兄弟”变成“手环兄弟”的时候，卡斯尔和哈珀的三分球开始进筐了。不是那种微小的进步，而是在转瞬之间，他们的三分命中率就从 20% 多飙升到了 40% 多。简直是魔法。
这支看起来提前完成重建的球队，从“也许行”变成了“绝对行”。
马刺在二月份开启了一波不败战绩，从那时起看起来就成了名副其实的竞争者。现在，作为历史上第四支从乐透区跃升至 60 胜的球队，他们将对阵卫冕冠军俄克拉荷马城雷霆队——这是一家在几年间迅速且稳步攀升的俱乐部——争夺进入 NBA 总决赛的机会。这无疑符合“提前完成进度”的定义。
“我不是在开玩笑，”马刺队主教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 周五晚上说道，“但所谓的‘提前’是相对于什么进度？”
无论是根据他们自己的预期——球员们在训练营期间就在讨论杀出附加赛——还是根据历史先例，这支球队从任何衡量标准来看都是超前的。由于维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 压倒性的存在，他们提前到达了终点，但这种力量是通过马刺控卫“三巨头”传递出来的。
这个三人组是因一些意外的好运而被迫拼凑在一起的，原本并不被看好能产生化学反应。在球落地之前，从纸面上看，这就像是一个“弗兰肯斯坦式”的后场组合。
一位并非顶级射手的资深控卫福克斯，如何与一名完全不会投篮的摇摆卫卡斯尔，以及一名需要自由发挥空间来成长（且同样不擅长投篮）的天才新秀哈珀并肩作战？
事实证明，只要有一点魔法和信任，结果就能超出最狂野的预期。如果没有福克斯对后辈的信任，以及他们对福克斯的崇拜，这支球队不可能打进分区决赛。
“我觉得这很酷，而且我并不认为这是理所当然的，”福克斯在赛后新闻发布会上说道，“拥有这些天赋异禀、看着我的职业生涯成长的队友，然后我们能出现在同一个更衣室，在场上并肩作战，这是我热爱的事情。”
“我希望他们能从职业生涯尽早地感受到这种成功，因为你永远不知道这些机会何时会再次降临。”
福克斯以向他们传授被称为“联盟生存秘籍”的小窍门为荣。教练组给了卡斯尔犯错并从中学习的空间，让他频繁练习控球，直到人们不再讨论“斯蒂芬·卡斯尔到底是不是一名控卫”的话题。
约翰逊信任福克斯能帮助他们熟悉环境、看清大局，并在他们制造的混乱中保持耐心。但当约翰逊被问及他认为哈珀和卡斯尔从福克斯身上学到了什么时，他甚至也不确定。
“我不知道那些家伙学到了什么。他们就是直接冲。我是认真的，”约翰逊说道，“他们和我们队里任何人一样听话。我们告诉他们什么，他们就听什么。然后他们上场后，就像斗牛犬一样，只管往前冲。”
教练组对他们的主要指示就是上场并保持顽强，信任福克斯会找到节奏让比赛平稳运行。
“（约翰逊教练）说最好的品质就是坚持不懈，”哈珀说道，“我们试图从比赛一开始就打上自己的烙印。卡斯尔在这方面做得很好，当我上场时，我也试图打上烙印，成为米奇所说的‘斗牛犬’。”
卡斯尔和哈珀在比赛中展现出的力量、优雅与平衡的结合，有时让他们显得势不可挡。卡斯尔在职业生涯第二个赛季就已经展现出了球星风采。哈珀看起来也准备好在下个赛季实现类似的飞跃。森林狼队本是阻击他们的绝佳人选，但他们没能做到。
在第六场比赛中，马刺三人组共砍下 68 分，投篮 34 投 25 中（命中率 73.5%），并送出 19 次助攻。据 Stathead 统计，21 岁的卡斯尔超越了卢卡·东契奇，成为 NBA 历史上单场季后赛得到至少 30 分 10 篮板 5 助攻并投进 5 记三分球的最年轻球员。
如果不计算三分球，在季后赛中拿到 30+10+5 的球员只有魔术师约翰逊、勒布朗·詹姆斯（三次）、保罗·班凯罗和东契奇。但你必须把三分球算进去，因为讽刺的是，在赛季初那种投篮表现后，完成这一壮举的偏偏是卡斯尔。
“感觉很好。这绝对是一种眷顾，”卡斯尔说道，“我觉得我们队里每隔几场比赛就会有人打破纪录。”
对于这个三人组来说，由赛季初看起来投篮最差的人完成这一切再合适不过了。他们的兄弟情谊建立在一种“不在乎谁出风头”的真诚感之上。
“他们真的不在乎谁获得赞誉。他们不在乎战术是为谁设计的，”马刺侧翼德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 说道，“能成为其中的一员感觉很棒，因为归根结底，没有人是自私的。每个人都只想赢。”
他们和更衣室里的每一个人都明白超越自我的更宏大目标。这不仅仅是为了球队，更是为了见证一个“幼年 GOAT”的崛起，见证文班亚马带来的篮球变革。他们对这项运动本身负有责任，去孕育文班亚马的伟大。
当福克斯被问及放下自尊去给文班亚马当副手时，他总是笑着说：“你在说什么呢？那可是文班。”
要求一位全明星球员做出牺牲，从来没有像要求福克斯与文班亚马打挡拆这么容易。讽刺的是，他打出了职业生涯基本上最差的数据产出，却因此再次入选全明星。他非常热爱自己在球队中的角色，因为他逃离了萨克拉门托国王队那样的“篮球苦海”，来到了 NBA 球队的金字招牌之下。
然而，他并不知道，承担起导师的角色会如此令人满足。福克斯正在培养那些有一天可能会取代他的年轻人。最终获胜并享受其中的回报，远超未来可能发生的一切。
哈珀也有同感。他本可以像库珀·弗兰格 (Cooper Flagg) 那样拥有自己的球队，或者像康·克努佩尔 (Kon Knueppel) 那样成为复兴球队的关键首发。
在他在本届季后赛打出几场统治级表现后，联盟内部的讨论更多集中在他有一天是否能赢得 MVP，而不是他是否应该打首发。
当周五晚上被问及担任第六人的感受时，哈珀插话道，凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 才是第六人。这很公平，考虑到约翰逊赢得了那个奖项。但哈珀是一位极其重要的第六人，这对现在的他来说已经足够好了。
“身处我现在的位置，一整年都有人在问：他是不是被选到了错误的地方？”哈珀说道，“我从未想过这个问题，因为我大概知道我们有多优秀。我知道每个人带来的影响力。我知道我们可以做到这样的事情。”
他当时并不知道，他整个赛季收到的最珍贵的礼物之一，竟然是一堆手环。那些橡胶圈，作为“冲击兄弟”的官方装备，紧紧贴合着他们每一次的手腕抖动。
这是一个恒久的提醒：他、福克斯和卡斯尔，最终都来到了正确的地方。
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：Key to Spurs' playoff run? The 'Slash Bros' and a magical wristband
Key to Spurs’ playoff run? The ‘Slash Bros’ and a magical wristband
MINNEAPOLIS — There may be some magic in the wristband that bonds the Slash Bros together.
The Spurs’ three point guards, De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, have become a special group within the locker room. They call Fox “Unc.” He chuckles, shakes his head, yells, “I’m only 28!” then they laugh as they walk out of the room. As they scurry away, a keen eye could catch the black wristbands dangling past the hems of their sleeves.
Fox has worn it for years. It’s a thick rubber band, fused by his logo as the centerpiece. It holds on tightly to each flick of the wrist from the All-Star point guard. It’s there when he catches fire and there when he’s holding ice.
He takes it off after games, putting together a sleek business casual outfit that calls for a Patek Philippe or Rolex timepiece to class up his wrist. The band serves its purpose during the game, then goes back in the bag until it’s called upon again.
However, Harper’s isn’t going anywhere. It’s a gift from Unc. He cherishes it. He shows it off proudly.
Harper’s post-game attire ranges from Nike track suits to Nike track suits, or just his Spurs gear if he doesn’t feel like getting classy. Walking out of his news conference following the Spurs’ 139-109 Game 6 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves to advance to the Western Conference finals, he excitedly flicks his wrist to reveal his version of a “Rollie Presidential.”
“It’s his logo, we wear it every game,” Harper tells The Athletic. “Supporting the brand. Fox is my vet, so me, him and Steph wear it. I asked for his band, and it became a thing.”
Around midseason, Harper wanted to be like Unc. He asked about the wristbands, thought it would be cool to make some and started the process.
“He was like, ‘I’m gonna get my agency to get me some,’ ” Fox tells The Athletic. “Then he got some and he was like, ‘I only play well in yours.’ ”
Fox dropped off a pile of Fox bands, and then Castle wanted in, too. He kept giving them more, but they kept losing them. Kids will be kids, after all.
“I keep enough for me, but it’s dope, man,” Fox says. “Seeing those young guys and the way they look up to me, it’s fun.”
Now, this is where the magic comes in — around the time the Slash Bros became the Band Bros, Castle and Harper’s 3s started going down. Not, like, getting a little better. They went from shooting in the 20s from beyond the arc to the 40s in the blink of an eye. Magic.
The team that appeared to be ahead of schedule went from a maybe to an absolutely.
The Spurs embarked on an undefeated run in February and looked like certified contenders from there. Now, the fourth team to go from the lottery to 60 wins is taking on the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, a franchise that swiftly but steadily climbed the ladder over several years, for a chance to go to the NBA Finals. That certainly sounds like the definition of ahead of schedule.
“I’m not being facetious,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said Friday night, “but ahead of schedule of what?”
Whether it be their own projections — the players were talking about making it out of the Play-In Tournament during training camp — or historical precedent, this team, by any measure, is ahead of schedule. They arrived early thanks to the overwhelming presence of Victor Wembanyama, but that strength is channeled through the Spurs’ point guard triumvirate.
A trio, cobbled together out of necessity after some unexpected fortune, that wasn’t supposed to work together. It looked like a Frankenstein backcourt on paper before the ball ever bounced.
How would a veteran point guard, Fox, who is not a knock-down shooter, play next to a tweener guard, Castle, who absolutely cannot shoot, and a rookie phenom, Harper, who needs free range to develop (and also cannot shoot)?
It turns out that with a little magic and trust, it can exceed the wildest expectations. This team is not making the conference finals without the trust that Fox has shown his protégés, and the admiration they’ve reflected right back.
“I think it’s dope and it’s something that I don’t take for granted,” Fox said in his postgame news conference. “Having guys who are this talented, have watched me throughout my career and then we get to be in the same locker room and get to be on the court together, it’s something I love.
“And I want them to feel that success from as early as you can get in your career, because you never know when those things can come back around.”
Fox takes pride in giving them little tidbits he calls a cheat sheet for navigating the league. The coaching staff gave Castle the breadth to make mistakes and play through them, getting frequent reps running point until people stopped having the “Is Steph Castle a point guard?” conversation.
Johnson trusts Fox to help them learn the ropes, see the bigger picture and find patience amid the chaos they create. But when Johnson was asked what he thinks Harper and Castle have learned from Fox, he wasn’t even sure.
“I don’t know what those guys learned. They just go. I’m being serious,” Johnson said. “They’re as coachable as anybody that we have. They listen when we tell them stuff. And then they get on the court, and they’re just like attack dogs and they just go.”
Their main instruction from the coaching staff is to go in there and be tenacious, trusting Fox to figure out how to let the game breathe.
“(Coach Johnson) says the best quality is being relentless,” Harper said. “We try to put our imprint on the game right out of the gate. (Castle) does a great job of doing that, and when I come in the game, I try to just put that imprint and just be that attack dog that Mitch called us.”
Castle and Harper play with a combination of power, grace and balance that makes them both unstoppable at times. Castle does so often enough to already be a star in his second season. Harper looks primed for a comparable leap next season. The Wolves were good candidates to stop them, but they couldn’t do it.
In Game 6, the Spurs trio combined for 68 points on 25-of-34 (73.5 percent) shooting and 19 assists. The 21-year-old Castle passed Luka Dončić to become the youngest player in NBA history with 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five 3s in a game, per Stathead.
The only players to have 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in the playoffs, without factoring in 3s, are Magic Johnson, LeBron James (three times), Paolo Banchero and Dončić. But you have to factor in the 3s, because it’s ironic that Castle is the one doing it after the way his season started.
“It feels good. It’s definitely a blessing,” Castle said. “I feel like there’s somebody on our team that breaks a record every few games.”
For this trio, it’s only fitting that the one who appeared to be the worst shooter at the beginning of the year is pulling this off. Their whole brotherhood is founded on this genuine sense of not caring who gets to shine.
“They really don’t care who gets the credit. They don’t care whose number is called,” Spurs wing Devin Vassell said. “It’s just great to be a part of it, because at the end of the day, nobody’s selfish. Everybody just wants to win.”
They and everyone else in that locker room understand the bigger purpose beyond themselves. It’s not just to the team. It’s the emergence of a baby GOAT, a basketball transformation in Wembanyama. They have a responsibility to the sport itself to nurture Wembanyama’s greatness.
When Fox has been asked about putting aside his ego to play second fiddle to Wembanyama, he’s always laughed and said something like, “What are you talking about? It’s Wemby.”
It’s never been easier to ask an All-Star to sacrifice than it was to ask Fox to run pick-and-rolls with Wembanyama. The irony is that he had, essentially, the worst statistical output of his career and became an All-Star for it. He is absolutely loving his role on this team because he has escaped the basketball gulag that has been the Sacramento Kings for the gold standard of NBA franchises.
However, he didn’t know that stepping into a mentorship role would become so rewarding. Fox is training the guys who could one day replace him. The reward of finally winning and enjoying it outweighs whatever comes down the road.
Harper feels the same way. He could’ve had his own team, as Cooper Flagg does, or been the key starter who revived his franchise like Kon Knueppel.
After some of the dominant performances he’s had this postseason, conversations with people around the league have been more about whether he can win an MVP one day than they are about whether he should start.
When asked about being a sixth man Friday night, Harper interjected that Keldon Johnson is the sixth man. Fair enough, considering Johnson won that award. But Harper is a sixth man of tremendous importance, and that’s more than good enough for him today.
“Just being in the position I’m in, all year was like, did he get drafted to the wrong spot?” Harper said. “I never thought about that because I kind of knew how good we were. And I knew the impact that everyone brought to the table. I knew that we could do things like this.”
He didn’t know that one of the greatest gifts he’d receive all season was a pile of wristbands. Those pieces of rubber, the official apparel of the Slash Bros, holding tight to every flick of the wrist.
A constant reminder that he, Fox and Castle ended up in the right spot.
By Jared Weiss, via The Athletic