By John Hollinger | The Athletic, 2026-05-19 10:00:47
《The Athletic》正在实时报道2026年NBA季后赛西部决赛第二场的马刺对阵雷霆。
俄克拉荷马城——几乎每次踏上球场，维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 都会做出一些令人瞠目结舌、完全超出我们认知范畴的惊人举动，以至于连那些见惯风雨的篮坛老江湖们也不禁发出惊叹。
在周一进行的西部决赛首场对决中，圣安东尼奥马刺历经双加时，以122-115史诗般地击败了俄克拉荷马雷霆——说真的，这可能是我见过的最精彩的一场比赛。在这场比赛之后，想要将他单场41分24篮板的统治级大师表现浓缩为一两个核心要点，几乎是一件不可能完成的任务。
因此，让我们忽略比赛中间的46分钟左右，仅仅聚焦于开局和终局。因为正是这两个阶段，最能彰显文班亚马独一无二的天赋，以及他正以何等惊人的速度威胁并统治着整个联盟。
首先是开局。似乎没有人提及这一点，但在比赛开始仅两分钟后，令人惊奇的一幕发生了：雷霆将亚历克斯·卡鲁索 (Alex Caruso) 派往记录台，换下了以赛亚·哈尔滕施泰因 (Isaiah Hartenstein)。如果你还记得的话，哈尔滕施泰因是雷霆在2024年夏天最关键的自由市场引援，他帮助球队夺得了NBA总冠军。在我的衡量标准中，他是一位身价3200万美元、位列联盟前15的中锋。
然而，在这轮系列赛的首场比赛仅进行了两分钟后，面对文班亚马，这支斩获64胜的卫冕冠军雷霆队就意识到，他们阵中的一位精英球员竟然无法上场了。哈尔滕施泰因能做很多事情，但他无法拉开空间。正如明尼苏达森林狼和波特兰开拓者已经发现的那样，这对于面对文班亚马的大个子来说基本上是致命的——因为文班亚马只需要镇守禁区，就能凭一己之力摧毁对方的整个进攻体系。
周一晚上，雷霆花了整整两分钟才做出调整，但其实在比赛开始之前，他们可能就已经预料到了这种情况。
**“**很显然，这就是我们赛前的计划，”俄克拉荷马城主教练马克·戴格诺特 (Mark Daigneault) 说道，“就是尽早错开（哈尔滕施泰因的）时间，把卡鲁索换上去。我们基本上预先决定了这一点，只是我之前不知道自己会调整得这么快。”
在接下来的比赛中，哈尔滕施泰因在进攻端没有对位文班亚马哪怕一秒钟。雷霆只有在替补中锋卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 上场时才派他上场——在当晚余下的时间里总共只有10分钟——因为只有在这些时间段里，哈尔滕施泰因才能扮演一个正常的中锋。雷霆在下半场开局阶段用凯森·华莱士 (Cason Wallace) 顶替了哈尔滕施泰因的位置，而这可能也会是他们第二场比赛的先发阵容。
这一决定比任何事情都更能说明，这位身高7英尺4英寸（约2.24米）的马刺天才已经成为了怎样一股改变比赛格局的力量：一支看似即将开启王朝、本赛季以24胜1负开局的俄克拉荷马城雷霆，竟然被逼得手忙脚乱地寻找对策。雷霆在面对联盟其他球队时取得了71胜14负的傲人战绩，却在与马刺的近六次交手中吞下了第五场败仗。
随着比赛的进行，雷霆在阵容调整上的“打地鼠”游戏，几乎和文班亚马的精彩集锦一样引人入胜。戴格诺特在三分之二的比赛时间里都在拆东墙补西墙，试图修补那些原本坚不可摧、却唯独在面对文班亚马这种级别的球员时才会暴露破绽的阵容。
比如：随着哈尔滕施泰因淡出轮换，他原本被委以重任去解决的篮板球问题突然再次亮起红灯。据NBA.com统计，圣安东尼奥马刺最终拿到了36.8%的进攻篮板率，而雷霆仅为21%。随着文班亚马坐镇内线，加上马刺运动能力出众的后卫群在外线施加压迫，作为雷霆进攻命脉的持球突破彻底哑火。常规赛MVP得主谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 全场23投仅7中，半场结束时仅得4分；而擅长突破的二年级新星阿杰·米切尔 (Ajay Mitchell) 在上场的34分钟内也仅得到4分。当文班亚马在场时，雷霆在禁区内仅投出了惨不忍睹的31投11中。
雷霆之所以能在这种情况下依然咬住比分，并在第一个加时赛结束前获得赢球机会，充分证明了他们的阵容深度、韧性以及卡鲁索的卓越能力。戴格诺特最终找到了一套运转大致良好的四后卫阵容，并在比赛末段设计了两次精妙的暂停后战术（ATO），拉开空间让吉尔杰斯-亚历山大单打并冲击篮筐。到加时赛开始时，卡鲁索等人的贴身肉搏似乎已经消耗光了文班亚马的体力。
这也让我们得以将时间快进46分钟，来到另一个值得大书特书的阶段：第一个加时赛的尾声。
罕见的是，这并不是一个文班亚马用他惊人的身体天赋震撼世人的时刻。相反，那记让旁观者惊叹不已、也让他的队友们赛后在更衣室里笑逐颜开的进球，展现的是他纯粹的胆识与自信。
落后3分。还剩28秒。距离篮筐近30英尺（约9米），而他当晚已经登场了43分钟——这比他以往打过的任何一场NBA比赛都要长。
在第一个加时赛快结束时，文班亚马显然已经精疲力竭。然而，不知为何，就在那个瞬间，这个平日里温和佛系的少年化身为了“少林狙击手”，在转换进攻中飙中一记超远三分，追平了比分，让雷霆主场观众以及他自己的队友们目瞪口呆。
“我当时心想，‘天呐，他居然真投了！’”凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 说道。
“他当时腿都快软了！”卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) 说道。
“我知道这球一定会进，”斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 说道。
“我当时有点懵了，”迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 说道，“但球一出手，我就想，‘哦，这球有了。’他就是这样的人。”
简而言之，这就是为什么文班亚马如此难以对付。他拥有过去四分之一世纪以来任何球员都无法企及的天赋，同时他也拥有一种对伟大的极度渴望，无论输赢，这种渴望都会在关键时刻喷薄而出。这表现在这位平日里彬彬有礼、体贴周到的法国人，在球场上羞辱切特·霍姆格伦 (Chet Holmgren) 时所展露出的那种不合时宜的狂喜；表现在他试图用自己的防守和拼抢去刺激身边的全明星队友认真打球；也表现在当场上身高最高的球员在出场40多分钟后，依然在不遗余力地做着那些拼抢地板球的脏活累活。
看看另一个同样引人瞩目的回合吧，它发生在仅仅两分钟前，甚至都没能登上YouTube的每日集锦：当时一次传球失误飞到了文班亚马身后很远的地方，直接送给俄克拉荷马城一次3打1的快攻机会。看似已经精疲力竭且落在身后的文班亚马，毅然低下头狂奔了75英尺（约23米），飞身扑向地板球，并将球砸在霍姆格伦的脚上弹出界外，制造了一次失误。
在那个回合开始时，文班亚马落后了20英尺，试图去追赶对方的两名后卫。当时他已经打了41分钟，他的球队还领先两分。如果他当时只是慢跑回防，绝对没有人会责怪他——场上的其他四名球员就是这么做的。
但相反，他完成了一次改变比赛走向的防守。
维克托·文班亚马在比赛末段飞身扑救，为马刺完成了一次至关重要的防守。 (Joshua Gateley / Getty Images)
当人们在20年后重温维克托的传奇故事时，这段视频或许不会被反复提及，但它同样极具说服力。如果没有那次拼尽全力的冲刺和极限飞扑，也就不会有后面那记强行续命的超远绝平三分。
当然，这只是七局四胜制系列赛的第一场，我们还不知道这部大戏最终将如何收尾。也许雷霆能在接下来的比赛中多投进几个三分球，更迅速地调整到他们的最佳阵容，吉尔杰斯-亚历山大也能找回节奏，雷霆依然有机会脱颖而出。如果周一晚上的某一次弹球换了方向，我现在写的可能就是一篇完全不同的报道了。
然而，对于那些带着“改朝换代正在发生”的强烈预感来看这轮系列赛的人来说，这场比赛无疑印证了他们的猜想。文班亚马在首场比赛开始的几分钟内就改变了局势，并凭借强大的意志力统治了比赛的终局。从这个意义上说，局部即是整体：他既在改变这项运动，也在以同样的分量统治着它。
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：Victor Wembanyama changed the Spurs-Thunder series long before his big shot
Victor Wembanyama changed the Spurs-Thunder series long before his big shot
The Athletic has live coverage of Spurs vs. Thunder in Game 2 of the 2026 NBA playoffs Western Conference finals.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Nearly every time he takes the court, Victor Wembanyama does something so mind-blowing, so outside the realm of what we’ve ever seen, that even wizened veterans of many revolutions around the sun are forced to guffaw in wonder.
In the wake of the San Antonio Spurs’ epic 122-115 double-overtime win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Monday’s Game 1 of the Western Conference finals — seriously, this might have been the best game I’ve ever seen — it seems almost impossible to distill the plays from his virtuoso 41-point, 24-rebound performance into one or two overarching points.
So let’s eliminate 46 minutes or so from the middle of the game and just limit ourselves to the very beginning and the very end. Because those were the two parts that best illuminated Wembanyama’s unique talent, and how quickly he is threatening to take over the entire league.
First, the start. Nobody seems to be talking about this, but two minutes into the game, something amazing happened: The Thunder sent Alex Caruso to the scorer’s table to replace Isaiah Hartenstein. Hartenstein, if you’ll recall, was the Thunder’s key free-agent acquisition in the summer of 2024, a player who helped turn them into NBA champions. By my metrics, he is a $32 million player who rates as one of the league’s top 15 centers.
Against Wembanyama, two minutes into the first game of this series, the 64-win, defending champion Thunder realized that one of their elite performers was unplayable. Hartenstein can do a lot of things, but he can’t space the floor, and — as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trail Blazers already found out — that is basically fatal for a big man playing against Wembanyama, who will just sit in the paint and destroy an entire offense by himself.
It took them two minutes Monday night, but the Thunder knew this was probably the case even before the game started.
**“**It was pretty clear that that was the plan going in,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said, “was to get (Hartenstein) staggered pretty quickly, to get Caruso in there. And we kind of predetermined that. I didn’t know how quick I would do it.”
Hartenstein didn’t play one second on offense against Wembanyama the rest of the game. The Thunder only played him when backup center Luke Kornet checked in — a total of 10 minutes the rest of the night — because those were the only stretches that permitted Hartenstein to be a normal center. The Thunder started the second half with Cason Wallace in Hartenstein’s place, and that may be how they’ll start Game 2 as well.
That decision, more than anything, underscores what a game-changing force the Spurs’ 7-foot-4 prodigy already has become: An Oklahoma City team that seemed on the brink of a dynasty, one that started this year 24-1, was left scrambling for answers. The Thunder, who are 71-14 against the rest of the league, lost to the Spurs for the fifth time in six tries.
As the night wore on, the Thunder’s game of lineup wack-a-mole was almost as fascinating as Wembanyama’s highlight reel. Daigneault spent two-thirds of the game plugging holes in otherwise impervious lineups that only became exposed by a player of Wembanyama’s level.
To wit: With Hartenstein out of the mix, rebounding, which he was brought in to fix, was suddenly a problem. San Antonio finished with a 36.8 percent offensive rebound rate, compared to just 21 percent for the Thunder, per NBA.com. With Wembanyama in the middle and San Antonio’s athletic guards pressuring up on the perimeter, the dribble drives that are the basis of the Thunder offense dried up. MVP winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shot just 7 of 23 and had only four points at halftime, while slashing sophomore Ajay Mitchell produced only four points in his 34 minutes. The Thunder shot a ghastly 11-of-31 in the paint with Wembanyama on the floor.
It’s a testament to their depth, resilience and the awesomeness of Caruso that the Thunder were in the game anyway, and in position to win it at the end of the first overtime. Daigneault finally found a four-guard lineup that mostly worked and drew up two beautiful late ATOs to isolate Gilgeous-Alexander and get him to the rim. By the start of overtime, the body blows from Caruso and company seem to have exhausted Wembanyama.
Which allows us to fast forward 46 minutes to the other notable stretch: the end of the first overtime.
In a rarity, this wasn’t a moment in which Wembanyama awed with his physical tools. Instead, the play that left onlookers in wonder — and his own teammates cackling in amazement in the locker room afterward — was a display of his sheer audacity.
Down three. Twenty-eight seconds left. Almost 30 feet from the hoop, and already 43 minutes into his night — more than he’d ever played in an NBA game.
Wembanyama was absolutely gassed by the end of the first overtime. And yet somehow, at that exact moment, the chill Buddhist turned into the Shaolin Sniper, nailing a deep transition 3 to tie the game and stun the Thunder crowd — and his own teammates.
“I’m like, ‘No way he shot that!’” Keldon Johnson said.
“He had no legs!” Carter Bryant said.
“I knew it was going in,” Stephon Castle said.
“I was stunned a little bit,” Dylan Harper said. “But once the ball went up, I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s going in.’ It’s just who he is.”
This, in a nutshell, is why Wembanyama is such a problem. He has as much talent as any player in the last quarter-century, but he also has a zest for greatness that emerges, win or lose, in these moments. It shows in the otherwise polite and considerate Frenchman’s inappropriate delight in humiliating Chet Holmgren on the court, it shows when he’s trying to embarrass his fellow All-Stars into playing a real game and it shows when the tallest player on the court is making hustle plays after playing 40-plus minutes.
Consider another play, one nearly as remarkable, that happened only two minutes earlier and didn’t make the YouTube highlights: Wembanyama, seemingly out of gas and behind the play after a pass was thrown a mile behind him to create a 3-on-1 for Oklahoma City, put his head down and booked 75 feet, dove on a loose ball and knocked it off Holmgren’s foot for a turnover.
When the play started, Wembanyama was 20 feet behind, trying to catch two guards. He had already played 41 minutes. His team was up two. Nobody would have raised an eyebrow if he had slow-jogged back; four other players on the court did the same thing.
Instead, he made a game-changing play.
Victor Wembanyama laid out to make a critical defensive play late for the Spurs. (Joshua Gateley / Getty Images)
That clip may not show up when people recount the Legend of Victor 20 years from now, but it seems just as telling. Without the lung-busting sprint and full-length dive, there is no audacious 3-pointer to tie it.
This, of course, was Game 1 in a best-of-seven series, and we don’t yet know how the movie ends. Perhaps Oklahoma City gets a few more 3s to fall, gets to its best lineups a bit quicker, Gilgeous-Alexander finds the rhythm and the Thunder still emerge. With one changed bounce Monday, I’m writing a very different story.
Yet for those who entered this series with a creeping sense that a changing of the guard was underway, this was proof of concept. Wembanyama changed Game 1 within minutes of it starting, and he willed his way to dominating its ending. In that sense, the micro is also the macro: He’s changing the game and dominating it in equal parts.
By John Hollinger, via The Athletic