By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-05-18 14:53:59
2026年5月15日，周五，在明尼阿波利斯标靶中心举行的西部半决赛第六场上半场，圣安东尼奥马刺队后卫迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper)（左二起）、后卫德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) (24)、前锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) (1)、后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) (5) 和前锋朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) (30) 在明尼苏达森林狼队后卫安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards) (5) 执行罚球前聚在一起商讨战术。
俄克拉荷马城——马刺队并没有屏息以待NBA在周日晚上公布常规赛最有价值球员（MVP）的投票结果。
维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 的得票数位列第三，排在丹佛掘金队的尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokic) 和俄克拉荷马城雷霆队的谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 之后。后者成为了NBA历史上第18位至少获得两次MVP的球员，也是第14位蝉联该奖项的球员。
周一早上，在与雷霆队的西部决赛首场对决前的投篮训练中，马刺队并没有被这些消息所困扰。周日早些时候已有消息泄露，作为迈克尔·乔丹杯（MVP奖杯）的大热门，吉尔杰斯-亚历山大确实已经胜出。
“我知道谢伊赢了，但我直到现在才知道他（文班亚马）排在第三，”马刺后卫德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 在谈到文班亚马时说道。
文班亚马获得了5张第一顺位选票。吉尔杰斯-亚历山大和约基奇分别获得了83张和10张。
一个月前，文班亚马成为了NBA历史上最年轻的年度最佳防守球员 (DPOY)，也是该奖项首位全票当选者。
但事实是，无论这位22岁的法国人是否获得荣誉，马刺对他深沉的爱与尊重都将始终如一。
“这是我的兄弟。世界上最好的球员。MVP。谁有异议，尽管来找我，”前锋凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 在今年3月马刺战胜夏洛特黄蜂后的场边电视采访中，打趣地干扰文班亚马时说道。
文班亚马的无私是约翰逊和其他队友对他推崇备至的主因之一。这位身高7英尺4英寸的超级巨星毫无架子，始终在团队体系内打球，并严格遵守马刺“从好到伟大 (good-to-great)”的投篮选择哲学，这为全队奠定了基调。
“这是会传染的，”前锋德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 表示，“当你拥有文班这样一位愿意传球且无私的世界最佳球员时，这种精神会向下渗透到每一个人。”
明尼苏达森林狼队中锋纳兹·里德 (Naz Reid) 在西部半决赛输给马刺队后指出，文班亚马和他的队友们总是“为彼此而战”，并且“很享受在场上并肩作战的感觉”。
福克斯赞同瓦塞尔的观点，认为这一切都源于文班亚马对待比赛的方式。
“文班可以投任何他想投的球，我们连眼睛都不会眨一下，”福克斯说，“但正因为他如此愿意在每一次进攻中寻找最佳出手机会，比赛才变得更加轻松。”
2026年5月15日，周五，在明尼阿波利斯标靶中心举行的西部半决赛第六场上半场结束时，圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) (11)、后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) (5) 和前锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) (1) 走下球场。
常规赛期间，马刺队有7名球员场均得分达到或超过10分，还有一人场均得到9.9分。这种由文班亚马带动的化学反应，是球队距离自2014年夺得队史第五冠以来首次重返总决赛仅差四场胜利的关键原因。
“我们拥有个人天赋，但很多球队都有个人天赋。让我们脱颖而出的——我认为这体现在进攻和防守两端——是我们彼此信任，”福克斯说道，“我们让球‘呼吸’，球在移动，球充满了能量。我们一直在讨论这一点。这让比赛变得赏心悦目，也让打球变得充满乐趣。那是我们最强的时刻。”
“当球移动起来时，每个人都能获得投篮机会，每个人都能获得空位。有时凭借个人天赋，我们会投进一些高难度球。文班会投进难球，我也会，德文、斯蒂芬（卡斯尔）、迪伦（哈珀）也是，我们需要时就能投进。但如果你不需要一直那样打球，而是能尽可能多地获得空位机会，比赛就会变得简单。”
而文班亚马确保了这一切的发生。
“文班就是文班，天知道他会在多长时间里一直保持特别，但他从来没有傲气，”瓦塞尔说，“他总是先考虑团队，考虑如何赢球，以及我们需要付出什么才能赢。这种精神感染了所有人。”
“他树立了榜样。”
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：MVP or not, Victor Wembanyama will always have Spurs love, respect
MVP or not, Victor Wembanyama will always have Spurs love, respect
San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2), from left, guard Devin Vassell (24), forward Victor Wembanyama (1), guard Stephon Castle (5) and forward Julian Champagnie (30) huddle together before Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) takes a free-throw during the first half of Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals at Target Center in Minneapolis, Friday, May 15, 2026.
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Spurs weren’t waiting with bated breath for the NBA to announce the results of the MVP voting Sunday night.
Victor Wembanyama finished third behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who became the 18th player to win at least two MVP awards and the 14th to win them in back-to-back seasons.
Not that any of that was weighing heavily on the Spurs at shootaround Monday morning ahead of their Game 1 Western Conference finals clash with the Thunder. Word leaked early Sunday that Gilgeous-Alexander, the favorite to collect the Michael Jordan Trophy, had indeed won.
“I know Shai won. I didn’t know he finished third until now,” Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox said of Wembanyama.
Wembanyama collected five first-place votes. Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic garnered 83 and 10, respectively.
A month ago, Wembanyama became the youngest Defensive Player of the Year in NBA history and the first unanimous winner.
But here’s the deal, the Spurs love and respect for the 22-year-old Frenchman will always run deep no matter what honors he does or does not collect.
“This is my guy right here. The best player in the world. The MVP. If anybody got anything to say, come holler at me,” forward Keldon Johnson said in March while disrupting Wembanyama’s postgame TV interview after a win over Charlotte.
Wembanyama’s unselfishness ranks as one of the biggest reasons why Johnson and others hold him in such high esteem. The unpretentious 7-foot-4 superstar always plays within the team concept while strictly adhering to the Spurs’ “good-to-great” shot selection philosophy, which sets a tone for the rest of the team.
“It’s contagious,” forward Devin Vassell said. “When you start with having Vic, the best basketball player in the world who will pass the ball and be unselfish, it just trickles down.”
Minnesota center Naz Reid noted after the Timberwolves’ second-round loss to the Spurs that Wembanyama and Co. are always “playing for one another” and are “excited to be on the floor with one another.”
Fox agreed with Vassell that it all stems from Wembanyama’s approach to the game.
“Vic can take any shot and we wouldn’t blink an eye,” Fox said. “But because he’s so willing to look for the best shot every possession, it makes the game easier.”
San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant (11), San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) and San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) walk off the court at the end of the first half of Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals at Target Center in Minneapolis, Friday, May 15, 2026.
The Spurs had seven players average 10 or more points per game and one average 9.9 in the regular season. That Wembanyama-fueled chemistry is a big reason why the team is four wins away from its first NBA Finals trip since the franchise won its fifth championship in 2014.
“We have individual talent, but a lot of teams have individual talent. What separates us, and I think it’s both offensive and defensive, is we trust each other,” Fox said. "We let the ball breathe, the ball moves, the ball has energy. We talk about that all the time. It makes the game fun to watch and it makes the game fun to play. And that’s when we’re at our best.
“When the ball’s moving, everybody’s getting shots. Everybody’s getting open shots. Sometimes with the individual talent we have, we make tough shots. Vic’s going to make tough shots. I’m going to make tough shots. Dev, Steph (Castle), Dylan (Harper), we’re going to make tough shots when you need them. But if you don’t have to do that all the time and you’re able to get as many open shots as possible, that’s when the game becomes easier.”
And Wembanyama makes sure it happens.
“Vic is Vic and he’s going to be a special player for God knows how long, but he never comes in and has an ego,” Vassell said. "He’s always worried about the team first and us getting wins and what it takes for us to get wins. And that bleeds into everybody else.
“He sets the example.”
By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News