By John Hollinger | The Athletic, 2026-05-18 09:30:33
关于NBA MVP奖项的归属，已经无需再议。
谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 在周日捧起了他连续第二座MVP奖杯，这实至名归，尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokić) 和维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 则分列其后。无论吉尔杰斯-亚历山大率领的俄克拉荷马城雷霆与文班亚马领衔的圣安东尼奥马刺之间的西部决赛结局如何，这一评选结果都是公正的。
然而，问题在于：27岁的吉尔杰斯-亚历山大正值职业生涯巅峰。凭借全联盟第一的战绩、2025年的总冠军戒指以及又一座MVP奖杯，你可能会认为他作为NBA当之无愧的第一人是无可争议的。
但是……接下来的这轮系列赛，是否会标志着权杖的交接？
在长达82场常规赛的征程中，吉尔杰斯-亚历山大确实是联盟表现最好的球员，但此时此刻，他还是最强的那个吗？在文班亚马于赛季后半段强势爆发并在此后的季后赛中展现统治力后，这个问题的答案似乎存在巨大的悬念。
我不确定这一层面的叙事是否得到了应有的关注：文班亚马在赛季前三个月表现得像一名非常优秀的球员……但在冲刺阶段，他彻底进入了“核爆”模式。
从2月1日到赛季结束，在文班亚马出战的情况下，马刺取得了28胜2负的惊人战绩，且他在场时的净效率高达+23.4，以绝对优势领跑全联盟（榜单上紧随其后的三名球员均来自雷霆，包括吉尔杰斯-亚历山大）。在同一时间段内，当文班不在场时，马刺的净效率仅为+0.7。这高达22.7分的每百回合净胜分差，足以让见惯了大场面的丹佛掘金老球迷都惊讶得挑起眉毛。
这种统治力也延续到了季后赛：当文班亚马出场时间至少达到15分钟时，马刺取得了7胜1负；而当他不在场或出场时间不足时，战绩仅为1胜2负。他在场时，圣安东尼奥的净效率为+21.9，而他下场休息时，这一数字骤降至+7.1。
从个人数据来看，在2月以后的冲刺阶段，文班亚马的得分、篮板、助攻和真实命中率较上半年均有大幅提升，尽管三分线外的短暂手感冰冷阻止了他的数据进一步“逆天”。在他13场比赛贡献值 (game score)超过30分的比赛中，有10场发生在2月1日之后，其中包括表现最好的前四场。文班亚马在3月30日和4月1日连续砍下的41分神迹是他评分最高的两场比赛，而他在那两场比赛中分别仅出场了29分钟和30分钟。
我必须指出，这不仅仅是一段手感火热的投篮期；这些数据伴随着他本就恐怖的盖帽率的再次飙升，并且得到了视觉感官的有力支撑。
这位联盟历史上最可怕的天才仍在进化，且速度惊人。
为了确保我不是唯一一个持有这种观点的人，我在NBA新秀试训营 (NBA Draft Combine) 的任务之一，就是询问其他29支球队的高管，他们是否认为文班已经取代了吉尔杰斯-亚历山大和约基奇，成为了联盟第一人。大多数时候，我得到的是会心的轻笑和点头。
“我真不知道该拿他怎么办，”一位人事专家说道，“无论是进攻端还是防守端，他无处不在。”
那么……文班是联盟最强的球员吗？
“不，”另一位资深高管说，“他是我见过的最强球员。”
在马刺对阵明尼苏达森林狼的系列赛第六场期间，Prime Video评论员、前NBA主教练斯坦·范甘迪 (Stan Van Gundy) 向全美观众表示：“维克托·文班亚马是我在这座联盟中见过的最具影响力的防守者。”赛后，防守悍将杰登·麦克丹尼尔斯 (Jaden McDaniels) 也呼应了范甘迪的观点。
“文班可能是我交手过最伟大的防守者，”麦克丹尼尔斯说道，“他那么高，臂展那么长，想突到篮下太难了……我虽然能到达我的投篮点，但面对文班，他太高大了。他就是我对抗过的最强防守者。”
更不用说他在进攻端那些近乎随手拈来的精彩集锦了——这得益于他无穷无尽的长度、后卫般的技巧以及日益成熟的比赛感觉。
尤其是后者，进步神速，这对联盟其他球队来说简直是噩梦。例如，在对阵明尼苏达的第六场首节，这一回合虽然以投篮不中告终，但文班亚马的瞬间阅读能力几乎让我从椅子上跳起来：他在禁区错位接球后，瞬间盲传，皮球像飞盘一样划过半场精准找到另一侧三分线外的德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell)，给了后者一个极其舒服的空位机会。
关于文班亚马影响力的一个深刻例子出现在第六场赛前。在谈到马刺对安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards) 施加的包夹陷阱时，森林狼后卫迈克·康利 (Mike Conley) 指出，在禁区内面对文班亚马制造二打一的机会基本上是徒劳的。
“华子在出球和寻找队友方面做得很好，”康利说，“但显然，文班守在禁区，你不能直接冲进去扣篮或者强行终结，甚至无法通过吸引包夹创造机会。他们不需要从其他位置协防，因为他们只需要把所有进攻都引导至文班面前。”
这完全是史无前例的。几乎所有NBA战术的核心点都是在球场某个位置创造二打一的局面并加以利用。然而，森林狼即便破解了包夹，让一名球员从罚球线顺下，另一名球员埋伏在底线，在文班亚马面前也基本毫无威胁；森林狼不仅需要创造优势，还需要打“五外”战术，并确保创造出的优势距离文班那张开的触手足够远，才有可能最终得分。
如果马刺对吉尔杰斯-亚历山大采取类似的包夹策略，我们将看看雷霆是否会面临同样的困境。但这可能还不是他们与森林狼处境唯一的相似之处。森林狼内部另一种低调的情绪是：留给联盟其他球队的时间不多了。你最好在今年击败文班亚马，因为接下来的十年左右，一切都将尘埃落定。雷霆拥有一套深度极佳的阵容，还有一位正值巅峰的MVP，但这可能都无济于事。
第六场结束后，我询问了森林狼中锋鲁迪·戈贝尔 (Rudy Gobert)——这位同样来自法国、与文班亚马相识多年的老大哥——是否对文班崛起的惊人速度感到惊讶：
“我不会说感到惊讶，”戈贝尔说，“看着他在这些时刻所做的一切，以及他在这轮系列赛中克服逆境的方式，这归功于他的努力、他所做出的所有牺牲，以及他在身体、精神和专注度上投入的时间……作为竞争对手，我总是试图激励他，我曾以为我们有办法击败他们，但他领导了他的球队。现在，看看他如何迎接下一个挑战，看看他今年能否带领球队到达应许之地，这将非常有趣。”
当然，我的这些想法可能稍微超前了一点。雷霆是卫冕冠军，他们经历过这种大场面，并且拥有全联盟最佳战绩。他们的阵容深度优于马刺，而且只要杰伦·威廉姆斯 (Jalen Williams) 保持健康，他们的进攻活力也更强。防守像泥鳅一样难以捉摸的吉尔杰斯-亚历山大，简直就像在尝试用叉子喝牛奶一样困难。（另外，既然说到了这里：纽约尼克斯在潜在的总决赛对决中似乎也不是好捏的软柿子。）
历史有时会残酷地嘲弄我们的预测；14年前，我们曾认为勒布朗·詹姆斯 (LeBron James) 最好在总决赛解决掉那支雷霆，因为那可能是他最后的机会。结果詹姆斯在接下来的八年里七次杀入总决赛，而雷霆直到去年六月才重返巅峰。
我还应该指出，到目前为止的季后赛中，吉尔杰斯-亚历山大表现稳健：他的球队尚未输球，他和文班亚马在球员效率值 (PER) 榜单上位列前三，在正负值贡献 (BPM) 榜单上也名列前茅。（截至周日，这两项数据的榜首都是卡尔-安东尼·唐斯！）
最后，文班亚马在季后赛中还从未遇到过像雷霆这样如影随形、仿佛场上有七个人在防守的铁血防线。或许，属于他的时代还没到……至少现在还没到。
但另一方面，我们可能正见证着一个新时代的黎明——因为如果连强大的雷霆都无法阻挡文班亚马，那么联盟其他球队恐怕也毫无希望。
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：SGA is NBA MVP again, but has Victor Wembanyama passed him as league's best player?
SGA is NBA MVP again, but has Victor Wembanyama passed him as league’s best player?
There will be no relitigating the NBA MVP award.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his second straight trophy on Sunday, deservedly, with Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama finishing as runners-up. Regardless of what happens in the Western Conference finals between Gilgeous-Alexander’s Oklahoma City Thunder and Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs, that was the correct result.
Here’s the thing, though: At age 27, Gilgeous-Alexander is in the prime of his career. With the league’s best record, a championship ring in 2025 and another MVP trophy, you’d think it was indisputable that he’s far and away the NBA’s best player.
And yet … will his next series mark a changing of the guard?
Gilgeous-Alexander was the league’s best player over the course of the 82-game regular season, but is he the best player right now? That part seems in serious question after Wembanyama came on like gangbusters in the second part of the campaign and has thus far dominated the playoffs.
I’m not sure this aspect of the storyline has received quite the attention it deserves: Wembanyama was a really good player for the first three months … and then completely went nuclear during the stretch run.
From Feb. 1 to the end of the season, the Spurs went 28-2 when Wembanyama played and posted a plus-23.4 net rating, the best mark in the league by a wide margin (the next three players on the list all played for the Thunder, including Gilgeous-Alexander). In that same stretch, the Spurs were just plus-0.7 with Wemby off the court, a 22.7-points-per-100-possessions difference that would make even longtime Denver Nuggets fans raise a surprised eyebrow.
That’s carried over into the playoffs, as the Spurs are 7-1 when Wembanyama plays at least 15 minutes and 1-2 when he doesn’t; San Antonio has a plus-21.9 net rating in his minutes but just plus-7.1 when he sits.
Individually in that post-February stretch, Wembanyama raised his rates of points, rebounds, assists and true shooting sharply from the first half of the year, despite a slump from the 3-point line that prevented his numbers from really going ballistic. Of his 13 games with a game score above 30, 10 came after Feb. 1, including the top four. Wembanyama’s back-to-back 41-point masterpieces on March 30 and April 1 were his two highest-rated, despite only playing 29 and 30 minutes in the two games.
I’ll note that this wasn’t just a hot shooting stretch; those numbers came with a big jump in his already fearsome block rate and were emphatically backed up by the eye test.
The league’s scariest talent is still getting better. Rapidly.
To make sure I wasn’t alone in this assessment, one of my missions at the NBA Draft Combine was to ask execs from the other 29 teams if they thought Wemby had supplanted Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokić as the league’s best player. Mostly, I was met with chortles and nods.
“I don’t know what the hell you do with him,” said one personnel expert. “Offense. Defense. Any of it.”
So … is Wemby the best player in the league?
“No,” another veteran exec said. “He’s the best player I’ve ever seen.”
During Game 6 of the Spurs’ series against Minnesota, Prime Video analyst and longtime NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy mentioned to a national audience that, “Victor Wembanyama is the most impactful defensive player I have ever seen in this league.” After the game, Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels, no defensive slouch himself, echoed Van Gundy.
“Wemby is probably the greatest defender I ever played against,” McDaniels said. “Him being so tall and so long, it was hard to get to the rim. … I was able to get to my spots, but playing Wemby, he’s huge. He’s so tall. He’s the greatest defender I ever played against.”
That’s to say nothing of the offensive highlights he almost nonchalantly generates between his endless length, his guard-like skill level and his advancing feel for the game.
The latter skill, in particular, is gaining by leaps and bounds, a scary sight for the rest of the league. For instance, this play from the first quarter of Game 6 in Minnesota resulted in miss, but the insta-read by Wembanyama nearly brought me out of my chair, taking a pass against a paint mismatch and instantly, blindly, whirling into a Frisbee pass at the opposite 3-point line that gave Devin Vassell a fungo.
One profound example of Wembanyama’s impact came before Game 6. In talking to Minnesota players about the traps the Spurs had unleashed on Anthony Edwards. Wolves guard Mike Conley pointed out that generating a two-on-one in the paint against Wembanyama was essentially worthless.
“Ant’s done a really good job of getting off [the ball] and finding us,” Conley said. “Wemby, obviously, with him being in the paint, you can’t just drive it and go dunk on somebody or go finish or draw two in. They don’t have to help from any other side because they just funnel everything down to Wemby.”
This is totally, utterly unprecedented. The entire point of virtually all NBA actions is to create a two-on-one situation somewhere on the court and then exploit it. And yet, Minnesota breaking a trap to have one player charging downhill from the free-throw line and another in the dunker spot was essentially reduced to a non-event by Wembanyama’s presence; the Wolves not only needed to create advantages but needed to play five out and create the advantages far enough from his sprawling tentacles to generate some decent likelihood of eventually scoring a basket.
We’ll see if the Thunder face a similar quandary if the Spurs throw similar traps at Gilgeous-Alexander, but that might not be their only comparison to the Wolves’ predicament. The other low-key sentiment from the Minnesota side was of timing running out on the rest of the league: You better beat Wembanyama this year, because the next decade or so afterward is a wrap. The Thunder have a loaded roster featuring an MVP in his prime, and it might not matter.
Following Game 6, I asked Wolves center Rudy Gobert, a fellow Frenchman who has known Wembanyama for years, about whether the rapidity of Wemby’s ascent surprised him:
“I wouldn’t say surprised,” Gobert said. “Watching him being able to do what he’s doing in these moments and overcome adversity like he did this series, it’s a credit to his work and all the sacrifices that he made and all the time that he puts to his body, on his mind, his dedication. … As a competitor, I always try to build him up, and I thought we had a way to beat them, but he led his team, and now, it’s going to be interesting to see how he’s ready to face that next challenge, see if he takes his team to the promised land this year.”
I’m getting slightly ahead of myself, of course. The Thunder are defending champions, have been in this situation before and had the best record in the league. They have more depth than the Spurs and more offensive dynamism as long as Jalen Williams is healthy, and defending the slithery Gilgeous-Alexander is like trying to eat milk with a fork. (Also, while we’re here: The New York Knicks don’t exactly seem like they’d be pushovers in a potential NBA Finals matchup.)
History can laugh cruelly at our predictions; 14 years ago, we thought LeBron James had better take care of the Thunder in the NBA Finals because it might be his last chance. James went on to play in seven of the next eight finals, while the Thunder didn’t get back until last June.
I should also point out that, so far in the postseason, Gilgeous-Alexander has held his own: His team hasn’t lost, and he and Wembanyama are two of the top three players in PER and near the top in BPM. (First in both categories entering Sunday: Karl-Anthony Towns!)
Finally, Wembanyama hasn’t faced a defense in the playoffs like the Thunder’s, a swarming mass of arms and hands that seems to have seven players. Perhaps it’s not quite his time … yet.
On the other hand, we may be about to witness the dawning of a new era — because if not even the mighty Thunder can stop Wembanyama, the rest of the league has no hope.
By John Hollinger, via The Athletic