By Nick Friedell | The Athletic, 2026-05-23 09:30:56
年轻时的沙奎尔·奥尼尔 (Shaquille O’Neal) 给当时年纪更小的我上了一课，让我知道了什么是真正的重低音。
回到上世纪90年代中期，每当这位划时代的大个子驾车驶近奥兰多球馆的停车场准备参加当晚的魔术队比赛时，整个世界仿佛都在震动。他拥有各种各样的定制座驾，其中包括许多前保险杠上印有超人标志的雪佛兰萨博班（Suburban）越野车。早在比赛开始之前，他就一定要让所有人感受到他的存在。沙克的这一赛前仪式给当时年仅10岁的我普及了什么叫低音频段。他的车里放着震耳欲聋的音乐——重低音开到最大——扬声器里大声播放着他最喜欢的歌。隔着好几个街区，你就能感觉到“沙克战车”正隆隆驶来。
我有幸近距离目睹过巅峰期沙克的风采。看着他打球，那种震撼是我前所未见的。每天晚上，你都清楚地知道自己正在见证一些与众不同的东西。从踏入联盟的那一刻起，他就比几乎所有其他大个子都要更高、更强壮、更快。在这个充满巨人的联盟里，他比任何人都更加鹤立鸡群。
三十年后，看着维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 在西部决赛的赛场上飞驰，我再次产生了同样的感觉。
就像三十年前的沙克一样，这位来自法国的“篮球外星人”正凭借着我们前所未见的体型与技术的结合，宣告自己将成为NBA的下一代门面。尽管两人的体型不同，打法也截然相反，但他们各自对联盟产生的冲击力却如此相似。
在周一晚上双加时击败俄克拉荷马雷霆队的第一场比赛中，文班亚马毫无疑问地证明了这一点，同时贡献了联盟历史上最伟大比赛之一中最伟大的个人表演之一。年仅22岁的文班亚马，在面对卫冕冠军时，发出了他年轻职业生涯中最震撼的宣言。他就是如此优秀，只要能保持健康，随着岁月的流逝，他只会变得越来越强。
文班亚马身高7英尺5英寸，是新科最佳防守球员，而且还能像斯蒂芬·库里 (Stephen Curry) 那样在外线投篮，即便出手频率不及后者。看着他在这个系列赛中的表现，我不禁一次次想起当年看着另一位高大、年轻的超级巨星永远改变篮球运动的情景。
《The Athletic》记者尼克·弗里德尔 (Nick Friedell) 与沙奎尔·奥尼尔合影。（图片由尼克·弗里德尔提供）
文班亚马和奥尼尔都拥有独特的运动天赋和优雅身姿，再结合他们的身高，这让他们俯视全场、洞悉一切的能力变得更加强大。两人的防守威慑力显而易见，对手在整场比赛中遇到他们都不得不改变投篮动作。虽然文班拥有沙克梦寐以求的跳投能力，但两人在进攻端统治比赛以及拼抢篮板的能力，都让他们在同辈中脱颖而出。尽管沙克的防守能力随着年龄增长而下滑，但在职业生涯早期，凭借令人难以置信的运动天赋，他在防守端绝对是个大杀器，在奥兰多效力期间场均能送出2.8次盖帽。这两位全明星大个子拥有一个共同的特质，这在NBA的伟大球星中也是极其罕见的——他们能让对手产生恐惧，因为他们能以太多不同的方式去影响比赛。
沙克可以凭借纯粹的力量做到这一点。他会在低位生吃其他中锋，然后直接在他们头上扣篮。文班也能做到这一点，但在职业生涯早期，他的进攻手段更加丰富。尽管他无法与年轻沙克的绝对力量相媲美，但文班亚马可以用各种不同的方式击溃对手。两人对其他球员都拥有明显的心理优势，因为他们的天赋实在太具有压倒性了。当文班亚马势不可挡时，就像当年的沙克一样，他们的伟大展现出一种不可阻挡的必然感。
就像奥尼尔在1995年带领魔术队所做的那样，文班亚马在进入联盟的第三个赛季就带领马刺队打进了分区决赛。那一年，奥尼尔是在东部半决赛击败了迈克尔·乔丹 (Michael Jordan) 和芝加哥公牛队之后完成这一壮举的。在职业生涯首次挺进总决赛之前，文班亚马还有很多工作要做。他还需要在面对两届MVP谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 领衔的雷霆队时再赢下三场比赛。但就像多年前的奥尼尔一样，他让其他队友坚信，在他的带领下，一切皆有可能。
当你拥有一位划时代的天才时，这就是关键所在：相比于技术统计表上那些令人瞠目结舌的数据，他们两人给各自年轻球队注入的更多是信念。在第一场比赛结束时，马刺队替补席上球员们的眼神中就清楚地流露出了这一点；同样，在沙克效力奥兰多的四年里，这一点也显而易见，尤其是在整个1994-95赛季，他带领魔术队首次闯入总决赛，而这本该是他们多次总决赛之旅的开始。
奥尼尔和文班亚马之间的对比不仅因为他们的体型和攻防两端的影响力而显得贴切，而且这支马刺队可能是联盟迄今为止见过的最接近当年那支魔术队的队伍。尽管奥尼尔和文班亚马分别是魔术队和马刺队无可争议的核心，但奥尼尔当时身边有一群实力超群的年轻配角，就像现在的文班亚马在圣安东尼奥一样。便士·哈达威 (Penny Hardaway) 是奥尼尔身边极具天赋的年轻控卫。而文班亚马身边则有20岁的迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 和21岁的斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)。
奥尼尔身边有富有才华的老将尼克·安德森 (Nick Anderson)、丹尼斯·斯科特 (Dennis Scott) 和霍勒斯·格兰特 (Horace Grant)。文班亚马身边也有老将控卫德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox)，以及像德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 和朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Chamagnie) 这样可靠的拼图球员与他并肩作战。两家俱乐部都清楚，他们必须用最能与年轻球星互补的拼图来填满各自的阵容。就像当年的魔术队一样，马刺队也必须去适应并摸索，什么样的拼图最能彰显这位划时代巨星的伟大。
当魔术队在1995年东部季后赛中势如破竹时，人们感觉他们已经为未来多年的辉煌做好了准备。他们何时开始夺冠只是时间问题，而不是能不能的问题。然而，他们最终却成了一个警示故事，展示了如果未能做出正确的运作，一支球队的夺冠窗口会关闭得多么迅速。魔术队在1995年总决赛中被休斯敦火箭队横扫。第二年，他们在东部决赛中输给了乔丹和那支取得72胜的公牛队。随后在1996年休赛期，奥尼尔加盟洛杉矶湖人队，永远改变了NBA的历史进程——他加盟的这支球队刚刚得到了另一位年轻且天赋异禀的后卫，而且这位后卫还是个高中生。
文班亚马没有表现出任何会重蹈覆辙的迹象。他在圣安东尼奥过得很开心，而他身边那些富有才华的球员也蓄势待发，准备在未来几年里共同成长，开启属于他们的夺冠征程。尽管世界正在逐渐习惯看到他在球场上做出我们前所未见的动作，但他的能力依然让人想起另一位超凡脱俗的天才，正是后者在三十年前为如今的文班亚马铺平了道路。
沙克在奥兰多的职业生涯并不像文班亚马未来在圣安东尼奥那样长久——但他对魔术队产生的影响，是联盟中与当下正在发生的一切最接近的参照物。文班亚马正在做的事情是如此特别，以至于他唯一的真正参照物只能去其他的时代寻找。
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's playoff brilliance evokes one man — young Shaq
Victor Wembanyama’s playoff brilliance evokes one man — young Shaq
A young Shaquille O’Neal taught an even-younger me what bass sounded like.
When the generational big man drove near the Orlando Arena parking lot for that night’s Magic game back in the mid-‘90s, the world shook. He had a variety of different customized cars, including a lot of Suburbans with the Superman logo emblazoned on the front bumper, and made sure to make his presence felt every night, long before the game even began. Shaq’s pregame ritual schooled 10-year-old me on the low end of audio frequency.He had the music blasting in his car — with the bass turned all the way up — and speakers blaring out his favorite songs. You could feel the Shaqmobile coming from blocks away.
I was lucky enough to see prime Shaq up close. Watching him play felt unlike anything I had ever seen. Each night, you knew you were seeing something that was just different. He was bigger, stronger and faster than almost every other big man from the moment he stepped into the league. In a league full of giants, he stood out more than the rest.
Thirty years later, I’m getting the same feeling watching Victor Wembanyama run up and down the floor in the Western Conference finals.
Just like Shaq did three decades ago, the basketball alien from France is making his case as the next face of the NBA with a combination of size and skill that we have never seen before. While they don’t have the same builds and certainly don’t have the same games, their respective impacts on the league feel similar.
Wembanyama left no doubt about that in Monday night’s double-overtime Game 1 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder while putting together one of the greatest performances in one of the greatest games in league history. At just 22, Wembanyama is making the loudest statement of his young career against the defending NBA champions. He is that good and if he can stay healthy, he’s only going to get better as the years roll on.
Wembanyama is 7 foot 5, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and can hit from the outside like Stephen Curry, if not at the same frequency. As I watch him in this series, I keep thinking back to when I watched another tall, young superstar change the game forever.
The Athletic’s Nick Friedell pictured next to Shaquille O’Neal. (Courtesy of Nick Friedell)
Both Wembanyama and O’Neal have unique athleticism and grace to go with the height that makes their ability to see over everybody else even more powerful. The pair’s defensive presence is palpable as opponents have to change shots around them throughout any game. While Wemby has the kind of jump shot that Shaq could only dream of, both men’s ability to dominate a game offensively and clean up the glass sets them apart from their peers. While Shaq’s defensive ability deteriorated with age, he was a menace on that end of the floor early in his career thanks to unbelievable athleticism, averaging 2.8 blocks per game in Orlando. The All-Star big men share a collective trait that is so rare even for the greats in the NBA — they strike fear in their opponents because they can affect the game in so many different ways.
Shaq could do it with pure force. He would just bully other centers down on the block and dunk on them. Wemby can do that too, but his offensive game is more expansive early in his career, although he can’t match young Shaq’s pure power, Wembanyama can break opponents down in a variety of different ways. Both men have a distinct mental advantage over other players because their talent is so overwhelming. When Wembanyama gets rolling, just like Shaq did years ago, there’s a feeling of inevitability to their greatness.
Just like O’Neal did with the Magic in 1995, Wembanyama has the Spurs in the conference finals in just his third season in the league. O’Neal accomplished the feat after beating Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference semifinals that year. Wembanyama still has plenty of work left before his first finals appearance. He needs three more wins against two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder. But just like O’Neal did all those years ago, he has given the rest of his teammates the belief that it can happen with him leading the way.
That’s the key when you have a generational talent on your side: More than all the eye-popping numbers in the box score, what both poured into the rest of their young teams was belief. It was evident in the eyes of the Spurs’ players on the bench at the end of Game 1 and it was clear to see during Shaq’s four-year stint in Orlando, especially during the entire 1994-95 season as he led the Magic into their first Finals appearance of what was supposed to be many.
Not only are the comparisons between O’Neal and Wembanyama apt because of their size and two-way impact, but this iteration of the Spurs may be the closest thing the league has seen to that version of the Magic. Although O’Neal was the clear focal point of the Magic as Wembanyama is for the Spurs, O’Neal was playing with an overqualified young supporting cast, just like Wembanyama is with San Antonio. Penny Hardaway was the ultra-talented young point guard by O’Neal’s side. Wembanyama has 20-year-old Dylan Harper and 21-year-old Stephon Castle by his side.
O’Neal had talented veterans Nick Anderson, Dennis Scott and Horace Grant along with him. Wembanyama also has veteran point guard De’Aaron Fox, and solid pieces like Devin Vassell and Julian Chamagnie running with him. Both organizations knew they had to fill up their respective rosters with pieces that would complement their young stars the most. Like the Magic did before them, the Spurs had to adapt and learn what pieces would accentuate their generational star’s greatness the most.
As the Magic rolled through the Eastern Conference playoffs in 1995, it felt like they were set up for years to come. It was a matter of when, not if, they would start winning championships. Instead, they became a cautionary tale of just how quickly a team’s window can shut if the right moves aren’t made. The Magic got swept by the Houston Rockets in the 1995 finals. They lost to Jordan and the 72-win Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals the following year. Then in the 1996 offseason, O’Neal signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and changed the course of NBA history, signing with a team that had just acquired another young, hyper-talented guard — this one out of high school.
Wembanyama has given no signs to suggest he would follow the same path. He seems happy in San Antonio, and the talented players around him look poised to grow into their own championship run over the next few years together. But as the world gets used to seeing him do things on the court we’ve never seen before, his ability is reminiscent of another transcendent talent who paved the way for Wembanyama to follow three decades later.
Shaq didn’t have the run in Orlando that Wembanyama likely will in San Antonio — but his impact with the Magic is the closest comparison the league has to what is happening right now. What Wembanyama is doing is so special that his only real comparisons exist out of his own time.
By Nick Friedell, via The Athletic