By Jeph Duarte | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2026-06-01 11:00:00
现在是晚上10点59分。距离终场哨声响起、马刺加冕西部冠军，刚刚过去大约24个小时。就在不到24小时前，维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 高高举起他的西部决赛MVP奖杯，并宣告这只是无数个冠军中的第一个。就在不到24小时前，我还坐在赛后新闻发布会现场，听着米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 称赞卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 的那次封盖。文班亚马动情地表达了想和波波维奇聊聊的渴望。迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 和朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 都瞪大了眼睛，几乎无法抑制自己的兴奋之情——他们即将在纽约打自己的第一次NBA总决赛，而那座城市正是他们篮球梦想萌芽的地方。就在那个夜晚结束前（至少是在佩科姆球馆 (Paycom Arena) 的活动结束前），德阿隆·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 向NBA球迷们表达了致意。
我至少熬了两个小时，一直在讨论尼克斯与马刺的对决。我的同行伙伴们也都在细细品味马刺的这场胜利，这支我们撰写报道多年的球队。我们讨论了尼克斯那极其强硬的阵容。卡尔-安东尼·唐斯 (Karl-Anthony Towns) 和米切尔·罗宾逊 (Mitchell Robinson) 的身体对抗，对文班亚马来说将是一个巨大的挑战。我们预测了斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 将如何对位防守杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson)。我们甚至已经开始规划去纽约的行程了。
今天的大部分时间我都在开车从俄克拉荷马城赶回来。到家的时间刚刚好，够我做顿晚饭，给孩子读读书，再和妻子聊聊天。现在我坐在这里，依然在努力消化这个事实：圣安东尼奥马刺队真的要挺进2026年NBA总决赛了。
我在圣安东尼奥长大，一生都是马刺队的拥趸。和你们中的许多人一样，我还记得在美洲博览会体育馆 (HemisFair Arena) 看球的日子。我们中更多的人则见证过马刺在阿拉莫穹顶球馆 (Alamodome) 的比赛，那道巨大的蓝色幕帘将一座美式橄榄球场一分为二，以此来容纳这座城市唯一的一支主流职业体育球队。还有更多人可能去过SBC中心、AT&T中心或霜银中心 (Frost Bank Center)。它们其实都是紧邻乔和哈里·弗里曼体育馆 (Joe and Harry Freeman Coliseum) 的同一座球馆，只是这些年来名字不断在变。
我还记得那些夏天，大学放假回家看季后赛的日子。那时候，我们必须买一个付费点播机顶盒才能观看因转播限制而在本地停播的马刺比赛。（如果你不知道这是什么，去问问你爸。）当时大卫·罗宾逊 (David Robinson) 是队里的当家球星，但在丹尼斯·罗德曼 (Dennis Rodman) 效力的那段短暂岁月里，他五颜六色的头发和更加张扬的个性夺走了所有的焦点。不过，那次尝试最终以失败告终。很快，大家提到马刺时脑海中浮现的面孔就变成了罗宾逊、肖恩·埃利奥特 (Sean Elliott) 和埃弗里·约翰逊 (Avery Johnson)。毫不意外，他们的球衣成为了这支球队退役的第四、第五和第六件球衣。
毕业后我离开了圣安东尼奥，在德克萨斯州以外的地方生活，直到2013年我女儿出生。邓肯/帕克/吉诺比利 (Duncan/Parker/Ginobili) “GDP三巨头”时代的绝大部分辉煌，都是在我离开的这段时间里发生的。自从回来后，我又重新变成了一个彻头彻尾的狂热球迷。我甚至把来自中西部的妻子也拉入了阵营，我的女儿也欣然接受了自己作为马刺球迷的身份。去现场看球已经成了我们家的家庭传统。2014年是重新燃起我对篮球兴趣的完美赛季。我 watched 了2013-2014赛季的每一场比赛，沉浸在马刺一路拼杀夺得球队第五个NBA总冠军的征程中。我彻底着迷了。我对这支家乡英雄球队的痴迷最终不断加深，直到我找到了一个宣泄口——加入《Pounding the Rock》网站。在经历了近九年时间、写了三千篇文章之后，我刚刚收到了一封邮件，通知我何时何地去领取我的NBA总决赛媒体证件。说实话，这对我来说依然有些不真实。不仅是因为马刺要进总决赛了，更是因为我将能够亲身参与并见证这一历史时刻。
在接下来的两周里，我将早出晚归、打包行李、拆箱、飞往各地、撰写报道，如此周而复始。有太多的事情要处理，而且一切来得都是如此之快。我兴奋得无法用言语表达。能报道这支对我影响至深的球队，我感到无比激动。能分享这段经历、撰写关于总决赛的报道，更是让我由衷地感到欣喜。
你们现在的感受如何？圣安东尼奥马刺队即将征战NBA总决赛的事实，真的已经让你们缓过神来了吗？这支球队正力争夺得他们的第六个NBA总冠军。对于这些年轻球员中的大多数人来说，这个季后赛充满了“第一次”。他们曾被贴上“缺乏经验”的标签。但每当有专家看衰他们时，他们总能挺身而出，坚持到底。一次又一次，他们不断证明着自己已经准备好了。
欢迎来到NBA总决赛，Go Spurs Go！
“还差四场胜利。”
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：Open Thread: How the Spurs heading back to the NBA Finals is still sinking in
Open Thread: How the Spurs heading back to the NBA Finals is still sinking in
It’s 10:59 p.m. Just about 24 hours since the final buzzer went off and the Spurs were crowned Western Conference Champions. Just under 24 hours ago Victor Wembanyama hoisted his WCF MVP trophy proclaiming this is just the first of many. Just under 24 hours since I sat in postgame press conferences and heard Mitch Johnson praise Luke Kornet’s block. Victor Wembanyama shared an emotional desire to talk to Pop. Both Dylan Harper and Julian Champagnie were wide-eyed, barely able to contain their excitement about playing their first NBA Finals in New York, the city where their love of basketball bloomed. And just before the night ended (at least ended at Paycom Arena), De’Aaron Fox gave a shout out to the NBA fans.
I was up for at least two hours talking about the Knicks/Spurs match up. My traveling companions were all taking in the Spurs victory, the team we’ve been writing about, many of us for years now. We discussed how the Knicks has a heavy duty line up. The physicality of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson is going to be a challenge for Victor Wembanyama. We predicted how Stephon Castle will match up against Jalen Brunson. And we started planning trips to New York.
I spent most of today driving back from Oklahoma City. Got in just in time to cook dinner, read to the kid, and visit with my wife. And here I sit now, still taking in the reality that the San Antonio Spurs are heading to the 2026 NBA Finals.
I grew up in San Antonio and have been a lifelong Spurs fan. I, like many of you, remember seeing games at HemisFair Arena. Even more of us experienced the Spurs play at the Alamodome, that huge blue curtain cutting a football stadium in half to house the city’s lone major sports franchise. And still more have possibly visited the SBC Center, AT&T Center, or Frost Bank Center. They’re all the same arena adjacent to the Joe and Harry Freeman Coliseum, but the name has changed over the years.
I remember summers, watching the playoffs while home from college. Back then we had to get a pay-per-view box to watch blacked out Spurs games. (If you don’t know, ask your dad.) David Robinson was the star, but for a brief sliver of time while Dennis Rodman was on the team, his colorful hair and even more colorful personality pulled focus. The experiment didn’t work. Pretty soon the faces everyone associated with the Spurs were Robinson, Sean Elliott, and Avery Johnson. Not surprising they are the fourth, fifth, and sixth jerseys retired by the organization.
I left San Antonio after college and lived outside Texas until 2013, the year my daughter was born. So much of the Duncan/Parker/Ginobili Big Three Era took place while I was away. Since returning I have become a full-blown fan again. I even got my Midwestern wife on board. My daughter has embraced her fandom as well. Attending games has become part of our family’s tradition. 2014 was the perfect season to reignite my interest in basketball. I watched every single game of 2013-2014, soaking it up as the Spurs fought their way toward their fifth NBA title. I was hooked. My obsession with the hometown heroes eventually progressed until an outlet became available to me — Pounding the Rock. Nearly nine years and three-thousand articles later, I just received an email telling me where and when to pick up my NBA credentials for the Finals. Honestly, that is still sinking in for me. Not just that the Spurs are going to the Finals, but that I get to participate in the moment.
Over the next two weeks, I’ll be arriving early, staying late, packing, unpacking, flying, writing, rinsing and repeating. There is so much going on and it is all coming so quickly. I’m elated beyond words. Excited to be coving the team that has made such an imprint on me. Thrilled to share the experience, to write about the Finals.
How is this shaping up for you? Has it truly sunk in that the San Antonio Spurs are about to play in the NBA Finals? The team is looking to earn their sixth NBA title. For most of these young players, this postseason has been full of firsts. They have been labeled “inexperienced.” But each time some pundit counts them out, they rise to the moment and persevere. Time after time, they continue to prove they are ready.
Welcome to the NBA Finals, and Go Spurs Go!
“Four more to win.”
By Jeph Duarte, via Pounding The Rock