By Jared Weiss | The Athletic, 2026-06-04 10:45:59
圣安东尼奥——当比赛进入生死关头，维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 会出现在哪里？
当纽约尼克斯球星杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 在NBA总决赛首战的最后时刻大显身手、收割胜利时，相比之下，这位圣安东尼奥马刺的球星显得有些迷失。衡量历史级伟大球员的一个标志，就是看他们在球场上的哪个位置最能发挥威力。
防守队员深知那个位置对持球人有多么重要，他们必须不惜一切代价进行防守。一旦布伦森的脚踏入那个区域，进攻基本就宣告终结。即便在尼克斯以105-95获胜的比赛中，马刺已经对他严加防范，他也能像用发卡开锁一样轻巧地破解防守，对此马刺侧翼德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 绝对深有体会。
这种战术布伦森可以一次又一次地重复。给他球，给他一个掩护，他就能调动防守，直到达到自己的目的。文班亚马还没达到这个境界。几个月来，他一直是NBA最具影响力的球员，而且在马刺的季后赛征程中，他也贡献过许多精彩绝伦的关键时刻。
但首战表明，他还需要完善自己的比赛架构。这没关系，这只是他职业生涯第三个赛季的总决赛首场比赛。走到今天，他已经超越了所有人的预期。在马刺之前的系列赛中，他一直在学习和进步，并在最后关头打上了自己的烙印。
现在他必须以此为基础继续提升，因为布伦森——在这场比赛中31投12中砍下30分——绝不会手软。事实上，在决战时刻爆发之前，布伦森整场比赛的表现都相当挣扎。而与此同时，文班亚马却投丢了三分球，在一次本可以一路杀到篮下的进攻中，他试图制造犯规导致抛投偏出，甚至在决定比赛胜负的关键回合中，将球运到了自己的脚上。
尽管在此之前他做得很好，但他却无法将自己那双20多号的球鞋迈向他威胁最大的区域。文班亚马拥有极多的战术选择，他的强大之处就在于其全能性。他是一个空接威胁，既能在低位单打，也能外拆投三分，还可以持球突破或在中距离急停跳投。他拥有极其丰富的技术武器库，可以根据不同的防守对位来选择使用哪种武器。
但当需要他拿出“文班本色”来解决问题时，却并没有一个明确的答案。他全场21投仅6中，凭借罚球13罚12中拿下26分。此外，他出现了6次失误，却只有2次助攻。这显然还不够好。不过，他在今年季后赛中的价值就在于，随着系列赛的进行，他总能找到应对之策，并在整体上赢得胜利。
“每支球队的防守方式都不同。我会找到解决办法的，”文班亚马说，“是的，我今晚表现很糟糕。事情就这么简单。”
文班亚马首要解决的问题，是与他本届季后赛遇到的最强中锋的对决。卡尔-安东尼·唐斯 (Karl-Anthony Towns) 具备对付文班亚马的充足资本。他是一个极具威胁的投手，擅长持球突破，并且拥有出色的身体平衡、体型和力量，能够顶着文班亚马的防守完成终结。在防守端，虽然唐斯在外线防守顶级得分手时会有些吃力，但马刺并没有那种能让唐斯头疼的急停跳投高手。唐斯的力量和敏捷的脚步使他能够相当有效地单防文班亚马。
正如预期的那样，与唐斯的对决迫使文班亚马做出他在整个季后赛中都不曾面对的抉择。由于唐斯是一位全方位的得分威胁，文班亚马在防守时有时会发现自己处于进退两难的境地。
尼克斯非常聪明，他们让唐斯撤到外线以拉出文班亚马，同时利用另一套战术逆着文班亚马的防守移动方向进行突破。第四节初，尼克斯正是通过突破文班亚马扑防唐斯时所留下的内线空档，开始取得领先。
“这甚至不像是需要我去琢磨什么。我只需要打出正常表现就行，甚至不需要超常发挥，”文班亚马说，“只要做正确的事情就足够了。当我们打得不好，或者我打得不好时，往往是我们自己自乱阵脚。这就是为什么我不担心。我们会变得好得多，我也一定会打得好得多。”
这场比赛的胜负就在毫厘之间。在比赛还剩不到两分钟时，马刺还以95-94领先，此时斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 在底角扑防布伦森时慢了一步，后者接球命中三分。卡斯尔本该提前一秒做出预判，意识到自己是那个必须去扑防布伦森的人，但那一瞬间的犹豫付出了惨痛的代价。诸如此类的细节、预判和执行力，正是决定比赛胜负的关键。当然，运气也起到了一定作用，因为布伦森投篮命中前的那个篮板球，刚好越过了瓦塞尔的指尖。
“我们不能只在半场拼抢篮板。我们必须帮助维克，”瓦塞尔说，“我们必须帮助下面的大个子。这将是这个系列赛中非常关键的一部分。”
当布伦森投进那记三分球时，有趣的一幕发生了。这个本赛季一直是马刺坚固堡垒、看台上几乎全是标志性嘉年华配色球衣的主场，听起来竟然有点像麦迪逊广场花园。当布伦森在比赛还剩37.8秒时投进锁定胜局的一球时，这里感觉就像是“阿拉莫广场花园”——大批吵闹、极其嚣张的尼克斯球迷大声喧哗，其声浪之大仿佛把这场比赛带回了纽约。
“我们的球迷太棒了，”尼克斯主教练麦克·布朗 (Mike Brown) 说道，“他们在客场的表现太不可思议了，在圣安东尼奥到处都能看到他们，在球馆里也能听到他们的呐喊……”
这应该会激怒马刺。但当终场哨响后文班亚马走上发言台时，对于一个刚刚输掉比赛的人来说，他显得异常冷静——就像是一个完全不担心在48小时后让那些球迷闭嘴的人。
文班亚马非常擅长专注于眼前。当被问及在如此宏大的舞台上成为联盟门面所带来的巨大关注度时，他说他唯一能感受到的就是球馆里的两万名球迷。一旦他踏入球场，除此之外的一切都不复存在。摄像机后面只是操作员，远方观看比赛的数百万人也完全不会干扰到他。
既然现在他和马刺处于落后局面，这对他来说应该是个好兆头。第二场比赛将会非常激烈，因为从0-1落后的局面中逆转将是一个巨大的挑战。他们深知，到了第三场，麦迪逊广场花园将会变成一片疯狂的海洋。
但正如马刺教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 在季后赛早些时候所说，他从未见过有人能像文班亚马那样，挺起胸膛去迎接挑战、踏入战场。
“我觉得他就是这样的人。他从不在关键时刻退缩，”迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 说道，“他总是能挺身而出，迎难而上。”
他以前做到过，现在他需要再次做到。
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：Jalen Brunson knew how to close Game 1. Victor Wembanyama didn't
Jalen Brunson knew how to close Game 1. Victor Wembanyama didn’t
SAN ANTONIO — When the game is on the line, where does Victor Wembanyama go?
As New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson did his thing to win Game 1 of the NBA Finals at the very end, the San Antonio Spurs star looked a little lost by comparison. One mark of the all-time great players is where on the floor they’re at their best.
The defenders know how important that spot is for the man with the ball. They must defend it at all costs. Once Brunson’s feet get there, the play’s over. Even when the Spurs had him locked up in the Knicks’ 105-95 win, he’d slip a bobby pin out of his hair and pick the lock, as San Antonio wing Devin Vassell can attest.
This is a game Brunson can play over and over. Give him the ball, give him a screen and he can manipulate the defense until he gets what he wants. Wembanyama isn’t there yet. He’s been the most impactful player in the NBA for months now, and he’s had plenty of spectacular clutch moments in the Spurs’ playoff run.
But Game 1 showed he needs to work on the structure of his game. Which is fine. It’s the first game of the finals in his third season in the league. He has exceeded every expectation to this point. He has learned and improved throughout the Spurs’ previous series, putting his stamp on things in the very end.
Now he has to build from here, because Brunson — who had 30 points on 12-of-31 shooting — is not relenting. In fact, Brunson had a brutal game until he caught fire in the heat of crunch time. At that same time, Wembanyama missed 3s, blew a floater when he tried to draw a foul instead of going all the way to the rim and dribbled the ball off his foot on the possession that would decide the game.
For all the things he did well leading up to that point, he could not get his size 20-something shoes to the spot where he’s most dangerous. Wembanyama has a litany of options. His power is his versatility. He is a lob threat who can play in the post, pop out for 3, play off the dribble or pull up from the midrange. There’s a vast collection of good skills to work with, and he can pick which one he wants depending on the matchup.
But when it’s time to just do the Wemby thing, there isn’t a clear answer as to what that is. He had 26 points on 6-of-21 shooting while going 12-of-13 from the line. He had six turnovers to just two assists. This just wasn’t good enough. His value in these playoffs, though, has been that over the course of a series, he finds the response and wins in the aggregate.
“Every team guards differently. I’m going to figure it out,” Wembanyama said. “Yeah, I was bad tonight. It’s not more complicated than that.”
Wembanyama’s primary problem to solve is the battle against the best center he’s faced in this playoff run. Karl-Anthony Towns is well-equipped for Wembanyama. He’s a dangerous shooter, is great off the dribble and has the balance, size and power to finish through Wembanyama. On defense, while Towns has had trouble guarding big-time scorers out in space, the Spurs don’t really have that pull-up artist who can give Towns fits. His power and quick feet allow him to take on Wembanyama in isolation fairly effectively.
As expected, the Towns matchup forces Wembanyama into decisions he hasn’t had to make throughout the postseason. Because Towns is a three-level threat, Wembanyama sometimes would find himself in no-man’s land on defense.
The Knicks were smart about having Towns flare out to the perimeter to drag Wembanyama with him while using another action against the current of Wembanyama’s movement. Early in the fourth quarter, the Knicks finally started taking the lead by driving into the space Wembanyama was vacating as he stepped out toward Towns.
“It’s almost not like I have anything to figure out. It’s almost like I have to play normal, not even good,” Wembanyama said. “It’s just like doing the right things is enough. When we play bad, when I play bad, is when we shoot ourselves in the foot. This is why I’m not worried. We’re going to be so much better. I’m going to be so much better.”
The margins in this game were small. The Spurs had a 95-94 lead with just under two minutes left when Stephon Castle was late on a closeout to Brunson in the corner, who buried a 3 off the catch. Castle should have done the math a second earlier that he was the one who had to close to Brunson, but that hesitation was costly. The little things like that, the foresight and the execution, are where games are won. Luck is also involved, as the rebound preceding Brunson’s make bounced just over Vassell’s reach.
“Can’t just be one half where we’re crashing the glass. We’ve got to help Vic,” Vassell said. “We’ve got to help the bigs down there. That’s going to be a huge part of this series.”
When Brunson buried that 3, something fascinating happened. An arena that has been a stronghold for the Spurs this season, where the Fiesta-colored shirts fill the stands nearly uninterrupted, sounded a little bit like Madison Square Garden. When Brunson hit the game-clincher with 37.8 seconds left, it felt like Alamo Square Garden, with a litany of loud, obnoxious, spectacularly cocky Knicks fans bellowing loud enough to transport this game back to New York.
“Our fans have been fantastic,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “They have been fantastic on the road, and to see them around San Antonio, to hear them in the arena … ”
That should anger the Spurs. But when Wembanyama stepped to the podium after the final buzzer, he seemed remarkably chill for someone who had just lost — like someone who wasn’t worried about shutting those fans up in 48 hours.
Wembanyama does well living in the moment. When asked about the ginormous spotlight on him as he becomes the face of the league on the biggest stage, he said the only thing he feels is the 20,000 fans in the arena. Everything outside of that doesn’t exist once he steps between the lines. The cameras just have operators behind them. The millions of people watching from afar don’t register.
This should bode well for him now that he and the Spurs are playing from behind. Game 2 will be intense, as coming back from their 1-0 series deficit will be a monumental challenge. They know MSG will be pandemonium for Game 3.
But as Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said earlier in the playoffs, he has never seen someone who meets the challenge and steps into the fray with his chest out like Wembanyama.
“I feel like that is kind of who he is. He never backs down from the moment,” Dylan Harper said. “He always kind of steps up and meets it.”
He’s done it before. He’ll need to do it again.
By Jared Weiss, via The Athletic